Redesigning a website is an important decision that every business owner has to make if they are unhappy with the design or features of their existing website or if they are not getting the desired results from their current website. At the same time, it’s a very critical step for every business to redesign their websites. If not done well, it can damage the existing flow of traffic to your website and can also affect your SEO rankings.
So, the question that begs our attention is “What’s the best way to redesign a website?” or “How to redesign a website efficiently?“.
In this blog post, we have shared 11 essential steps that you or your web developer should follow while redesigning the website.
Let’s dive in!
#1 Backup the existing website
The very first step involved in redesigning an existing website is to take its fully functional backup. This is just to ensure that you can restore your website just in case your new website doesn’t perform as expected or has some glitches that will take time to resolve.
#2 Create a new WP setup
To begin the actual website redesigning process, you will first have to set up a new WordPress site. This can be on a new server or the same server (as your existing website) but on a different path to make sure it doesn’t interfere with your current website.
#3 Set up the new theme
Once you set up a new WordPress website, you need to install the new theme that you want to use this time for your website. You can find hundreds of the best WordPress themes from a marketplace like ThemeForest.net.
All the themes on this website come with a detailed manual on how to install and activate your theme. If you are still not sure how to go about it, it’s good to hire a professional website builder to do this job for you.
#4 Install & import plugins data
Once you set up the new theme on your new WordPress site location, the next step then is to install all the important plugins that your existing website has. This is to make sure that your new website has the same functionalities as your current site.
Additionally, you will also need to import the required data from your existing plugins to the new website’s plugins so that all the information is available on your new website as well. This is important for a seamless migration.
Again, if you are unsure about how to do this, hire a WordPress developer in the UAE. This is perhaps one of the crucial steps involved in a website’s revamp process.
#5 Export data (from the old website)
The next step is to import all the content (texts & images) from your existing website to the new one. If you want to do it yourself, the process is simple. However, if you are not sure about how to do it, hire a website developer.
Below is the process to export the data first.
Go to WordPress dashboard > Tools > Export > Choose All Content and then click the “Download Export File” button. This step will download all the data from your existing website in the form of an XML file.
#6 Import data (to the new website)
Once you have downloaded/exported the data from your existing website, the next step then is to import them to the new website.
To import the data, you need to go to the WordPress dashboard > Tools > Import and then click the “Run Importer” link under the “WordPress” option. Here, you can upload the exported file that you downloaded from your existing website (as per step #5).
Recommended post: Website making process in Dubai or anywhere in the UAE
#7 Check & troubleshoot web page designs
When you migrate the data (pages, blogs, images, etc.) from your existing website to the new one, likely, some of the web pages may not show up nicely. This could be because of the new theme’s CSS codes or layout adjustments. Therefore, the next step for you is to check all the web pages of your site and fix them accordingly.
#8 Fix broken links
Run a test to find out the broken links on your new website so that it doesn’t affect the user experience and search engine score of your website. Many online tools can be used to find out the broken links on a website. One of these reliable tools is https://www.brokenlinkcheck.com/.
#9 Add trackers
The next step in your website’s redesign process is to add the necessary tracking codes. The codes may include Google Analytics code, Google Ads conversion codes, or Facebook Pixel codes. Make sure that your new website has all the trackers in place that your existing website has. This will ensure a seamless migration.
#10 Launch the website
After checking the designs of all the web pages, fixing broken links, and adding the necessary tracking codes, the final step is to launch your new website.
#11 Test again
As a rule of thumb, you must test your website again just to make sure that it looks good on all browsers and mobile devices.
Recommended post: How much is the website redesign cost in Dubai or anywhere in the UAE?
