Should You Redesign Your Blog?: 5 Signs It May Be the Right Time

Blog Redesign? You thought your blog was working fine. You were in love with the original colors. Man, that bright yellow text on a black background was eye-popping. Back in the 90′s, that is.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration.

But have you been wondering lately if your blog is pulling its weight? Bringing you leads, getting your readers interested in connecting with you on a deeper level?

Something is not quite right, but you can’t put your finger on it.

Your business focus might have changed. Or you are transitioning to a different kind of client. The copy may be stale and unappealing. Or you don’t feel like the real you is showing up.

5 Signs It May Be the Right Time for a Blog Redesign

1. You have changed the focus of your blog and/or your business.

Could be that you have added or deleted products or services. Or maybe you are laser-focused on a new kind of client. If your site doesn’t represent what you do anymore, it’s time for a change.

2. Your site traffic numbers have decreased.

Are people landing on your home page but not going any deeper? If Google Analytics or another traffic measurement service is showing a decrease in time on page or other viewer engagement stats, you may be due for a site fix.

3. Your content is stale.

If you are not getting many returning visitors, the culprit may be your content. Again, pay attention to your stats. If you provide fresh content (changing testimonials in and out, announcing workshops and other events, providing frequently updated content, etc.), your visitors will keep coming back. And that’s easier to do with a WordPress design.

4. You don’t have a unique online identity.

Your About Us page is normally one of the top two most viewed pages on your blog. That’s because your online visitors are craving to know who you really are. Because people like to do business with people, not robots. How many visitors are going to your bio page and how long are they staying?

5. Your blog is out of synch with your other marketing materials.

Your blog should be consistent in look and feel to your e-newsletter, your Facebook and Twitter pages, your business card, and your other offline marketing and sales materials. It should get an immediate reaction from your reader: “Oh, yeah, I know these guys.” Having a personal brand and keeping it consistent builds customer trust.

A blog redesign is all about giving some thought to what your visitor sees the instant they land, what you want them to do next and how you are going to get them to do it.

And it’s not as expensive as you think. If you need a fairly simple site without e-commerce and other complex components, WordPress is an easy solution. You’ll be able to create new content anytime, add widgets and plug-ins for more fun, and—best of all—not have to be at the mercy of your webmaster when you need changes.

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Jane | Problogging Success

I did a major re-design and re-branding of my blog when I changed focus from a trio-niche to a single niche. At the same time I occasionally do little tweaks by analyzing what works and what doesn't. For instance, by looking at Google in-site analytics, I know what areas people don't bother to pay attention to and I do something to improve it.

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Bob Dunn

That is a great point, I always encourage people to use Google Analytics. Love hearing how you are using it to improve your blog : )

Jonathon

As an affiliate marketer I've never really considered myself a blogger, however, I guess anyone with a website who posts regularly falls into that category. Like others I too have tested numerous free themes and never found one that I was completely happy with so now, on the advice of a more experienced marketer, have decided to go with paid Genesis/Studiopress themes to hopefully get the look I want.

Dean Saliba

I find that just giving your current design a spruce up is almost just as good and saves you a lot of money on a new design. :) I've had the same design for a couple of years now. :)

Yep, that's true, sometimes all it takes is some sprucing up. And as I said, if it's not broken... well... Glad to hear you have found a solid design that works for you!

Andrea Hypno

I forgot to say that I'm still using Suffusion for now. :)

Well, honestly Bob I think as an average I've changed themes and layout around once per month. More if you consider themes that lasted a couple of minutes as there were issues with plugins or other stuff. Now I'm pretty satisfied and I try to stick with the theme I'm using now. But I should have another look at the about page. Not that I've stopped searching for the perfect theme anyway. But given that it doesn't exist it's a neverending search. :)

Well, you aren't the first I have heard that has changed that often... can be tiring and time-consuming, huh? I actually believe when it comes to WordPress, one of the most important decision made is the theme. There are so many out there it's overwhelming. Some good ones, and a lot of crap as well : )

I do workshops just on themes and know what people go through. At least it sounds as if you found something that will work for awhile.

And yes, know Suffusion well, has a pretty good reputation for being a free theme. Myself, I prefer premium themes : )

Ryan | Strategies in Content Creation

When I think back over the last 3 years of my blog I've actually changed the general Theme 6 times... The my latest switch to Genesis and simple Black and White color design has been in place for the longest.

I can't stress enough from my own experience how important the appearance of your blog is. The way is looks (not just the quality of content) makes a huge difference.

Great article.

Ryan H.

You got me beat : )

Yes, appearance is important. I believe both the look, functionality and content of your blog go hand-in-hand. If you have great content, and a blog that looks crappy and is hard to navigate, well, you have just wasted your valuable content. And likewise, if you spend a lot of money and time on the look of your blog, if you content sucks, well, again, you have just wasted time and money.

ErgoOrgo

Thanks for the, as always, useful article Bob. I'm now near the end of month two of my blog and had planned on considering a redesign at perhaps month 6. What I take from your points though is that: if it ain't broke don't fix it. In other words, a redesign just to spice things up is likely not worth it. Have I understood you correctly?

It is probably too early to tell if my site design is as good as it can be, but it works, and it is not suffering in terms of visits going down, just visits being small so far. A redesign would be a big job for me, especially as my current style is simple and clean. So I think I may push it back to month 12 and then properly invest in a makeover (my current theme is a free one).

Yes, as the old adage goes, if it's not broken, well... can be partially true. But in reality, I find I am constantly working on my own site to improve or even spice it up a bit. And as far as "redesign" goes, that is a broad area. It can be as simple as changing the header and colors, to a total redesign, or even change of theme. You may find there are simple things you can do along the way, and when you are ready for more of a major overhaul, you will know it.

I have changed the total design of my site about 3 times in the last couple of years. The main reason, I had changed my focus. But also there was a point when I just wanted a new look, and with it came the realization that I could make it more functional as well.

I would go with the flow, maybe not set any particular timeline, because when it's ready, you will see the signs. : )

Bob -- thanks for the follow-up and the really useful information. I do keep looking at tweaking my site, updating my social media icons just yesterday. Point taken on not being too rigid about it -- my main reason for giving myself a target was to try and make sure I don't spend all my time tinkering with my site layout, as opposed to writing content and mingling with people / networking. I will no doubt be doing searches of many old posts by you and others when the big redesign does come to get some pro tips on how to do it right.