Website Re-Designing
It is obvious that websites need continuous improvement. Just browse around for a few minutes and you will discover sites that look old and obsolete. The reasons to redesign your site may not always be evident. For example, the core idea of the site itself may need to be revamped. This Website Redesign Guide/Checklist is for anyone involved with websites. It will help you get the deep meaning of the site as well as more practical issues. It is no longer good enough to have a static website. It must capture attention, have new information, and engage the visitor or else they are off to your competitor's site.

WEBSITE REDESIGN CHECKLIST
Websites need to be in a process of constant redesign and renovation. Here's our checklist:

EVALUATE EXISTING SITE
What are the success and failures of your existing site? Gather a few people to get an honest evaluation of your existing site. Write three successes and three failures. Then write down your dreams and goals for the new site.

(a) BRAINSTORMING
Are new and fresh ideas missing? Brainstorm with a team of people to get fresh ideas. Write down ideas that emerge from the brainstorming.

(b) WHY PEOPLE VISIT
Why are people visiting your site? They are coming for information or are in need of your company's product or service. But there can be many other reasons that you may not have exploited. List those reasons.

(c) DOES IT GRAB ATTENTION?
Do you think visitors remember your site? Does it have something that gets attention and is memorable? If he/she does not bookmark your site what will get them back? You should give your visitor something to remember so that he can find his way back to your site. Write down the one thing that will be remembered company your site.

(d) RESEARCH COMPETITORS
What can I learn from my competitors? Get ideas company the latest web design, technology and communication concepts by looking analytically at competitor sites. While you are there notice some of the keywords they are using to get the attention of people coming to search engines.

e) TARGET AUDIENCE
Who is the target audience? Decide whom you want to target with the site. Who is your customer or audience? Try and get into their shoes and think like they think. What are their needs or points of interest? How can they be served? List the top three categories of people. Write three one sentence descriptions of different people in your target audience. Then write a few words that might interest these people and cause them to respond to your site.

(f) THEME AND 'LOOK AND FEEL'
What is the mood or emotion that you want to communicate? Decide on the overall theme and "look and feel" of the site. For example: humor, professional, academic, family, technical, etc. Write three adjectives to describe the way you want your site to feel.

g) CONTENT
This is probably why most people come to your site. They come to read your clear and well written and fresh content. Your team should have good writers. Redesigning requires having several outsiders read your content to see if it is clear, up-to-date, accurate and communicates what it is supposed to. Then rewrite the content. Another tip is to provide more than just your company information but provide articles that attract people to the site.

(h) TRUST AND CREDIBILITY
What will make your visitor believe you? Imagine going into an automobile repair shop or a physician's clinic. What is it that gives you a sense of trust that your car or body will be repaired correctly? A quality site that does what it says it is going to do conveys trust. Also well-written content adds credibility. Testimonies by reputable people or companies are perhaps the best way to establish creditability. A list of previous customers is helpful. List a person, company or product that can be associated with your site to add trust and credibility.

(i) KEEP SEARCH ENGINES IN MIND
How do I redesign my site and write my text with the search engines in mind? Decide on the keywords and the meta content. This is a new concept that really only applies to redesigning or developing websites. It may not even apply to all websites, but it is important for those websites that depend on search engines . The idea is to get good rankings on search engines with different keywords. Since many pages on your site can be indexed with a search engine this becomes an important strategy in attracting visitors