Fast Company: Why you should decouple your website platform from your website redesign

This article was written by Greg Kihlström for Fast Company. Read the full article here.

The website redesign: It is an all-consuming, oft-repeated, difficult-to-measure process that seems to be a requirement for any brand wanting to stay on top of their customer expectations and competitive pressures. But what if I told you that the “required” website redesign process is an out-of-date way of thinking? While it keeps plenty of web designers busy, it can be disruptive to business, be expensive, and is often less-than-optimal for the customer. 

I’m going to talk about why you should decouple the design and interface of your site from the platform that runs it by discussing three things to consider when redesigning your enterprise website.

1. IT’S BAD FOR THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Don’t you hate it when you can’t find what you’re looking for? What if you just saw it yesterday and many days before in one spot, and then today all of a sudden it is in a completely different place? This is what a website redesign is like for your customers, even if you are providing them with an enhanced design and new features. 

Remember that different isn’t necessarily better. As sick as you may be of your homepage, remember that customers often have a very pragmatic reason for using your website. They value functionality over aesthetics, and consistency over change for change’s sake.

Consider the impact a sudden change can have on that experience. In some cases, the improvement is so big that it will be regarded well, but if it is more a matter of the same things essentially being in different places, you might want to reconsider some of your choices. 

This article was written by Greg Kihlström for Fast Company. Read the full article here.