Website relaunch: How to make it work
Your website is outdated and you don't like it anymore? Do you feel like your business needs a change to grow? Then a website relaunch is exactly what you need. In this article we would like to show you why a relaunch is worthwhile, what precautions you need to take and what else there is to consider. This way, the relaunch of your company website is guaranteed to succeed! You need support with the website creation? Then feel free to contact us. We have years of expertise in e-commerce, web design and website creation.
Reading time 8 min
- What is a relaunch anyway? Here you can find out everything you need to know about relaunching your website.
- Why is a website relaunch worthwhile? We have five good reasons for you
- Requirements and functioning of a relaunch
- Checklist for the relaunch
- FAQ: Further questions and answers
What is a relaunch?
First of all, it would be good to know what a so-called relaunch is. The term comes from the English language and means "new start". In the entrepreneurial sense, it usually refers to the relaunch of a product or even a website or online store. Launch" means "start" and "re" stands for "new" or "again". So it's not about a completely new creation of a product, but about a renewed, improved and changed launch. For example, the product has been on the market for some time and now needs to be adapted to new developments and circumstances. Once this has been done, the product is relaunched with all additional functions and introduced to the market. In the same way, however, a website can also be outdated, for example in design or due to outdated information. Depending on how big the changes will be, a complete relaunch is worthwhile. Not only one or two things will be adjusted, but possibly the entire website will go into waiting mode for a certain period of time in order to be able to make all the changes. Why the relaunch is worthwhile and what you should consider, you will learn in the next steps.
5 reasons for your website relaunch
Why you should relaunch your website? Sometimes it's just time to bring a breath of fresh air into your company and its external presentation. We have five good reasons for you here, which are guaranteed to convince you to relaunch your website, if you are not yet sure whether the relaunch of your website is really necessary.
A new design
Maybe your website is old-fashioned and doesn't meet the new standards for a modern website. Or maybe your website just doesn't fit your corporate identity. No matter what the problem is, a new design can help you and your business be interesting to customers again. When redesigning the website, you can incorporate many aspects that you didn't think of when you first set up the company website, such as an intuitive user experience (link here to the appropriate post?) that will lead to your customers getting the information they are looking for.
Responsive Website
Depending on how old your website is and how long it's been around, it may not be suitably responsive to all devices. However, this is essential nowadays! Many internet users are not on a computer, but rather use their cell phone or tablet to access websites. Therefore, your business website should also be responsive. This means that it automatically adapts to the screen size of the device used. This way, your website users will have the best possible user experience with your website and will be able to absorb and recognize all the information and images. A website that is not responsive may have content that is completely shifted. This is unattractive to users and causes them to leave the website again.
New technology
Some websites are still based on old technologies such as Java or Flash. Other technological errors can also occur, which then affect the performance of your website. Not only the users notice this, but also Google, which is why you don't even appear in the search engine results. With your relaunch, you can iron out errors and finally update to the latest technology - for more visitors!
Easy maintenance
Your website structure is confusing? Content maintenance is complicated and just not intuitive? Then it's also time for a relaunch. After all, you don't want to spend your valuable working time on managing your website, but publish content quickly and remain accessible to your customers. With a new website, you can update and improve the structures behind the appearance in the browser. In this way, you make the work easier for you and your employees and ensure more efficiency in dealing with the website administration.
The perfect SEO optimization
Your website does not appear in the search results of search engines such as Google? Then a new website is definitely worth it! Most people who search for something on the Internet enter a search term (keyword) into a search engine. Usually Google is used. For example, if they are looking for a service that you offer, it would be best for you and your company if your website is also suggested for it. But this is not so easy in practice. A clever SEO strategy is needed so that your website with its appropriate subpages also appears in the first search results. If this is not yet the case, a website relaunch is the perfect opportunity to come up with a well thought-out SEO strategy and implement it directly.
The requirements for the relaunch of your website: How does the relaunch work?
In order to update your website and publish it in a new version, you need to take some precautions. You should also be aware that a relaunch is not something you can do overnight. Rather, it is a lengthy process, but it also depends on how much you want or need to change on your website. This in turn depends on the business site you already have. So in this paragraph we already answer the question "How does a website relaunch work?". Because which requirements are needed and how the relaunch is then finally completed, blurs together and becomes your big task.
Identify problems of your old website
The first step for a successful relaunch is to identify the problems of your old website. For this, you can also take a look at our reasons for a website relaunch. Based on these points, you will quickly find out what your website is missing and what else you should consider for your new website. We have written out a few points and questions that will help you to identify the problems of your company website, so that you can finally tackle the website relaunch project:
- Does your website rank in the Google search engine for relevant keywords?
- Does your website have a clear structure that is easily recognizable for users, so that they can find their way around and find the information they need right away?
- Can you manage your website in the background? Can you add new content or change content without much effort?
- Does your website load quickly?
- Is the design of your website appealing? Are the colors used consistent and does the website look modern?
- Does your website throw errors?
If you answered "no" to any of the questions, or maybe just one of the questions, these are the items you should put on the to-do list for your new website. In the next step, you will get other important information that you should also consider if you want to redesign your website.
Important tips for your relaunch that you should know beforehand
Now we want to give you a few tips to help you prepare for the relaunch. Some things you can only use in the process of the relaunch, but it is worth to have heard about them before. After our tips, it's time to get down to business: the website relaunch can begin. Our website relaunch checklist is also helpful here.
Set maintenance mode or a temporary website
For you and your business, it doesn't make sense to take your website completely offline. In the best case, you will still want to run your daily business despite the relaunch of your website and you want to remain accessible for all potential customers. For this reason, you should either leave your old website online (you can also indicate on the home page that the website is currently under reconstruction) or you create a page with only the most important information and your contact details. Here you should also indicate that all content is temporarily unavailable because your new website is under construction. These are your options if you are working on your new website in the background. However, if you just want to raise your new website, then you should also set a maintenance mode that will alert your users that the right website will be accessible in a few moments.
Turn the old structure into a new and better one
As a rule, you don't take over the old structure of your website for the new website. On the one hand, this is difficult to do, and on the other hand, you probably had a worse structure before, or maybe none at all. If you want to change the structure of your website with its subpages, you should first create a plan for it. What does the structure look like now and how do you need to change it to make it better for you and your users? Really draw the new structure on a paper to get a good overview. This way you can much better determine if the new structure makes sense.
If you want to keep your subpage the way it is and only make minor changes, then you should install 301 redirects for the corresponding subpages. So that you don't lose track of which subpages need redirects and what they should look like, you should add a redirect plan to your structure planning. You can do this, for example, by downloading the XML sitemap in an Excel file. In the file, you simply place the new URL after the existing URLs. If you equip the redirects with the status code 301, then this permanent redirection is also recognizable for Google. If you still have questions about how to implement this exactly, we are of course at your side. Just contact us.
Perform on-page optimizations to improve your website
Optimize your website in the course of the relaunch also with regard to the findability in the search engine. Because once you're in, this point will definitely pay off. Maybe the SEO optimization was the decisive point for the revision of your company website. No matter what the reason for the relaunch is, optimizing your website with regard to important SEO aspects is a must that you should not omit.
However, there is one problem: With the relaunch of your website you can lose already existing rankings. If your website has no well placed keywords so far, then this issue is not problematic for you. If you already have a few good rankings, you are of course taking a certain risk. But here too, there are tips and tricks on how you can reduce the risk and retain rankings - but more on that in our blog post. The most important on-page optimizations include checking whether all web pages have a meta description and a meta title and whether these also make sense, whether there are good and appropriate subheadings and all images also have alt tags. In addition, for your important pages that you want to be found in Google, you should check if all relevant keywords are placed and there is a call-to-action (CTA) that brings you closer to your goals.
Off-page optimizations for more search engine relevance
Likewise, you should look into off-page optimizations once you're in the process of improving your website. This way you can check if your old backlinks are still working, properly tagged (Do/No-follow), open in a new tab and so on.
Website relaunch checklist for a successful setup
Now we'd like to share with you a quick checklist that can help you get your website relaunched and live. Combined with the questions you should ask yourself at the beginning of this article, the checklist will give you suitable tools for the relaunch. We have already explained a few points above and briefly listed them again here for the sake of completeness.
1. answer the questions
First of all, you should answer the questions at the beginning of this article.
2. analyze your competition
Your competitors can give you inspiration. Take a look at their websites and find out what you like and what appeals to you. You can do this in a modified form for your own website. But of course don't copy it!
3. the goals of your relaunch
What do you want to achieve with your website relaunch? You may have already found this out by answering the questions. But now you should also look at why you want the changes. Is the goal to reach more customers? Then you should put a lot of work into search engine optimization. If you clearly define your goals, it will be much easier for you to figure out which aspects of the relaunch are your top priority.
4. build a good structure
The old structure is chaotic? Then put planning time into a new, clearer structure.
5. the target group
Who do you address with your company website? Define a clear target group to match the new design and the entire new website to the target group. What appeals to the target group and what doesn't appeal to them at all? This way, the new homepage and the corresponding subpages will be a complete success.
6. user friendliness
Closely related to this is user-friendliness. Does the target group find their way around and do they have a pleasant experience when visiting your website? Align the design based on usability aspects. This also includes the responsiveness of your website.
7. content planning
Is the content of the website already complete and covers all important details of your business? Or is important content still missing? Check and revise the content of your site when you approach the relaunch.
8. technical details
Is your website up to date and can your new concept be implemented technically? Make sure that the planned website works technically. Maybe you can call in an expert for technical details if you don't know what to do yourself. Your website should be dynamic and accessible at any time.
9. SEO
SEO optimization is an important aspect of your new website. Therefore, you should not skimp here and come up with a good SEO concept. Research appropriate keywords for your industry and make sure that there is appropriate content on your site. At the top of the article you will find more important SEO aspects.
Our conclusion
Sometimes, website relaunch is essential to kick-start your business growth and get one step closer to your goals. Even if it is a time-consuming and sometimes cost-intensive process, it will always be worth it. The prerequisite, however, is that you prepare yourself accordingly and approach the project with a certain seriousness. After all, a professional Internet presence is a must these days if you want to stand out from the competition. Beforehand, you should of course have checked whether your website needs a redesign. We have explained how to do this in our article. If your conclusion is: "Yes!", then this should now be your top priority. Should you need assistance with the entire website relaunch, we are available to you as experts. Just contact us for a first consultation and we will find the right website solution for you.
FAQ: Questions and answers
Last but not least, let's take a look at the questions that might arise during the relaunch of your company's website. If you have any other questions, we are of course also available to help you.
What does a relaunch cost?
How much budget you need for the relaunch of your company website depends on the arrangements you have to make and how your future website should look like. There is definitely no upper limit to the price. Nevertheless, it is also possible to launch a well-performing website that does not require such a high budget. Generally speaking, the price depends on the factors you want to change. Here are some of those factors:
- Integration of a CMS (content management system).
- The design
- Individual or special wishes regarding style and function
- Size and scope of the already existing website and to what extent it should be taken over
- Multilingualism of your website
- Responsiveness
- Integration of a registration area
Website relaunch: What needs to be considered?
Several aspects are important for a successful relaunch. You should consider these if you want to redesign your website:
- Analysis of the old website
- SEO optimizations
- Content analysis
- Check backlinks
- New structuring
- New design with a better user experience
- Error free functionality
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Hello, my name is Meike. I take care of the EXWE back office and am responsible for our social media channels. All of our articles are meant to make your life easier and help you make decisions. Nevertheless, it can happen that something remains unclear, so: If you have questions about this article you can easily reach me at +49 231 93149827.
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