If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

When it’s appropriate to embark on a company redesign, following the right process will take a good deal of time, a great deal of thought, and an even greater deal of work and stress before you’re done. If you prematurely redesign your site, and without the right process, it might be the last mistake you make in your job.

1. You’ve become “bored” with your site’s look

This is the most common, and most ill-advised reason to redesign a website. You look at your site every day, your customers do not. Your customers come to the site when they first find out about your company. If you sell products online, people come and purchase, and maybe come back for support. Almost without exception, you see your website more than any customer. It can be tough to see your site through fresh eyes, but when evaluating for a redesign, this is what you have to do. Remember, when customers see your website, it’s often the first and last time that they do so. Web-apps are a whole other situation, which I will explore in the future.

2. You saw something cool on k10k, FWA, 6 Revisions…

There is a lot of great art out there. Most of it doesn’t belong on your company’s website. Every item on a business’s webpage should have a reason for existing, a reason for being there. If you can’t think of one, rip it out. When customers come to your website, they have a specific goal in mind. Everything on a page should be in service of helping the customer accomplish that goal. People don’t come to your corporate website to see the latest in online art, or to see a nifty animation. They come to learn about your business.

3. Someone wants to sell you a new website

This might sound strange from someone who sells and produces websites for a living, but it’s true. If someone calls up trying to sell you a website, make sure that they can give you sound reasons why you actually need to redesign your website. In a later article, I’ll be giving you some questions to ask your agency.

4. Keeping up with the Jonses

Building a website has nothing to do with looking cooler than your competitors. You web marketing is your web marketing, not your competitors. You need to establish your unique selling position, not copying that of your competition. If your competition has a new website that does a better job of communicating with your common customers, then you need to redesign your site. if they’ve updated the look and feel of their website for no reason whatsoever, your customers won’t care, and you shouldn’t either.

5. You don’t get enough visitors

Redesigning your site won’t get you any more visitors. If you want to drive traffic to your site, you’ll need a campaign of search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing (SEM). Old fashioned marketing is also a great thing to do here. A coordinated messaging strategy will help you make the most of your advertising and marketing dollars.

6. Looking for a PR Opportunity

PR opportunities come in many shapes and forms, but should always tell a unique story. There are a thousand unique stories to tell about your business. If the only thing that you can think of is the redesign of your website, then you’re not thinking hard enough. It’s a fine excuse to write a release and send it out over the wire, but you should always be thinking of new and better ways to tell your unique story.

7. Your Chairman / CEO / VP / Receptionist says you need a new website

Any of these people might have a great reason to redesign your website. Just make sure that it isn’t one of the ones on this list.

8. You can’t afford it

This is the most important reason. Take a hard look at the costs associated with redesigning your site, the time commitment and the financial commitments. If you get halfway into the process before figuring out you don’t have the time to do your redesign properly, you’ll end up with a product that no one is happy with, including your customers. As time goes by, know that it might become a question not of “how can I afford it,” but how can I afford not to?

Disclaimer: I consult on web redesign projects for a living. Why not contact me for free consult on getting started with a web redesign project.