15 Most Ridiculous Reasons to Redesign Your Site

Redesigning a website is an expensive and laborious undertaking. Yet, for some reason, people find the most ridiculous excuses to do it, spending lots of time and money in the process. Read these twelve “ridiculous reasons” to see if you’re approaching your website redesign with faulty rationale.

The cost of a site redesign varies widely and can fall anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands. However, what you can’t always measure is time lost that could be spent on marketing, courting leads and keeping current customers satisfied. While the design of your website is important, it isn’t the only aspect of business, and you must balance web design with other factors that are equally important.

Although there are a lot of reasons that don’t quite pass muster when it comes to a redesign, these fifteen “ridiculous reasons” signal you’re potentially approaching your website redesign with faulty rationale.

1. Copying your competition’s design

When you see your competitor’s site has undergone an impressive redesign, you may be tempted to copy the new format and features. If they have it on their site, you should have it on yours too, right? Wrong.

Take note of what your competition is doing successfully, but don’t opt for an expensive redesign to make your website just like theirs. You’ll find that some features simply aren’t necessary and don’t make a significant difference in the conversion rates for your site.

2. Mimicking the big players

People drool over the highly developed format of Apple’s website. Does that mean you should redesign your site to look like Apple’s? No, it does not. What’s working for Apple may not work for you and, what’s more, incorporating your own functional creativity will make your website more unique. Unique is memorable, and memorable is good.

3. Looking for attention

When you want fellow members of the market and your customers to talk about your company, redesigning is not the answer. There are other ways to get people talking about your website. Add new features. Publish an intriguing blog post. Engage visitors in other ways; you can do this without a radical redesign.

Research shows that small businesses with blogs get around 126 more leads than those without blogs. Engage visitors in other ways — you can do this without a radical redesign.

4. Curing boredom

So you look at your own website 100+ times each day. That can get old fast. But if you’re thinking of redesigning to appease your own boredom, you are making a mistake. First, no one (probably) sees your site as many times as you do. They will not tire of it so quickly. In fact, people may just be getting used to navigating your site in its current format. Second, a redesign from nowhere may confuse your audience. Don’t do it. Instead, consider refreshing your website by making small changes.

5. Fixing miniscule imperfections

Do you see that little pixilated piece in the corner of your website? No one else does. You are probably the only one who notices those tiny imperfections on your website, so don’t become fixated on them. Redesigning is a drastic route to fix something so small. If the imperfections truly drive you crazy, take note of them and fix them during the next necessary redesign.

6. Impressing your audience

Think you audience is getting bored with your website? Instead of redesigning, how about attempting to produce more interesting content? Your audience will respond to gripping publications and intriguing posts, stuff that is relevant to their lives. Creating a new format may make them nod in approval, but good content will keep them coming back for more.

7. Pleasing your boss

If your boss is up your butt about a redesign, consider how much she knows about website design and functionality. Yes, she may be the boss. But no, she may not know the most about this area of the company. If the only force pushing a redesign is your boss, you may need to have a conversation with him or her about it. Explain why a redesign may not be the solution to your company’s problem.

8. Making your site “pop”

Spinning, scrolling and sliding features are cool on a website. But are all those extras necessary or fitting for your website? Sometimes simplicity is best. Don’t opt to redesign for the sole purpose of adding more “cool stuff” to your website. Unless you’re referring to content (not website features) keep the “cool stuff” at bay. Don’t let it drive a redesign.

All those features may not translate well on mobile devices, either. Approximately 63.4 percent of the world uses smartphones to access the internet at least part of the time. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly because of sliders or scripts, you risk missing out on that traffic.

9. Just to feel productive

Do you just want to do something? If you’re personally bored, perhaps you should go for a stroll or volunteer somewhere. Spending time on a useless redesign is no way to pass time – it can ultimately turn customers away or become a bigger, more expensive project than you anticipated.

10. To add a little something

Want to add more comments sections? More product information? Making such alterations to your site does not require a redesign. Minor alterations like these can be done through means other than an entire redesign. Consider approaching these website concerns with the words “refresh” and “add” in your mind, not “redesign.”

11. To fix a bounce rate

Your competition totally changed their website. Now it’s time for you to do the same, right? No. Your website is your website and their website is their website. You do not need to waste your efforts trying to one-up the competition through your website format. Provide better content, better products and better customer service. There are aspects more important than a website when it comes to competition.

12. Just to say you did

If you just want to say, “Hey, I redesigned my website!” then you may be in trouble. Why do you feel driven to brag about such a thing? Think of the status of your website first and foremost. Does it need to be redone? If not, and you’re driven solely by selfish and pointless forces, don’t redesign.

13. Because you haven’t updated in a while

If some time has passed since you last redesigned your site, you might wonder if it has grown dated. Don’t just assume your site needs refreshed. It may serve your purposes just fine and you can save the money you would have spent on a redesign on something else, such as some additional online marketing efforts.

14. For a special occasion

Sure, there are sites that completely change their look for the holidays. Not only does this take up time and money but you use the design for such a short period that it hardly seems to make sense to design for a single occasion or two. Instead, look at adding some details to your logo or a banner to the top of your page wishing people Merry Christmas or whatever occasion you’re marking. A holiday is hardly a reason for a full design.

15. To gain more traffic

Perhaps the traffic to your site has fallen off and you think a complete redesign might make the difference. Think about this for a minute, though. People have to come to your site before they see your site, so is the design really the problem here or does your focus need to be more on marketing tactics and SEO? A redesign won’t increase the traffic you have.

These are some of the most ridiculous, yet not uncommon, reasons that drive people to redesign their websites. That’s not to say redesigns are never warranted, sometimes they are. What do you think constitutes a good reason for a redesign? Have you ever witnessed a redesign happen for a ridiculous reason? Leave a comment below!