When is the right time to consider a website redesign? There is no defined time for it. As your business’s main marketing and PR tool in the online realm, the website must have special vibes to help you convert those visitors into prospects.

It is known that trends come and go, some appeal more to users than others. To keep your competitive allure high it is advised to implement the trends that identify with your business mission.

Does your website deliver results? Is it responsive? Is the information on your site up-to-date? Does the website have an attractive look?

If the answer to these questions is no you might start considering a redesigning of the website. However, don’t just jump into the task. Website redesign is a big project and it needs thorough planning to achieve the expected success.

Website redesign plan

Start the website redesign project by developing a detailed and clear plan that will help you identify the aspects that must be addressed. This plan will allow you to keep track of the project’s progress and costs.

To better understand what it needs to be redesigned and to be able to answer to the visitors’ expectations, here are the major steps that must be included in the website redesign plan.

• Collect feedback from visitors. Your business website was designed and developed to acquire new customers. All visitors come to the site with a purpose: to find the information they need and to get answers to their questions.

As people that have no direct relation to the website, visitors’ insight is valuable and can contribute to designing a user-friendly experience. They can point to the website features that get them confused and reduce usability.

• Collect feedback from professionals. Visitors’ insight is valuable, but professionals that are familiar with the web design industry and techniques are those who can identify major flaws. They can offer you recommendations and solutions that will respond to your website’s needs.

Although visitors are good at pointing out problems, trained professionals can provide solutions for navigation, layout, white space and other website elements. Once you have feedback from your site’s visitors and professionals, you can compile a list of recommendations and tasks that need to be treated and handled.

• Draft a specification document. Include all recommendations in the specification document, providing detailed description for each task. Based on the description of each task, you can start working on implementing the website redesign plan. This document will serve as an action plan, with phases and tasks to be completed within defined time frames.

Once a project plan is in place, you can start working on the redesign of the website.

Reasons to consider website redesign

If you have the feeling that the site does not perform as it used to, consider giving it a makeover. Redesign doesn’t mean changing every single element of the site. It means that you change its functionality and give it a new look and feel that adheres to current web design trends.  While you may not consider a must for you now, here are 5 reasons you should put your redesign plan in action.

#1 Your website design looks out of date and obsolete

A Standford study about web credibility shows that 75% of users form an opinion about a business credibility based on its website look. It is also known that technology changes faster than we can keep up. Therefore, if you built your website 5 years ago, you should consider a redesign.

The website is the first impression that the business makes on potential customers and partners. If you want to retain customers and to gain new ones, a facelift might be just exactly what your site needs, because appearance matters.

Read this: How Long it Takes to Build a Website.

#2 Your website is not mobile-friendly

Gone are the days when we were surfing the internet from our desktops only. Nowadays there is a wide range of mobile devices, such as tablets, smartphones and laptops that allow us to go online whenever we want, regardless of the place we are. According to statistics more than 17% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices.

Therefore, if you want to reach a larger audience that is represented by mobile users, turning your website into a mobile-friendly tool is a must. Responsive websites easily adapt to all device sizes, enhance SEO and ensure a user-friendly navigation experience.

#3 Your website does not incorporate social media

Back in the days we used to hang out with our friends in the courtyard or on a stadium. Now, all we need is to turn our computer on, go on a social networking site and message, tweet or write something on our social site wall. Social networking sites are a big deal, housing a large community of people who spend their free time there.

Their most common activity is sharing. If your content is interesting for them they will share it. To make it easier, you need to incorporate social sharing tools on your site. Also, if you want to connect with other users, add links to your social media accounts.

#4 Your website lacks SEO strategy

Search engine optimization is a key component in getting Google ranked and boosting visibility. Don’t underestimate the power of SEO when it comes to website performance. A well-thought and correctly implemented online marketing strategy can get you on top page of search results, which means that there is a higher likelihood of people to go to your website. More clicks – more potential customers.

#5 Your website requires new features

Adding new features to the site will increase user engagement. A blog, with fresh content published regularly, sign in options to allow users to leave comments, readable typography and other elements will make your users interested in staying more on your website and exploring it.

Read What Makes a Good Web Design: 8 Essential Elements which will give you a deeper insight into the features you should consider incorporating when redesigning your current website to make it more successful.

The flowchart below summarizes the information we presented in our blog post.

Conclusion

Redesigning your website is a great choice when done right. To help you reach the success you expect plan ahead every step, research a lot and hire a professional web design agency that will advise you on the matters that need to be cared of. Think of website redesign as an investment in generating incredible ROI.

The post Top 5 Reasons to Redesign your Website Now appeared first on DesArt Lab.

In the fashion industry, where competition leaves no room for mistakes, having the best fashion website design is the key to booking a front-row place in this market.

Websites are the means that help businesses penetrate their niche of activity in a more or less intriguing manner, raising consumers’ interest in their brands, but not giving away all their secrets.

You don’t need to be a fashion follower to appreciate all its creativity. Fashion helps us express our inner world through clothes, shoes, and other accessories. Fashion, in its turn, needs a good representation of what it can offer to its trend followers to get closer to their hearts. And this is where beauty and fashion website design, landing page design for various campaigns step in.

What creative solutions do fashion websites implement today?

Impressive imagery, unique style, and elegant color scheme are features employed by web design agencies to create the best fashion website design. Here are the criteria according to which the user can judge about the website’s appearance:

#1 Homepage design – it must capture visitors’ attention from the moment they click on it. First impression matters and fashion websites must have a very powerful one on the users. Fashion home page design must be visually appealing, and technically simple. When saying visually appealing, we refer to making use of attractive design elements, while technically simple refers to the website’s functionality and the way the users interact with it.

Wrangler’s website ensures easy navigation and clutter-free experience for all visitors.

#2 Overall design elements – here we refer to icons, buttons, images, typography, and navigation. All these elements must be in perfect synergy with the fashion brand’s identity and value. Even the call-to-action button must look following the brand’s appeal and invite customers to perform a certain action, without feeling forced to.

#3 Unique design style – although web design trends are common for all websites, regardless of the niche or business they are created for, beauty and fashion website design must be unique, focusing on communicating its mission.

Versace website uses black and white colors, a trendy approach to making the website look chic.

#4 Product page – this section is where all the brand’s products are put on online display for the consumer to browse through in a user-friendly and easy way. The product page that is intuitive and follows the consumer’s habits of navigation will be using bold photos and simple product description fields. Filter option is largely used on fashion product sites, enabling customers to choose the product category they want to say and saving their time from navigating across 5-6 pages to get to the desired product.

#5 Awesome visuals – these types of websites are more visually than textually enhanced. Using professional, high-resolution photos, elegant and stylishly shot videos, and a chic color palette is a web design trend that hit the right note.

Tom Ford fashion website makes use of full screen image to focus on the brand’s style for men.

Read also What Makes a Good Web Design: 8 Essential Elements to know what to focus on when designing a high-quality web presence.

What web design solutions can a web designer offer to fashion business?

A professional web designer, who has made his thorough research and analyzed competition, will offer design solutions that will contribute to your fashion business stepping big into the market. The fashion business is based on visuals and the ability to catch the attention of customers with tools that emphasize on the brand’s uniqueness.

#1 Custom-tailored design solutions. There are a lot of free of charge, but well-designed WordPress themes that can be used for fashion websites. However, if you want to make yourself seen in this sassy environment you must step in with a neat and tasteful look that responds to your targeted audience’s needs. Take into account the profile of your target audience, design elements that target their navigation habits and design expectations. Provide them with a unique experience of going through and shopping on your website in a user-friendly manner.

#2 Fashion blog. Blogs are a means of communication with the audience, letting them know about latest news and fashion trends in the fashion industry. The blog helps a fashion business promote their own fashion view, share their fashion ideas and engage the audience. In recent years fashion blogs and blogging have been very searched for by the fashion community. Also, fashion blogging efforts can help your brand boost your business to the expected high level. A blog can win you over big and small players in the fashion industry.

Here’s what statistics say:

> 77% of users with Internet access read blogs.
> Blogs help small businesses get 126% more leads.
> 82% of Internet users read regularly relevant content from brands.
> 434% of websites with blogs get more pages indexed by Google.

#3 Online fashion store. Fashion is the industry that attracts more and more consumers every day. According to statistics, the online luxury fashion sales are expected to grow from 3% to 17% by 2018. And with the comfort that online shopping gives to people in general, it is no secret that setting up an online shop or e-commerce website for your fashion brand is a good method in getting those selling rates high.

Online selling solutions are a good opportunity to get yourself closer to your audience, showing that you think about their shopping experience and want to make your products available at one click’s distance only.

#4 Image and video gallery. The thing that the images and videos are so popular among fashion followers is that people digest visual content easier. They love to discover new fashion inspirations and posting high-quality images and short videos throughout the website will only make them stay longer exploring everything your brand has in store for them.

#5 Responsive website. This is no longer a secret that responsive web design is a must have for every business. Not to mention that fashion followers’ expectation from their brands is much higher than from any other industry. Responsive web design is especially needed in the era of smartphones and tablets. Adaptation to different screen sizes is the key to keeping your audience connected and to expanding it.

Facts don’t lie.

#6 Mobile applications. Mobile applications are another tool that makes fashion brands come closer to their target audience, and not only. Applications make it easier for fashion consumers to access content. It is also an effective marketing tool, making it easier for the brand to be discovered through applications stores, such as iTunes and Google Play, where potential brand followers are looking for new apps.

Read How to Design Mobile Apps that are Engaging and Appealing and see what it takes to make your app likable and downloadable.

Closing statement about creating the best fashion website design

If you want to make an impression with your fashion web design, implement these tips. Build your fashion brand an online presence that will generate conversion and sales. Make your brand likable by the fashion community and enter its world with impressive and interactive web features. After all, your business’ website has a mission to accomplish – to win over customers’ trust and make them loyal to your brand.

The post Best Fashion Website Design Solutions to Make a Statement appeared first on DesArt Lab.

Are you dreaming of dipping your feet in hot, golden sand? Or do you see yourself on the top of a mountain, breathing in fresh air? It sounds relaxing, isn’t it? But not for the travel websites, who must compete for a place in the sun. Given the popularity of booking sites, travel agencies must work harder and put an Internet marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) plan in place that will help to gain new customers.

SEO for travel agencies is closely linked to search engines like Google. Even though you have promising deals, it is crucial for you to appear at the top of search engine results. And only an SEO strategy can make that happen.

According to the infographic below, which presents 10 tips about how to make your travel page’s web presence more attractive and efficient, winning over searchers,  65% of users turn to the web to search for travel destinations for their vacations.

SEO practices for travel agencies

Search engine optimization for travel agencies is a continuous battle. You will find that the strategy that worked for your website the last year is no longer in line with the requirements of the online for the current year. Although a difficult task, SEO is in the service to your online presence.

Here are some of the best SEO practices for travel agencies that will help your travel agency reach more customers.

Practice # 1. Keywords

What words and expressions do people use to search for vacation deals? What vacation destinations are popular this season and are you the agency that can help people get there? Research keywords on a regular basis and incorporate them into your unique copy. As a tip, use frequently used keywords by searchers in the headline and produce valuable content. This approach will help you rank higher in the search engine results.

Practice # 2. Optimize for mobile and desktops

It is true that people use search engines to look for travel destinations, accommodations, and other travel related information. Online travel research holds a big share in what concerns searching for and planning a vacation. With the boom of mobile devices, the share of travel-related mobile searches increased by 50% in the past year only.

People usually use their mobile phones to browse and search for ideas while in a queue or when they have a spare moment. And the time when vacation bookings will happen on mobile is not that far.

Use Mobile-Friendly Test by Google to check if a website is or not optimized for mobile.

Read Best Fashion Website Design Solutions to Make a Statement

Therefore, how do travel agencies optimize for mobile and desktop?

First, create a mobile-friendly website. Users get frustrating when their experience is hindered by a website that is not optimized for the mobile screen. If you are not giving a deeper thought to making your mobile users experience the entire potential of your travel website, they might turn to your competition that is much more aware of the capabilities an easy-to-navigate site provides.

Second, optimize for local searches. People tend to give preference to travel agencies that are located near their place of residence, thus saving time to get to the business’s office. If you don’t optimize for local keywords, you might be missing out on a large share of users.

To make sure that your travel website will show up in search engine results try incorporating geographic terms or phrases including “near me” into the content.

Practice # 3. Create landing pages that convert

All travel bookings still take place from desktops. Therefore, creating effective landing pages is a crucial element to making your business to thrive. Your landing page must convey a difficult-to-refuse offer, with compelling headlines and bold call-to-action button that will instigate users to perform the action and convert into customers. Avoid cluttered landing pages, insert only the information that clearly communicate your business value. And make sure that the layout is easy to navigate.

Read our insightful blog post on 7 Landing Page Conversion Best Practices

Practice # 4. Build trustful links

People trust unbiased information and a link to a well-trusted travel advice website is a huge advantage. Such sites are TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet. Many travel websites use it as a marketing tool to increase users’ trust.

Practice # 5. Social media and travel SEO

An active social media interaction and engagement can rank your travel website higher in search engine results as well. This means getting more likes, shares, tweets and pins from every post. Social media websites are used by potential vacationers as inspiration for their future destinations.

Moreover, people often post their vacation photos and short videos on Facebook or Twitter. Engaging people on such networking sites means interacting through comments and shares. Make full use of the social media sites where your travel website has already an active audience.

Here is an infographic that explains how social media can impact travel website engagement and success rates.

Have dreams, will travel…

Use travel website SEO strategy wisely to get discovered by vacationers and increase your visibility across the online environment. Plan carefully at every step, research for powerful keywords, write attractive, inspiring, and unique copy, and design a website that will catch visitors’ eye. And last, but not the least don’t forget to optimize for all screen sizes.

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