If the main reason for a change is a long-term repositioning, then a long-term redesign programme may be required: revising the site at agreed milestones to gradually shift customer perceptions and/or services provided towards a strategic target. A shorter-term shift in strategy may demand a radical overhaul immediately to accelerate the process of repositioning in customers' minds.
Whatever the reasons for change, consider all aspects of a project before taking an evolutionary step or a revolutionary leap. In practice, it is rare to undertake a project where everything changes: only the most radical repositioning programmes demand complete changes to all aspects of a website, including architectural structure, visual language, and content. In most cases, even in substantial redesign projects, some areas remain the same, or are only slightly changed.
Revolution is tempting: it's sexy and exciting to introduce something completely new, and it's often the best way to get noticed if you're in the job responsible for making it happen. Evolution feels safer, less progressive, but in reality it may be the right step.
Either way, the starting point has to be an objective assessment of the current position: without it, any future developments, however radical, may simply build on the inadequacies of the previous generation. It is remarkable to see how many sites are redesigned only to retain the worst characteristics of their predecessors. They may look better subjectively, but the new coat of paint cannot cover up the fact that the doors don't open.
With a clear understanding of the real issues affecting today, plotting a future strategy becomes a practical, manageable process. This understanding is likely to be built from a range of sources, including brand ambition, existing customer experiences, target customer expectations, market standards and even technology platform. Not as exciting as simply plunging head-first into designing the future, but far more likely to succeed.
The task ahead may not be as daunting as it seems, even when it is clear that dramatic, even fundamental, change is required. It is rare to leave everything behind and the knowledge you have gained alone is worth ten times its weight in code.
Our final message is: be brave. Brave enough to rip it all up and start again, or brave enough to keep some of what you have and move it forward. Neither will be an easy decision, but one thing's for certain: standing still will get you nowhere.
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