With the New Year around the corner, most business owners have some resolutions in mind, especially for a web design makeover. You will probably want to tap into new markets, expand your customer base, and reinforce your brand in 2023 and beyond. Some entrepreneurs may have even bigger goals, such as foraying into the global markets and competing with the leaders in the industry. Whatever your targets for the New Year, you will have to start with a good look at your website. In fact, you will need to reassess it even if no major growth and expansion plans are in the making.
A periodic website makeover is the one thing business owners must invest in, regardless of the size and scale. The New Year is an ideal time to consider the project because you are ready to refresh and restart. But budget constraints may keep you from picking the idea because a makeover sounds as complicated as starting from scratch. Fortunately, a design refresh costs far less than you imagine, provided you take a money-savvy approach to the project.
Here are a few budget tips to implement a web design makeover in 2023.
Decide on your budget
This one is a no-brainer when money is a constraint because not having a budget can land you in a fix. You may start with a haphazard approach and pick bells and whistles instead of things that matter. Conversely, deciding on a budget enables you to pick priorities wisely instead of going too far with the design makeover project. You must involve the key stakeholders from the design, marketing, and finance teams to understand the requirements and set aside an optimal dollar figure you can comfortably spend on the project. You can manage things far more frugally with a tight grip on numbers, so crunch them down to details from the start.
Prioritize essential pages
Once you have a clear view of how much you can spend on a website makeover, you can set priorities for the project. Reworking the design for all pages does not make sense if you have hundreds of them. But you can pick the ones that matter and affect the conversion rates of the website. The home page is perhaps the most critical one because most visitors land on it. Also, pay attention to the about us page and testimonial page because they determine the trust factor for your brand. You can pick product category pages and popular products. You may even consider adding a few pages as a part of the redesign project according to your objective.
See also: Best Website Design Trends for an Impressive User Experience
Check the latest design trends
A website makeover is your chance to align your online presence with the latest design trends. Following them gets you on track with the competitors and customer expectations, so check them and pick the ones that fit into your spending capacity. The good thing is that some trends may actually cost a fraction of what you expect. For example, you can go minimalist with white spaces for your website’s design without spending big money. Just list them in the to-do essentials to see what you can do within your budget.
Look at the competitors
Besides checking the latest trends, you must look at the competitors while redesigning your website. It gives you a fair idea of what seems to be working for them. You can even get some valuable insights and inspiration from competing sites to ideate a fresh look and feel for your site. The best part is that you can save a lot of money and time on researching the audience’s expectations as you can rely on the tried and tested strategies of others. It is your chance to keep pace with the top brands in the market by realigning your online presence according to customer expectations.
Outsource expertise
A web design makeover becomes affordable if you outsource expertise instead of scaling your in-house team for the project. You can save a fortune on recruitment, onboarding, and training costs. Moreover, you need not retain the resources after the completion of the job. The best thing about the outsourcing model is that you can get comprehensive web design packages at a low cost. Another benefit of working with specialist providers is that they bring a diverse experience with multiple clients across different verticals. So they can recommend excellent design solutions to impress your audience without breaking the bank.
Set clear expectations
Besides bringing experts on board for the project, you must set clear expectations for the budget, milestones, and timelines. Discuss these key factors before starting the makeover so that your design partner is on the same page. You must also let them know the objective of the makeover, such as getting a multilingual website or rebuilding your brand’s identity. Establishing a seamless communication process is equally vital as it prevents errors and wastes later. You can also take an iterative approach with the project with the designers working on sections instead of going too far in one step. Also, ensure that your site is never out of action during the redesign process. Downtime is the last thing you want to encounter, so convey it clearly to your team.
Consider content development costs
Website design is more than enhancing the look, features, and navigation. It is also about content enhancement because the UX depends on the information your visitors get on the website. So you must consider content development costs while budgeting for the makeover project. You may write the content yourself or look for a design partner that covers this aspect. Besides refreshing content according to the new look and trends, you must let go of old content. After all, redundant content may do more harm than good, extending your web pages unnecessarily or harming the UX due to the extra clutter.
Create a brand identity
A website makeover project may cost a significant amount, no matter how money-savvy you are with planning and strategy. But the best thing to do is to make the most of the investment. Consider it an opportunity to create an online brand identity for your business. Start by understanding what your brand looks like because your web design makeover should replicate its personality. For example, you must pick the same branding colors, font styles, logo use, and imagery. Likewise, the tone of voice of your website’s content should also be the same as across all other promotional channels. A consistent look, feel, and voice makes it easy for the audience to connect with your brand. You can actually save a fortune on branding promotions by spending a bit on a website makeover.
See also: WordPress Redesign Hacks to Modernize Your Website
Take SEO into account
Taking your SEO into account is another essential aspect of redesigning your website, even if it does not seem to be a part of the design process. Surprisingly, it can help you save resources on marketing campaigns in the long run. For example, the design of a site can affect its speed and responsiveness, and both are the primary SEO factors. Slow-loading and unresponsive websites lose their ranking sooner than later, so you must consider these factors during the makeover. Improving on them makes the expense worthwhile because your site gains ranking, visibility, and trust.
Focus on simplicity
Simplicity is a winner when it comes to website design, as it is timeless and trendy. Moreover, it breeds comfort for the users as they do not need to work hard to navigate an intuitive interface with minimal clutter. The approach also works well for your pocket as you need not think about adding more elements and high-end functionalities to your website’s design. The truth is that embracing minimalism also reduces the effort and cost of website management down the road. It is a win-win for users, employees, and business owners from a cost and ease-of-use perspective.
Invest in continuous improvements
Another valuable piece of web design advice for business owners this New Year is to invest in continuous improvements instead of going too far in one go. Consider setting milestones for different steps to implement the changes slowly throughout the year. For example, you can start by working on the Home Page and About Us page first and gradually move to the other pages. The approach is strategic and pocket friendly as it is easy to allocate a small budget for the changes. Moreover, you can implement quick changes according to the current trends. It also enables you to test the outcomes of the changes over time, so you can fine-tune your strategies ahead.
See also: The 10 Most Important Website Design Elements
Conclusions
A web design makeover is a good way to start the New Year, as it sets your business up for new beginnings. You can refresh your online presence according to customer expectations, competitor tactics, and the latest trends. But you must take a budget-savvy approach to prevent the project from breaking the bank. These simple steps can help you make the most of your money regardless of the constraints you encounter. Most importantly, look for a design partner you can rely on to achieve more with less.
