Redesigning your website? Know these 5 common barriers and how to avoid them
Ever wish you could take a crystal ball to the website redesign process to head off potential problems before they happen? Anticipating possible pitfalls up front can save you time and money. Here’s a look at five scenarios that can send a solid redesign plan southward—and how your organization can steer clear.
The agency doesn’t understand the client.
Agencies and clients don’t always see eye-to-eye. Sometimes a firm lacks the expertise to meet a healthcare marketer’s unique needs. At other times, an agency might just ignore a client’s requests because they think they know better. Both of these situations can stand in the way of achieving a functional redesign that serves your customers and expands your reach.
You can’t always know for sure if an agency will be the right fit for your project. But you can start by picking a firm with a proven track record in the healthcare marketing field. They’re more likely to understand where you’re coming from. And they’ll know how to connect with your audience.
The client doesn’t listen to the agency.
It’s important to come in with a vision for your new website. But ignoring key recommendations from an experienced agency can result in a less effective redesign.
That doesn’t mean clients should blindly go with everything an agency proposes. If you disagree with something, ask the agency to explain their recommendation and its benefits. Having a deeper understanding could help you see eye-to-eye. And if it doesn’t, it gives you an opportunity to voice your concerns and find a compromise.
There are too many decision-makers.
Engaging the right internal stakeholders ensures that your site’s overhaul is both effective and accurate. But input from too many sources can muddy the vision a client and agency have come up with and slow down a project’s timeline. Rather than soliciting opinions from a crowd, try to limit decisions and approvals to a core group.
Content isn’t a top priority.
It can be tempting to pull content from your old site or throw something together quickly. Especially when you’re dealing with time or budget constraints. But a thoughtful content plan is just as important as a fresh design and snappy features. So resist the urge to sweep it aside.
Truth is, people come to websites for information about an organization and the services it offers. Sharp graphics and enhanced features are nice. But looks alone won’t give users what they’re looking for. And they’ll end up going elsewhere to find it.
The budget is too low.
Sure, you’ll save by going with a less-experienced agency, forgoing key recommended features or pulling over old content. But spending too little up front can cost you later. A low-budget redesign is less likely to bring in the ROI you were expecting. And you may have to spend more later to get the features you skimped on the first time around.
Investing up front means you’ll come away with a great site that supports your organization and meets your customers’ needs for years. If you and your agency are far apart on the budget, ask their advice on how to make the redesign more affordable—without sacrificing functionality.
