Presented by: Mike Freeman

What not to do when redesigning your websiteDos and don’ts from a UX designer

2

Have you ever been part of a web redesign?How did it go?

3

Here’s how I’ve always thought projects start.

It’s been 3 years, we need to do a web refresh.

Great idea! We only have budget for a refresh. We can’t get caught up doing all that documentation like last time.

We’ll need a representative fromIT, Marketing, Sales, Finance, HR, Product.

Oh and I saw this really great feature on our competitor'ssite we need to make sure that makes it in.

Very true. We need to make sure this one doesn’t have all the bugs like last time.

An RFP should help us find the right company. We need to get a web committee together to make sure this meets all our needs.

Cheers, Haza! We are so great. This will be the best site ever.

4

How well do you think that will go?

5

The following are dos and don’ts I’ve compiled over the years.

6

Pick 2

7

Time, cost, scope,and quality.Don’t expect to get everything you ask for in the RFP on time, on budget and with the quality you expect.

Do use the levers of time, cost and scope to get the most out of your project.

8

Starting before you know whyDon’t start without knowing why you are rebuilding.

Do stop and ask yourself what is the business need? What has changed that makes a redesign a necessity.

9

Choosing a CMS

Don’t choose a CMS before you know what the site needs to do.

Do choose a CMS because it fits your needs.

10

It’s a process

Don’t forget that this is a process that involves multiple phases. You can’t skip a phase to save money and expect equal results.

Do adjust the effort in each phase to suite your needs.

11

Choose the lowest bidderDon’t expect quality for a discount.

Do make your decision based on who can provide the best product.

Even if they can’t give you the full wish list, what you get will work.

12

Split the contract

Don’t expect agencies to communicate if you aren’t leading the conversation.

Do increase the budget for collaboration between vendors. It’s worth every penny.

13

14

Testing at the end

Don’t test at the end.

Do test and UAT as often as possible.

The more times you’ve been through it the better it will be.

15

Approving design

Don’t approve a picture.

Do bend over backwards to understand how it will work. What it looks like is fun. How it works will make or break the project.

16

Content

Don’t treat content as an after thought. The content is what brings the people.

Do expect to rewrite everything.

17

Deploy

18

Deployment

Don’t expect everything to be done auto-magically.

Do create a simple deploy process and improve it over time.

19

Release date

Don’t be stuck to your release date if the site isn’t ready.

Do stop and regroup. Take the time to figure out what is done, what can be done before the date and how much time you need to get an MVP.

20

You are not the user.

You are not the user.

You are not the user.

You are not the user.

21

You are not the user

Don’t mistake your feelings for the way a user would think.

Do test ideas on real people.

22

Consider mobile

Don’t get stuck on making your site work on a specific device type.

Do make sure it scales for the range of screen sizes and is optimized for the device your users are using to visit.

23

It’s never done

Don’t ever say you are done. You can always make it better.