{"id":691,"date":"2021-10-31T08:15:22","date_gmt":"2021-10-30T22:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bdabooks.com.au\/Blog\/2023\/website-redesign-why-it-was-time-for-a-reboot\/"},"modified":"2023-01-03T08:15:31","modified_gmt":"2023-01-02T22:15:31","slug":"website-redesign-why-it-was-time-for-a-reboot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bdabooks.com.au\/Blog\/2021\/website-redesign-why-it-was-time-for-a-reboot\/","title":{"rendered":"Website [re]design: Why it was time for a reboot"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n\r\n
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We hit the refresh button and brought our website into the future. Our fresh design offers a sleek user experience, and with our new features, it has never been easier to navigate our content.<\/h5>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

About three months ago, we started to entirely revamp our company website for the first time in about five years. We\u2019d had a placeholder site in place for a while as we reconsidered the site\u2019s usefulness, and the previous design was a basic one as we considered what to do.<\/p>\r\n

*This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.*<\/h6>\r\n
\"Photograph
Belinda D’Alessandro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Comparing our current design now to its former design is like a night and day transition \u2013 it was time to hit refresh and bring our website into the present. We\u2019d been thinking about redesigning our brand\u2019s website and adding back a blog, but we weren\u2019t sure if it was worth the time and effort.<\/p>\r\n

Our website was looking a bit old-fashioned. And it became a bit slow and cumbersome. Did we want to restart blogging? Did we want to integrate that new shopping cart functionality to sell directly from our website?<\/p>\r\n

Here\u2019s a look at some of the reasons we wanted to update our site.<\/p>\r\n

Design and functionality<\/h2>\r\n

It was a no-brainer, really. We wanted our \u201cshop front\u201d to look and run the best it could. We wanted a clean, professional website that provides a succinct journey with clear communication and calls-to-action for a user experience, with key content signposted and instinctive navigational structures. We also wanted our colour palette and typography, and imagery to be consistent and cohesive.<\/p>\r\n

Site performance<\/h2>\r\n

Having the most beautiful and interactive website in the world isn\u2019t matter if it isn\u2019t optimised for search engines and can\u2019t be found when you\u2019re looking for it.<\/p>\r\n

Search engine optimisation is a constant and evolving process. It needs continuous attention and small, incremental steps. So we took the opportunity of redesigning our website to update our SEO and bring the site up to date with current SEO best practices.<\/p>\r\n

We wanted to make sure our site was clean and fast, so we took measures such as compressing images compressed, reducing HTTP calls (CSS and JavaScript references) and render-blocking scripts, caching, and other criteria.<\/p>\r\n

We also wanted to create more well-written, unique, and informative content.<\/p>\r\n

Functionality and content management<\/h2>\r\n

We wanted to thoroughly review the current functionality of our website, both for visitors (the front end) and for ourselves (the back end), to make everyone\u2019s life faster and easier. Technology and fashion are constantly changing, so it was critical to provide visitors with up-to-date content and to give us the ability to make updates quickly and easily.<\/p>\r\n

We wanted to minimise the need to have a developer on hand for day-to-day updates and support and have complete control over the content. In addition, it would save money on monthly costs and increase flexibility and lead time when making significant updates, such as blog posts or content creation of campaign pages on our website.<\/p>\r\n

To enable us to make regular updates or create new pages (for SEO reasons), we updated to a solid, dependable, and simple content management system (CMS) to handle the job. We’re currently using Mobirise<\/a> for our website builder: it’s a free offline app you can use to easily create websites, landing pages, and portfolios.<\/p>\r\n

The free templates included, the majority of which are interchangeable\u200a, allowed us to start building our new website. Once we started, we wanted to start using more and more, so we upgraded to use some of the paid solutions Mobirise<\/a> offers.<\/p>\r\n

Mobirise<\/a> is a great tool for non-techies who aren\u2019t accustomed with the intricacies of coding and prefer to work visually and, if you’re like me, you’ve got some knowledge of HTML but you’re not pro-coder. You can drop site elements to your page, add content and style it to look the way you like but you can also use the Code Editor for deeper customization.<\/p>\r\n

Better Security<\/h2>\r\n

In some ways, appropriate security is an obvious extension of SEO, particularly given that Google prefers sites that use HTTPS via secure SSL Certification. However, it was just as crucial for us to consider the end-user experience and to ensure that any data processed by our site is secured.<\/p>\r\n

\"GoldOur web hosting was also due for renewal, and we were using the same basic package we\u2019d started with when we set up the website, which was scheduled to be retired by our hosting provider. After discussing the options with our hosting provider, Vodien<\/a>, we decided to upgrade to a package with faster, uninterrupted enterprise speeds and protection that Google prefers.<\/p>\r\n

It was a step up from the basic web hosting plan that we\u2019d been using for some time. The team at Vodien<\/a> also helped us migrate from our previous package to our new package and kept us updated along the way. The migration was so seamless and fast, and done in what seemed like an instant.<\/p>\r\n

We also wanted to make sure our site receives regular updates, making it easier to update in the future. We also wanted to make sure it didn\u2019t become vulnerable to malicious attacks if we didn\u2019t keep it up to date with regular updates as soon as they become available.<\/p>\r\n

At the end of the day<\/h2>\r\n

Redesigning our website was about more than just an artistic update and making it more visually appealing. It was just as much about making a more functional and secure site for our visitors.<\/p>\r\n

Comments?<\/h2>\r\n

What are your thoughts about website design and optimisation? Share them in the comments section below.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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