Is your website looking a little dated, difficult to use, or no longer reflecting the quality of your business? A website redesign could be exactly what you need.
For Somerset businesses, your website is often one of the first places potential customers go when they discover your business. Whether you run a local service, professional consultancy, shop, restaurant, or growing company, your website needs to make a strong first impression and make it easy for visitors to take the next step.
Before starting a redesign, here’s our website redesign checklist to help you work out what needs improving.
1. Review Your Current Website
Before changing the design, take some time to look at what you already have.
Ask yourself:
- Does the website still reflect what your business does?
- Is the information accurate and up to date?
- Does the design feel modern?
- Is it easy to navigate?
- Does it work properly on mobile?
- Are visitors actually getting in touch?
A redesign shouldn’t simply be about making your website look different. It should solve problems and improve how the website works for your business.
2. Update Your Branding
Your website should reflect your current brand.
If your business has changed since the website was first created, your branding may need updating too. This could include your logo, colours, typography, photography, and overall visual style.
A website redesign can be a great opportunity to bring everything together and create a consistent brand across your website, social media, printed materials, and other marketing.
3. Make Your Website Mobile Friendly
A huge number of people browse websites from their phones, so mobile responsiveness should be a priority.
Check that:
- Text is easy to read
- Buttons are easy to tap
- Images display correctly
- Menus are simple to use
- Forms work properly
- Pages load quickly
A website that works brilliantly on a desktop but poorly on mobile could be costing you enquiries.
4. Simplify Your Navigation
Can visitors find what they’re looking for quickly?
Your navigation should make sense to someone who has never visited your website before.
Consider whether you need dedicated pages for important services, locations, products, or other information. Clear navigation helps visitors explore your website without getting lost.
5. Review Your Content
Website redesigns aren’t just about design.
Take the opportunity to review your written content and remove anything that’s no longer relevant. Update your services, team information, contact details, opening hours, testimonials, and other important information.
Keep your content clear and easy to scan. Short paragraphs, headings, bullet points, and concise messaging can make a huge difference.
6. Strengthen Your Calls to Action
What do you want visitors to do?
Depending on your business, that might be:
- Call you
- Send an enquiry
- Request a quote
- Book an appointment
- Buy a product
- Visit your premises
Make these actions obvious throughout the website.
Strong calls to action can help turn website visitors into genuine enquiries and customers.
7. Improve Your Images
High-quality photography can completely transform a website.
For Somerset businesses, professional photography can be particularly valuable for showcasing your location, team, products, premises, or completed projects.
Consider replacing old, low-resolution images with new professional photography. Original images can also help your website feel more authentic than relying entirely on generic stock photography.
8. Check Your Website Speed
A slow website can frustrate visitors and encourage them to leave.
During a redesign, look at:
- Image file sizes
- Website hosting
- Plugins and third-party tools
- Unnecessary code
- Large video files
- Overall page performance
Improving website speed creates a better experience for visitors and can also support your search engine visibility.
9. Don’t Forget Local SEO
If you serve customers in Somerset, your website should make that clear.
Think about the areas you cover and whether your website provides useful information about them. Depending on your business, this could include towns and areas such as Taunton, Bridgwater, Minehead, Wellington, Yeovil, Frome, Weston-super-Mare, and the wider Somerset area.
However, avoid simply filling pages with lists of locations. Create useful, genuine content that helps your customers.
10. Check Your Contact Details
It sounds simple, but make sure your contact information is accurate.
Check your:
- Phone number
- Email address
- Business address
- Opening hours
- Contact forms
- Social media links
- Google Maps information
You don’t want a potential customer trying to contact you using an old phone number or broken contact form.
11. Review Your SEO
A redesign is an excellent opportunity to improve your website’s SEO foundations.
Review your:
- Page titles
- Meta descriptions
- Headings
- Image alt text
- URLs
- Internal links
- Website structure
- Local SEO information
It’s also important to consider existing search rankings before changing your page URLs. Poorly managed redirects can result in lost traffic.
12. Check Your Website Security
Security should always form part of a website redesign.
Make sure your website uses HTTPS and that your software, plugins, and other components remain up to date.
It’s also worth reviewing how your website handles contact forms and customer information.
For Somerset businesses handling customer data online, good security practices aren’t just about protecting your website, they’re about protecting your customers and your reputation too.
13. Add Trust Signals
Visitors need a reason to trust your business.
Consider adding:
- Customer testimonials
- Google reviews
- Industry accreditations
- Professional memberships
- Awards
- Case studies
- Client logos
- Certifications
These elements can help reassure potential customers that they’re making the right choice.
14. Make Sure Your Website Can Grow
Your new website should work for your business today while giving you room to grow tomorrow.
Think about whether you’ll need to add:
- New services
- New products
- Blog posts
- Case studies
- Team members
- Locations
- Ecommerce functionality
Building flexibility into the website from the start can save you time and money further down the line.
15. Test Everything Before Launch
Before your redesigned website goes live, test it thoroughly.
Check every page, link, button, image, form, and menu. Test the website on different devices and browsers and make sure enquiries are reaching the right place.
A final pre-launch check can catch small problems before your customers do.
How We Can Help With Your Website Redesign
A website redesign gives you the opportunity to do more than simply give your website a new look.
As a Somerset website design company, we can help you review what’s working, identify areas for improvement, and create a website that better represents your business and supports your goals.
From branding and content structure to responsive design, SEO, performance, security, and calls to action, we can help bring everything together into one modern website.
Whether you’re based in Taunton, Minehead, Bridgwater, Yeovil, Wellington, or elsewhere across Somerset, we’d love to hear about your project.
Ready for a Website Redesign?
If your website feels outdated, isn’t generating enough enquiries, or simply doesn’t represent your business anymore, it could be time for a refresh.
A well-planned redesign can improve your website’s appearance, usability, performance, and ability to turn visitors into customers.
Get in touch with us to discuss your website redesign and find out how we can help your Somerset business create a stronger online presence.
