Website Refresh vs Redesign: When to Walk Away from Your Website

January 19, 2024

You know, freshening up your website is a lot like renovating a house. 

Sometimes, a fresh coat of paint is all you need, but other times, you’ve got to rip out a wall and burn all the furniture. 

We’ve all had those moments at the end of a long weekend with the kids cooped up inside, when we look around our house and think “it would honestly be easier to burn this thing down than to clean it.” 

Aaaand we end up cleaning it because somehow it seems more fun than going to jail for arson…

Arson and kid tornadoes aside, when it comes to your website sometimes starting over is the best option. 

But how do you KNOW which path to take?!?

In this article I’ll guide you through the decision making process so you know if you need to update, re-template or just start over fresh.

Website Refresh vs Redesign

Before we dig into which is right for you, let’s take a step back and talk through the parts of a website. Why? Well, because before you make the call on whether a refresh or redesign is in order, the four different parts of your site that the decision will influence.

4 Components of a site:

Bearing that in mind let’s get back to the original question…

Website Refresh VS Re-Template VS Redesign

Yup you read that right. We actually break website refreshes and redesigns into three options here at MayeCreate. 

Because sometimes that middle option “re-templating” can make a site that still looks good last even longer at a fraction of the cost.

1.When do you refresh or update what you have?

Cosmetic Changes 

Website refreshes or updates are like giving a room a fresh coat of paint or rearranging furniture. It’s about making subtle cosmetic changes while preserving the website’s overarching look and feel. For instance, adjusting colors, incorporating a new logo, or adding a new service page.

User Flow Improvements

Updates can also fix low level user flow issues. If your site isn’t pulling people through the pages efficiently you can easily update pages, adding a call out to a service on another service page or adding an email form. But user flow issues on a larger scale often need a rebuild to remedy.

All you need is a refresh or update if you want to:

• Adjust small cosmetic issues
• Swap out a logo 
• Add a page or new content to your site
• Improve a easy to fix user flow issues

Updating can also tackle technical challenges. 

Like a filter change for your website updates can tackle technical issues like:

Increase ADA Accessibility

There are a lot of things that you can do to make your website ADA compliant and allow people with disabilities to use your site easier without having to overhaul your whole site. However, it is way easier to start at the beginning. With ADA compliance, retrofitting is not as successful as rebuilding, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t boost ADA compliance with some updates.

Resolve easy loading issues

Website updates to improve load time may include things like compressing images or adding a caching plugin. Those two things alone can increase load time dramatically.  But…and this is a big BUT, your website has a lot of parts and all of them impact load time. Larger loading issues usually require a re-template with new modern code or a complete overhaul, rebuilding each page to fix.

Add New Functionality (to a new-ish website)

If you just built your site a year or two ago, you’re happy with how it looks and now you want to add online bill pay or a shopping cart, you don’t have to redesign the whole thing. You can just add on to what you have!  

Now, if your site is older or you’re not crazy about how it looks or functions, you’re going to want to redesign and rebuild the site in conjunction with adding the new functionality. It’ll save you money to do it all at once because you’re not re-styling the new features twice. Plus, if your site is too old the new features may not be compatible.

Update Outdated Plugins

Replacing outdated plugins can improve functionality, boost accessibility, improve load time and make your site more secure. Unless the plugin you’re replacing is the cornerstone of your site (like a membership portal or online store) these are usually considered site updates.

2. When do you need to re-template?

So lets say your design is aging well. It still feels modern and up to par with your competition, but it’s loading slow, using outdated code, or you want to meet a high level of ADA compliance…that’s when you re-template.

With a re-template, essentially, the basic look of your site and most of the design components stay the same but the code holding the site together is refreshed. It’s not free but it’s certainly not as expensive as rebuilding the whole site either. So it offers a good middle ground to extend the life of your site. 

What IS a template anyway?

A template or a WordPress Theme is a set of files that determine the overall appearance and functionality of a website. It encompasses the design elements, stylesheets, and template files necessary to define how the content is displayed.

Why does a template need to be updated if it’s still going to look the same?

Good looks aren’t everything. Your site is a marriage for form AND function.

An old website is like an old computer. Even if it still looks OK, it loads slowly, has increased security issues, less functionality and convenience of a modern machine. These factors impact everything from where you rank on Google to how long visitors stay on your site. 

Common reasons to re-template a site include:

• You like the design but your code is outdated
• Solve big ADA Compliance issues
• Solve big load issues
• Allow your site to accept new functionality and features
• Lower security vulnerabilities

3.When do you rebuild?

When there’s a wall in the way, a huge leak, or you just outgrew the darn thing.

You want a total transformation.

Website rebuilds are often prompted by significant business changes. You need to align the digital face of a business with its evolving identity.

Maybe your business needs (or is in the process of getting) a makeover.  You have new management, new services, or just a fresh aura. Suddenly, you look at your website and go, “Whoa, this isn’t us anymore!” 

Maybe your old site used to make you proud to show it off, but now it’s like a ghost of  the old you. 

You need a total revamp to say, “Hey world, we’re modern, we’re with it!” 

Your site looks and feels like it fell out of the 90’s.

And not in a cool way.

Think about your website as your business’s online storefront. If it’s rocking an uncool ’90s getup while your competition is sleek and modern, it’s like a neon sign screaming “This business is stuck in the past!”

But even if your competition’s websites are crap-o-la that doesn’t give you permission to blindly follow suit. You want your website to be memorable in a GOOD way. People should remember you. So when they’re ready to make that buying decision you’re on this short list.

Low engagement metrics, and dropping traffic.

Low engagement means people aren’t staying on your site.

Bottom line…people need to stay on your site long enough to learn about your business if you want them to convert into customers. If people are just not engaging with your content, overall, then there’s likely something wrong with both the design AND the code. Honestly, it could be anywhere and everywhere. 

You might not share the right information, it could be loading slowly or maybe it just isn’t displayed in a way that makes people want to look at it. Low site engagement is usually a sign you need to go back to the drawing board…and by drawing board I mean a total rebuild.

Outdated sites often result in lower traffic.

To point out the obvious…less people on your site means you have less opportunities to sell your products to people. If you see your traffic dipping, it’s probably a result of your search engine rankings dropping, rebuilding your website and paying careful attention to SEO can usually perk traffic right back up. 

We often see an uptick in traffic that steadily maintains after a site is rebuilt. Even without SEO efforts, Google prefers a fast loading site with modern code. Visitors prefer easy to use modern designs. And the balance between the two sends signals to Google that your website is quality resulting in it being served in searches more often. 

Common reasons for a website rebuild: 

• The system your site is built on can’t do what you want it to do
• Rebranding or Business changes
• If you want to change the look AND your site is old
  • When you look like you fell out of the 90’s and your competition is on fleek
  • Outdated look and content overall
• Low engagement overall
• Drop in search engine rankings
• Traffic dropping

So what’s the verdict? 

A website refresh or redesign? Maybe just a template?

The decision to refresh, re-template, or rebuild depends on all kinds of factors, from cosmetic changes to addressing deeper structural issues. And it’s not all about cost. The decision to invest in a rebuild is more than just aesthetics – it’s about creating a more functional, engaging, and enduring online presence to help you grow your business. 

So, whether it’s a subtle update or a complete redesign, the goal is to ensure your website not only looks good but pulls its own weight, like a functioning member of your team!
If you need a refresh, re-template or rebuild and you use WordPress give us a shout! We can look at the project, advise on the best path and get you an estimate to work with our team.