Questions to ask yourself if considering a site re-design:

1. Evaluate your current web site. What elements do you like and why?
   - If nothing, then it is definitely time to change.
   - If there are things you still like, evaluate if small changes can be made around them.
2. Look at other web sites that you find effective. Why do you like these sites? Why are they appealing? Then, think about if your current site offers the same things. Keep a list.
3. Look at the work and portfolio samples of companies you are considering hiring to help with the redesign. This is a good idea of what your next site might look like, so be sure you like what their style.

As a general guideline, about every 3-5 years design styles change on the Internet. So, if it is time for your web site redesign, we make the following recommendations.

 

Recommendations

 

Don’t use really trendy things that may go out of style.

Ask about new technologies and try to incorporate them so that you’ll be ahead of the game.

Do your own research by looking at other web sites. Searching around is free and you’ll be happy 1 year from now that you did.

Look at competitor sites. Make a list of what they are doing right. What they did wrong.

Think about the page organization, what you have to say, interactive tools, and other things you might like to include along with your web site redesign.

Think about your audience and their needs. What can you do to make the site more attractive and useful to the end-user?

Define your goals. A web site company can help you evaluate what needs to be done to reach these goals.

 

We also suggest to our clients during the web site creation process that making routine changes is imperative to keep information fresh and attract return users. If things are designed and tools built into the site initially, then a site’s effectiveness should last longer.