5 Questions To Ask Before Rebranding Your Website

There are tons of reasons why you might want to rebrand your website.

For instance, you have a product that has proven itself in the market and you need a redesign or new platform to replicate that growth or perhaps you are not gaining the traction you had hoped with customers. Whatever the reasoning is be sure you ask yourself some of the questions we outline in this blog post and video before diving in headfirst. Why? Because an entire rebrand of your site might not be the best plan of action and you might end up losing money in the end or going at it all wrong.

So, what are the questions I should ask before spending the money to rebrand my site?

1. Why am I doing this?

You need to know your why before you do anything else. Are you rebranding because you have a new service or more products to offer? Are you rebranding because you originally started with a test market site and things have grown to your expectations? Are you rebranding because you are bored and trying to keep up with the color schemes or the times of the market? Are you rebranding to overcome some negative press? 

For some of these reasons, the answer is yes, it might make sense to do an entire site overhaul and rebrand things to match with what you are trying to accomplish. However, for some of these reasons, the answer is no. If it is no you need to be clear and up front with your reasons for the rebrand and why you want to change because it might not be the right course of action and it could also be risky with the potential of losing customers instead of gaining them.

2. How long have you had your site?

If you have only had your site for a short period of time, say three to six months, it might be too soon for a rebrand as you might not have given yourself enough time to accumulate customers or accomplish what the site set out to originally. For instance, your original goal might have been to test out of the market, specifically for three months to determine what type of traction you are receiving. If this is the case and things are going good then I would fully support any businesses decision to do a rebrand or expand on their existing site. 

However, if you have only had your site for a short amount of time and your reasoning behind the change is simply because you are not feeling it anymore or do not like the color scheme, this would be a bad plan of attack. Why? Because this can start you on a downward spiral to continuous changes and confusion to your customers. This is a good segway into our next important question. 

3. Can you pinpoint why you aren’t happy with your current site?

From the beginning of the build of your site, whether you are doing a DIY or utilizing a designer you need to establish your color scheme, the correct content, imagery that resonates with your product or service, structure of the page to ensure your customers are taking the action you want, and that you are seeing results. 

Establishing all of this upfront will help you determine what you might not like on your current site. For instance, did you disagree with your designer on the strategy of the colors or how they mapped out the structure of the page? If so, then this might be a reason for a rebrand or simply a refresh. This will also help you determine who you are and how you want your customers to see you/your business. That is why it is so important to consider the content you put on your site and how all of the pieces fit together. 

When it comes to your site; you need to feel empowered that is capturing what you sought out for it to capture. Feel empowered to be open with your designer to find that balance between their recommendations and your wants so you don’t find yourself continuously questioning if a rebrand is needed. 

Also, ensure a rebrand is effective for your clients. Don’t simply change the color scheme because you are unhappy with it, change it because you saw a trend in your analytics or heard feedback from your customers. Use the data to support your decisions before you pivot in the wrong direction that might be detrimental to your brand instead of successful 

4. Do I have a plan of growth?

Perhaps you are considering a rebrand to reflect the growth of your business. If this is the case, make sure you have a plan that aligns to your marketing goals. For instance, if one of your goals was to build up your email list, but you just aren’t hitting your conversation rate what is the reasoning behind it? 

Improving your conversion rate is a great goal to have, however, rebranding your site might not be what is keeping you from achieving those goals. For instance, you may be sending the wrong traffic to your website or using the wrong marketing channels. Be sure to talk to your team and designer if you do not know what is happening on the back end because more often than not, making simple changes to these things or testing can improve your results without spending a single dollar. 

5. What is your budget?

Before you decide whether or not this is the best course of action you need to look at your budget. Why? Because an entire rebrand is expensive. It requires a lot of time on both your end and your designers. I recommend when looking at your budget that you also look at your original marketing plans and determine what you can tackle first. What does this mean? Instead of doing an entire overhaul, your designer might be able to spruce up or expand on what already exists on your current site. This is why it is so important to choose the right designer; one you can trust and have open conversations with about your goals, budget, needs and wants, not someone who simply just wants to take your money 

Not only is it important to outline your budget when it comes to money for a rebrand, but you also need to question what your budget is when it comes to your existing clients. Are you willing and able to lose existing clients for a rebrand? This is really important if not almost as important as your why. Because when you rebrand your existing site, a site that existing customers are used to coming to, they might be confused when they see a change, especially if it is not communicated. You might risk changing the identity they loved or became attached to. 

So, when it comes to budget; it is also important to ask yourself what are you willing to risk here as you have already built some sort of brand in the eyes of your customers.  

6. Do you just need to freshen it up?

Sometimes, it’s just about spicing up your website a little. With some of the smaller projects we’ve done, it’s been about either swapping out imagery, changing out the copy or simply re-organizing the navigation for a better user experience.

What’s next?

When thinking about a rebrand, it doesn’t matter how pretty your site looks to customers. What matters is the story you tell. So, before you consider spending the money to completely redesign your site, ask yourself the questions above and have a candid conversation with your designer. As they might have suggestions on how to revamp your existing site that costs your less and saves both of you time to accomplish the same thing. 

Have more in-depth questions about how to make your website look high-quality? Comment below! Also, be sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook or check out our latest freebie: the Website Planning Guide.