By Artem Korsakov ·
Website enhancement or redesign are needed for various reasons: sometimes it is enough to fix forms and management, while at other times a change in structure and design is required. A fresh design can also hide broken forms and inconvenient management. Before ordering a new project, it is useful to determine the cause of dissatisfaction. Otherwise, the company risks replacing the shell while retaining previous problems.
Name the Problem You Can Observe
Instead of "the website is bad," write down specific situations:
- unable to add a service without a developer;
- applications lose the order composition;
- visitors cannot find documents;
- materials no longer correspond to the company's offer.
If you have data from inquiries and analytics, use it. If not, separate observations from assumptions.
A hypothetical company believes it needs a redesign due to the low number of inquiries. Verification shows that old services remain on the main pages, and forms send emails to an unused address. First, it is worth restoring a working scenario. This does not yet prove that the entire current foundation is suitable for long-term use.
When Enhancement Is Sufficient
Local changes are appropriate if the foundation is manageable, necessary access rights exist, and the problem is limited to a specific section. For example, you need to:
- update a service page;
- fix a form;
- make the mobile menu more user-friendly;
- add the transfer of agreed-upon fields to the sales system.
It is useful to limit the first stage to a verifiable result. Instead of "improve conversion," write: "the visitor can submit the selected service and city, and the manager receives both values." After implementation, you can observe changes in inquiries without promising a predetermined growth.
At the same time, a series of small tasks can turn into an expensive overhaul. Ask the contractor to explain what limitations will remain after enhancement and whether you will have to redo it again with the next change.
When a New Foundation Is Justified
Redesign becomes more reasonable if the current setup hinders most mandatory tasks. For example, it is impossible to manage necessary page types, access rights do not correspond to the team's work, or changes require constant circumvention of old limitations.
The absence of source materials and access to key accounts also requires a separate solution. However, this is not an automatic reason to immediately delete the old website. First, find out what can be restored, transferred, and used, as well as what obligations are associated with the previous contractor.
A new website does not have to repeat the old structure. If the business has changed, start with current services and buyers. Preserving inconvenient navigation for the sake of familiar section locations deprives the redesign of its meaning.
Calculate the Cost of Transition
A new project includes not only page creation. It requires transferring useful materials, verifying addresses, preserving important visitor paths, and switching inquiries. Domains, email, and external services may have separate settings and responsible parties. Which payments will remain after launch is discussed in the article Website Costs After Launch.
Request a transfer plan specifying what will be preserved. For a hypothetical supplier, old cards important to partners are key. The disappearance of these addresses can create inconvenience regardless of how beautiful the new version is. The transition method must be agreed upon before launch.
Compare Two Limited Scenarios
Request two estimates: a minimally sufficient fix and a new version tailored to current tasks. Each must include results, exclusions, materials, timeline, and future costs. This is more useful than comparing abstract words "enhancement" and "redesign." How to then select the chosen option is described in the website acceptance checklist.
First, eliminate problems that hinder inquiries right now, if possible without excessive risk. Then decide whether a deep redesign is justified. Sometimes a short verification stage helps avoid a large erroneous order.
For discussion with trike_dev, send the address of the current website, several specific inconveniences, and a desired scenario. Catalog demos can be used as an example of a new solution, but the decision to replace should be made after reviewing the current website.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can everything be understood from a screenshot?
No. It shows the appearance but not how applications work, editors connect, or access rights are configured. A solution requires a brief analysis of the current website and company tasks.
Can you guarantee the preservation of all search rankings during an update?
Such a promise would be too strong. You can provide for correct transfer and subsequent monitoring, but visibility depends on several factors. Expectations should be formulated through specific works and controls.