What is a relaunch?
In general, a relaunch is a kind of "new start". A relaunch is not only used for the "reintroduction" of a website, but also for products in the classic sense, for example. The relaunch is intended to improve functions, optimize the design, expand and refine the content so that the product can be launched on the market in a new, improved form. A relaunch can also describe, for example, the revision of a company's brand image. Corporate design and corporate identity are analyzed and adapted to the company's self-image. Self-image, corporate goals and the advantages of the brand should be in harmony with how the company presents itself to the outside world. External presence refers to the public image - in other words, what you reveal about yourself on social media and on your website, for example.
What you should consider during a relaunch
For many customers, it is not only important to receive a good product, but they also want to be able to identify with the company and represent its positions and opinions. In order to build a relationship with the customer, you should always communicate appropriately with the target group.
During a relaunch, you should therefore also ask yourself how the brand can best reposition itself. What strategy do you want to adopt and how can you pursue it most effectively?
Objectives when relaunching a website
In principle, there are of course various reasons for relaunching a website, such as improving
- user guidance and the structure of the site
- the findability in search engines
- the design of the site
- the content on the website
- the view of the website on mobile devices
- new functions such as the connection of a store system or blog
- the "technology" of the website, such as the loading time
Especially when planning a good relaunch, you should consider whether the implementation of several goals should be taken into account at the same time.
Tips for the correct implementation of a website relaunch
To ensure that the process remains plannable and manageable, the concept is the most important thing.
You should think carefully in advance about the steps that need to be taken.
1 The planning
As with almost everything, planning is the be-all and end-all. To ensure that the new start runs smoothly, you should be clear in advance about what needs to be changed in detail and, above all, determine the time span and period you envisage for this. If the individual steps are not planned properly, coordination problems can quickly arise within the team. If the planning process is well thought out and the ideas to be implemented are coordinated from the outset, the steps can also be easily implemented. It is particularly important to take enough time during the planning stage to avoid problems later on.
2 Time
It is therefore important to remember that a well thought-out website relaunch is not completed within two weeks. There is a lot of work involved if you approach the whole thing correctly. At the end of the day, everyone wants their website to be successful, so if you're considering rebuilding your site, it will take the right amount of time and patience.
3 The team
Especially if the website represents an entire company, it should be of interest to coordinate the relaunch with the team. How do you want to present yourself? Which elements are in the foreground? What does the company actually stand for and how do you communicate this to the outside world?
In addition to the content of the website, you should also think carefully in advance about which features on the website could be of interest to visitors and make sense. Of course, it can be nice to include a few gimmicks on the website. Unfortunately, however, it can also be very ineffective to include gimmicks that make no sense to the visitor at all. This is not only expensive and time-consuming for the person who wants to launch the new website, but also reduces the so-called user experience. So if you ask yourself in advance what the visitor really needs, you not only save time during implementation, but also money during development.
4 The layout
So how can you best combine the new content of the site with new features? Which navigation makes the most sense to guide the visitor through the website and how should the new menu items be displayed on the website?
This is where the terms usability and user experience come up again. Usability basically describes the user-friendliness of a website. Good usability ensures that a good user experience is achieved. User experience stands for the user experience of the visitor.
5 The design process
If you have little experience in web development, it is advisable to get support when relaunching your website. It is not only more effective to have a website professionally developed for the implementation of ideas. Experienced web designers can also provide advice on project development and conception. The designers and developers can immediately assess which ideas are most likely to make sense and how they can be implemented appropriately.
6 The technology
Which content management system is most likely to be considered? Where should the website be hosted? Do you want to make the website responsive or create a subdomain for the mobile view? What SEO requirements are there? Should the website be multilingual? You not only have to think about the layout, content and structure of the site, but also consider the technical aspects. For example, how quickly a website loads also plays a role. Visitors very quickly lose interest in a slow website.
7 The domain transfer
Changing the provider or web host is not a major task for the relaunch. However, if you are considering changing the domain, you should ensure that links from the old domain are redirected to the new domain and that backlinks that already exist are transferred to the new domain. It is therefore important to inform platforms, blogs or other websites about the transfer so that you can continue to benefit from the backlinks. The old website should remain available until the new website is ready. The old site must be switched off when it goes live.
However, if the old domain is to remain in place, you should think carefully about when to take the website down. It is best if visitors cannot access the website while it is being revised.
8 The test system
Especially when the design of the website is being adapted, it is important to test whether everything works properly before going live. Can Google index the various pages correctly? Has the sitemap been entered so that Google can crawl the website more intelligently?
The sitemap plays a crucial role, especially for websites with many new subpages, as Google can easily overlook the new pages. It is also important to define which pages Google should prioritize and how.
When going live with a domain move, it is very important that the folder structure of the old site is forwarded so that you do not lose your rankings with Google or other search engines. If you forget the 301 redirects, Google will think that the page no longer exists and it will be removed from the index.
If you work with fixed links in the texts on the development system - which is not highly recommended - these must be rewritten after the move.
9 Security
If no SSL certificate was used on the old website or if the new website is to run on a different domain, it is advisable to create an SSL certificate for the new website. If a contact form is used on the website or if personal information is transmitted by other means, this is even mandatory under the GDPR.
It also helps with search engine optimization, as websites with an encrypted connection are ranked better.
10 The training
If you choose a new CMS, don't forget to train the employees who will be working on the website before it goes live.
11Goinglive
Any errors that are discovered during the tests should be rectified and retested before the site goes live. Analyses with relaunch reports and ranking tests should be carried out.
After the relaunch
Continuous optimization and improvement measures are also very important after the website relaunch. If you want your website to be successful in the long term, you need to work on it constantly to correct errors. It is advantageous to create an account for Search Console in order to be able to react directly to error messages from Google.
Conclusion
A successful relaunch takes time. No matter why you decide to do it: The project must be well planned. There are a few things to consider to ensure that a website relaunch runs smoothly.
- Here is an overview of the most important questions you should ask yourself in advance:
- What goals am I pursuing with the website relaunch?
- What strategy do I want to pursue?
Is my content right? What layout and design ideas do I have? - Which features and functions are interesting for my target group?
- Which CMS is right for me?
- Do I want to renew the URL structure or keep the old domain?
- Do I want to carry out SEO measures?
- What are the technical requirements for my website?
- Have I considered the sitemap, backlinks and 301 redirects?
