Focus on Function in Website Redesign

The marketing software company HubSpot recently released a free PDF that includes a 10-Step Checklist For Your Next Website Redesign. We see a lot of these sorts of materials floating online, and most of them are fairly generic and redundant, but this one is well crafted and packed with good information.

We’d recommend downloading it to get the full perspective, but here’s a quick look at the 10 steps presented by HubSpot:

1. Benchmark your current metrics.
2. Determine your goals.
3. Avoid pitfalls. Inventory your assets.
4. Analyze the competition.
5. Identify your unique value proposition.
6. Design your site around personas.
7. Optimize your site for search.
8. Identify calls to action.
9. Create an ongoing content strategy.
10. Don’t forget the extras!

Many of these important procedures get overlooked in corporate website overhauls, which is a shame because they’re all extremely important. Notice that you don’t see “Make it look pretty” listed above; that should go without saying. A business needs to focus first and foremost on building its website around usability, content strategy and lead generation.

That’s how you keep people coming back to your home page, and that’s how you turn it into a powerful marketing tool.