As many of you may have noticed (I hope) this site has been completely redesigned. I must say that it wasn’t easy but I did learn a lot during the process. I’ve been using a standard wordpress theme for around 8 months and finally decided it was time to go with something more branded. A blog redesign is a very important stage in a blog life cycle and can mean the difference between losing readers or gaining new ones. If you’re looking to redesign your site here are a few tips and ideas that you may want to consider.
Have some sort of idea/design in mind
I found a designer and basically said, make something from scratch, which was probably not the best idea. I gave no direction or ideas, I just asked for a new design. Sure enough this led to countless designs and revisions in addition to frustration both on my part and the designer’s. Moral of the story is have a list of things/features you want added and try to provide as much information as you can on what it is you are looking for in a new design.
Create goals for the site
If you’re going to redesign your site you’re obviously going to do it for a reason right? Create a list of goals or objectives that you seek to get done as a result of your new site design. Some of my goals included things such as making it easier for people to find me, increase RSS subscribers, add consulting services (still coming), etc. The point is you want to have an idea of what you want to accomplish with your new site.
Communication
Make sure that you work with a design who is willing to speak with you on the phone. All of my communications with my designer were either through chat or email which made it a nightmare to explain or describe changes. Oftentimes I would ask for one thing, yet receive another. My designer just didn’t want to talk on the phone. As a result a 2 week project turned into a 2 month project. Communication between yourself and your designer is absolutely crucial so make sure you get some phone (or better yet, in person) time.
Support Issues
Having a new site up and running is great, but does everything work? My site has been live for around a week and still has several bugs that I’m attempting to fix myself (while I wait for my designer to do it). I’m not talking about anything really major, but for example, my email icon didn’t work and I had to add the link to it (so you can email me), my pictures wouldn’t align and I had to ask folks on twitter how to fix that, some of my plugins aren’t functioning correctly, my site doesn’t display properly in Internet Explorer, etc. These are all things that I would expect to get fixed ASAP. A site that is live but not functioning properly doesn’t do anyone much good. So, my appologies to all of you who have been emailing me or sending me messages on twitter, I’m aware of the problems and I’m hoping that they will get fixed soon. Point is, make sure that your designer is able to respond to your problems in a time effecient manner so that your site isn’t live with bugs…nobody likes bugs.
User feedback
Once my new site design launched I immediately asked my readers, twitter followers, and connection what they thought of the new site; some even got a sneak peak a few days before the release. The result was unanimous, all of you loved the new design, and so I kept it. Had you told me that you hated it and that my old design was better, then I would have kept the old design. My job is to provide content and share information (as well as learn from you), however if you don’t like the way you access the information on my site, then the content won’t matter much. Make sure you get user feedback once the site is live. I have found a lot of useful ideas and tips from all of you that I have incorporated into my site, so in a way, you helped build this site with me…thank you!
These are what I consider the 5 essentials to a blog or site redesign. What other things would you consider or look at for a site redesign? Do you have any good/bad experiences of going through a site redesign?
thanks for reading!
New site design looks nice! Simple, clean, effective. I like it.
The new design looks great (FF3). Congrats. Although I'd put the searchbar somewhere else, that just isn't the place for it. Anyways, good job man, and write down the date next to the copyright at the bo. Cheers!
Oh, and I think your logo should link to your homepage (considered as a web standard) – flexing usability ^_^
thanks for the tips, i added the date as you suggested, the logo (on the top right) does link to the home page. as far as the search bar goes, im going to have to wait a bit before i can change that. thanks for your insight though
Congrats on the new design, man – as someone who's only recently redesigned my own, I know the headaches you faced. 🙂
I'd probably add “Do a lot of testing in different browsers” – you're not going to please everyone (and more than likely, not IE users) but getting it as attractive as possible in the main browsers is probably key.
Good job, look forward to continued reading. 🙂
hey adam, thanks a lot, what are you up to these days?
hey thanks danny, it can definitely be tough. im still trying to get the designer to fix all the bugs on my site, it's like pulling teeth!
like your site design as well
Jacob,
I really dig the new experience. I appreciate the subtle branding through unique, yet non-obtrusive colors & contrast. I can totally empathize with your pains from the process. When we redesigned Involver.com we went through countless designs and played around with the different ways to achieve our goals. it can be a frustrating process for all involved, but the important thing is to identify the sources of pain and make sure they won't happen the next time. What I find most helpful as a designer is when stakeholders can provide me with links to sites, along with comments about what they like & dislike about the sites. That has always been the fastest, most effective way to get a grasp of not only the client's tastes, but also of what standards/best practices currently exist in their space.
At any rate, the design is done and looks fre$h!
Hi Jacob – I was offline for a while and was afraid I had missed the launch. Fortunately it was only by a couple of days 🙂 It looks great.
A number of my clients have told me that they have worked with designers and tech types who refuse to speak with them on the phone. I don't understand this at all. Talking on the phone can usually clear up an issue much faster than an email. When I worked in tech support I would often call people who emailed in for support because it was a faster way to fix the problem and close out the case. The risk I ran is that the individual would ask more questions about a different topic 🙂 I suppose the designer could have a previous experience where giving out his number caused calls at all times of the day – I had a client like that and I dropped her as a client.
It is definitely important to have an idea what features who want before getting started as you learned. Personally, I find it difficult to start a project without some sort of guidance.
Great job – I'm excited for you.
Jacob,
I really dig the new experience. I appreciate the subtle branding through unique, yet non-obtrusive colors & contrast. I can totally empathize with your pains from the process. When we redesigned Involver.com we went through countless designs and played around with the different ways to achieve our goals. it can be a frustrating process for all involved, but the important thing is to identify the sources of pain and make sure they won't happen the next time. What I find most helpful as a designer is when stakeholders can provide me with links to sites, along with comments about what they like & dislike about the sites. That has always been the fastest, most effective way to get a grasp of not only the client's tastes, but also of what standards/best practices currently exist in their space.
At any rate, the design is done and looks fre$h!
Hi Jacob – I was offline for a while and was afraid I had missed the launch. Fortunately it was only by a couple of days 🙂 It looks great.
A number of my clients have told me that they have worked with designers and tech types who refuse to speak with them on the phone. I don't understand this at all. Talking on the phone can usually clear up an issue much faster than an email. When I worked in tech support I would often call people who emailed in for support because it was a faster way to fix the problem and close out the case. The risk I ran is that the individual would ask more questions about a different topic 🙂 I suppose the designer could have a previous experience where giving out his number caused calls at all times of the day – I had a client like that and I dropped her as a client.
It is definitely important to have an idea what features who want before getting started as you learned. Personally, I find it difficult to start a project without some sort of guidance.
Great job – I'm excited for you.