A Website Redesign!

Bringing an old website up to date

Redesigns are very popular enquiries these days and not surprisingly. We built our first site back in 1997 and if it was still about today it would very much need a redesign!

The changes and improvements in internet delivery have been huge over the last few years. Broadband, Fibre optic, Smartphone and Tablet technology, have changed our lives without question. Websites today are fast, device responsive, interactive and user friendly like never before. Allowing users to share and comment is now common place. What are the most important considerations for your new site?


Want some help?Call; 01794 521 516

Redesign Considerations

The speed of the internet with broadband connection and fibre optics is ‘normal’ today. Dial-up connection speeds are almost a thing of the past. Data speeds allowing for music and movies are common place and load in reasonable time, if not very quickly!

One shouldn’t be complacent though, the speed with which your web pages download is monitored by Google and affects your search result placement. The leaner and faster your site, the better. We'll optomise your imagery for high quality and small file size, and that's just for starters!

The most significant change in the online world is the mobile web browser. Tablets and smartphones come in all sorts of sizes and it’s important for most businesses to look good across all the devices their customers might be using.

Google have stipulated their preferred design method for mobile sites, they prefer device responsive sites. From the user point of view a responsive site will more than likely provide a better experience across devices. From a technical point of view they seem to be signalling that they prefer a single domain rather than multiple domains for different devices.

We recommend device responsive sites because more and more of your customers will be looking for you on their Smartphone, make it easy for them to find you and with a tap of their finger on the screen to call you! Simple really.

Then there’s fashion! We built our first site back in 1997, eighteen years ago. Back then a 17 year old might not have been a customer, but 17 years later at the age of 35 they might very well be, and they’ll have left behind them the tastes and styles of 1997.

They feel comfortable in the modern world with modern design and uncomfortable with outdated technology. They will expect a businesses website to perform well and look good. Does your site need to look more up to date? Thankfully we have redesigned our site several times and you’re looking at the most recent right now.

Ape Red Media have done many redesigns and when redesigning a website we always research the site to be redesigned thoroughly. The content may well be out of date and the impression the design gives may be out of fashion but there might also be some good stuff that shouldn’t be lost. The good stuff might include;

  1. Domain History
  2. Domain Authority
  3. Page Authority
  4. Average Page Traffic
  5. Low Bounce Rates

Redesigning should always capitalise on existing strengths and historical value and improve the ease of use. It would be foolish to delete an old page address that has good history and replace it with a new address that has to start from scratch! We will always try to use existing addresses or redirect from them to avoid loosing any built up strengths.

If a business has had a website for a while and it’s looking a bit tired, in need of updating and maybe including new information, new services, Facebook and Twitter accounts etc, a redesign will solve those issues, but don’t just switch the old one off! Looking good is only a fracction of the task!

The five steps to successful redesign
  1. Benchmarking & Research- review the analytics or set up analytics on the site to be redesigned - Identify historical strengths & weaknesses
  2. Redesign - Create sketches for the redesign incorporating improvements on the old
  3. Incorporate - Bring in to play exiting or establish relevant Social Media platforms and commenting
  4. Architecture - Plan out the site architecture maintaining web addresses with historical strengths and redirecting where neccessary.
  5. Refresh content and re-establish page titles, headings and sub headings

If you are looking for a fresh new feel to your site and want a ‘Responsible Redesign’, Ape Red Media can help you.

Redesign help?Call; 01794 521 516

Before & After ETA before and after

Redesign of a 50 page fixed size old website to a Modern Responsive Website

A redesign project from 2013-2014
Before & After ETA before and after

Redesign of the original fixed size website to a Responsive Website

A redesign project from 2013-2014

What is the next step ?

You may have decided to have a website redesign because your existing site really does look old, or maybe doesn’t work properly in modern browsers. You might be pretty much up to date but need a responsive site to keep up with your competition. You’re in the right place!

The next step might be to complete 'the brief Brief' or the more detailed design brief and submit it for a quote, or maybe you'd prefer a chat first! We don't have sales men eager to persuade, we'll simply listen to your thoughts and give you ours free of charge or obligation on 01794 521 516 tap the number to dial if you're using a smartphone.

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