We are in the early stages of producing our new website. Many of you would know how long and complicated such a process can be, but it has to be done. To improve usability, to give the site a fresh look and to enhance our online services.
But some other benefits can come out of a website redesign and even though we are just at the beginning of our process, I have already discovered some:
- Everything on your website doesn’t have to have it’s own page – its amazing how many small bits and pieces I have been able to easily gather together on one page. This is better for managing the site and also is beneficial to the user who may come across something serendipitously whilst also finding exactly what they are looking for.
- You do still need some extra pages for some things. We have separated out our Jobs and Work Experience pages from the general library background information, because many people will actively seek this information.
- You can de-duplicate much easier. When looking at moving content to a new site, its amazing how much content you find is duplicated. So rather than duplicating content, we will just add links where needed, to get to that content.
- Serendipity can be your friend. Copying of an existing page led to a non-white background colour, which was not planned but which we think we will keep, because it works!
I am sure we will discover much more as we continue on this process. What wisdom or gems have you discovered in a website redesign project?