How to Approach Ecommerce Website Redesign

Websites are crucial to the operational capacity of most businesses in 2024. So, if a service or ecommerce site is down, that can be a big problem. Website downtime is the stuff of nightmares for online businesses. Every minute that an ecommerce site is down is a minute without a major revenue stream. Fixing the broken site is, of course, the immediate concern. Once the ship is stabilized, though, it may be time to consider a full ecommerce website redesign.

How Serious is a Broken Site or Website Outage?

Sometimes the issue proves to be a minor glitch. Maybe a server is down. Perhaps someone updated a plugin they shouldn't have. These sort of hiccups can be easily resolved or even resolve themselves. Other times, finding a solution is much more complex. Doing so may require rebuilding a website or dramatically revamping elements of its digital architecture. Regardless of the severity, however, broken sites always demand professional speed, action, and communication.

The Worst Case Scenario: When Completely Rebuilding a Website is the Best Option

When Annie's Wine Cottage first partnered with us, they were in the midst of a true emergency. This was a five-alarm fire in which their previous developer basically went AWOL and the company ended up losing their entire website, database, and even their domain name.

All that remained (besides a small amount of info we were able to pull from the Wayback Machine) was the brick-and-mortar side of their omnichannel retail business.

Not every situation will be so dire, but it's always good to be prepared. What follows here are four keys to taking over development and rebuilding a website with minimal website downtime.

How to Do a Full Website Revamp in an Emergency When the Site is Down

1. Reset Expectations

Sometimes, a company's initial developer does a less-than-stellar job. This is, of course, frustrating for the business owners. No one wants to see their website compromised by someone else's bad decisions or shoddy work.

When taking on these sort of projects, it can be helpful to lay out your strategy for the client. Show them where your approach differs from previous programming decisions. Walk them through an overview of the steps your team will take to rebuild the website better than the previous developer.

This can be a moment to turn lemons into lemonade. The expense of redesigning a website may be an unexpected one, but this website refresh is going to boost their business in the long run. You're going to position them better than they were in the first place, so being forced to deal with their broken website now may actually be a big blessing in disguise.

Reset those expectations, explain what seems to have gone wrong, and lay out the best practices you're going to implement, both in the present and for the future. This implementation may require more expertise and investment than the site originally received, but this is the best possible time to invest in that. Communicating these points can help reframe the situation more positively as the golden opportunity it is — a springboard, if you will, to rebuild a website that will support and grow in tandem with your client's business.

2. Move Quickly in the Initial Stages of Rebuilding a Website

Website downtime is the ultimate nemesis here, so speed is paramount. Here are the three 'M's to focus on knocking out as quickly as possible when a site is down:

Messaging

When a website is totally dead in the water, move quickly to get some sort of message out to customers. A banner or explanation on the home page is better than nothing, but try to stand something up as soon as possible. Make things as easy as possible on users to help retain site traffic while in the process of rebuilding a website.

Imagine that you regularly order shampoo from an online shop. One day, the URL generates an error code. Curious. Maybe you try again the next day, and... still nothing. How many attempts will it take you to assume the business has gone under, give up, and find your shampoo elsewhere?

When an ecommerce shop has a website outage, it's critical to communicate with customers. Displaying a temporary note on the home page to explain what's going on is a great way to stop traffic from becoming disillusioned with the state of a downed website. You might consider having the business send out a customer email blast too, but use your best judgement here. This could also backfire by drawing extra, unnecessary attention to the problem.

Either a way, a simple website under maintenance type of message won't draw extra attention to the issue while still providing a heads up to anyone who tries to use the site while you're working on a solution. This should buy you some time to restore more functionality.

MVP

Even with solid messaging, it doesn't take long to lose customer engagement. Your client's ability to continue doing business online may depend on getting a minimum viable product, or MVP site, back up and running. Is there a server-level snafu? Has some line of code caused a major error? It's your job to identify the underlying issue, implement an acceptable resolution (this may be a short-term Band-Aid for now — that's perfectly fine), and stage up a minimally viable website ASAP.

Mapping

With the company's digital presence and operational capacity restored, it's time to consider what you've learned about the website's architecture, the business itself, and any relevant best tech practices. It's time to map out how you're going to rebuild a website better than it's ever been before.

If the client only needs a subtle website refresh or slight remodel, it may not require a super intensive mapping process. However, to really turn the tables on a broken site disaster and capitalize on the opportunity, a full ecommerce website redesign is often the ticket. This is the point where you the developer, will chart out a fully-fledged plan, informed by the existing business, that will ensure they NEVER find themselves in this position again.

3. Establish Trust, Communicate Consistently, & Execute Effectively

Redesigning a website is the fun part of this process, right? That's the stage you enter into once you've satisfied the three 'M's. You can afford to breathe a little easier now. That said, transparent communication is still key. This is particularly true if your client has been burned by developers in the past.

Tech partnerships require trust. Especially for something like an ecommerce website redesign project or anything where a website not working can affect bottom lines, it's wise to keep all parties overly apprised and up-to-date as you revamp the site. Website downtime is no joke, and nobody wants to feel left in the dark when it comes to their livelihood.

Web developers should never take for granted the high degree of trust an average site owner is forced to place in us. Throughout most of the 20th and 21st centuries, there have been two professions that the average person is forced to trust all but blindly in their daily life: mechanics and medics. Generally speaking (i.e. assuming you don't have the relevant expertise yourself), if a mechanic tells you the carburetor needs replaced, you let them replace it. When a dentist says you need a filling, you let them drill. Second opinions are often recommended, but at a certain point you'll probably have to take a leap of faith. For an ecommerce shop owner in 2024, the web development profession can represent a very similar relationship dynamic.

Not only do devs routinely hold in our hands the beating hearts of businesses, but many of the owners who hire us do so with a very limited understanding of how we do what we do. After all, it's worth remembering that we literally created separate, dedicated languages for this stuff. To most people, the minutia of object-oriented programming, CRM integration, and custom search results may as well be Greek. That's why honest and consistent communication is so important. It helps technology professionals ensure our industry at large remains worthy of this trust.

Need a Custom Website Redesign?

The idea of rebuilding a website in an emergency can be stressful. I'm reminded of the old workman's adage, "Measure twice. Cut once."

Building a website should always start with an informed strategy and solid planning. It always pays to build something right the first time. However, when a site is down and a total website remodel is the best way forward, this presents business owners with an opportunity to come back stronger than ever.

If a business you know is ready to invest in a real tech solution, give the Chek Creative team a call. Need a hand with a custom website redesign from the ground up, an emergency broken site fix, or a digital refresh for a few landing pages? Our ecommerce website redesign agency would love to hear from you, explore your options together, and determine a plan to launch you to the heights of digital success in 2024 and beyond.