Re-Designing Your WordPress Site
This is the time year when people make changes to their website. People want to change things up a bit and maybe give some new life to their websites. So why not re-design your WordPress site.
If you have WordPress, a re-design can be as simple as changing your theme. There are literally thousands of WordPress themes out there, a lot are free, but also there are some really good paid ones. It just becomes a matter of re-designing your WordPress site.
Well, before you make any major changes to your site make sure you have a plan to follow. I am going to talk about developing a plan in this article.
1-Back Up Your Site
One of the most important things you want to do before making any major changes to your website is you want to do a full site backup. You never know what could happen when making these changes so it is good to know that you have a backup copy of your website if you need it.
You will never lose anything by creating a backup. Just make sure you do a full site backup, including all your theme files, plugins, and database.
There are different methods you can use to backup your site, and I talk about some of these ways in my article 4 Ways To Secure Your WordPress Website.
2-Take Notes On Your Current Theme
Now that you have a backup of your website, capture the look of your current theme somehow. Take notes on the colors, layout, sidebars, header, etc. You might even take screen shots of it to save somewhere that you can refer back to if you need it.
A lot of website users will make modifications to their current WordPress theme. If you have done that, then make note of the changes that you have made and if you have added any special plugins or code to make these changes happen.
If you have added code to your existing theme style sheet, then when you change to the new theme, that code will not longer be there.
Also you want to check your current themes load time. That way you can compare the two. You can go to a site like Pingdom Tools, to test the load time.
3-Don’t Loose Tracking
If you have Google Analytics tracking installed, which most of us all do, take note of the tracking code to put in your new theme.
A lot of website owners will add the tracking code manually into their theme, and then forget about it. This is commonly overlooked, because it is so simple.
4-Put Up the Under Construction Sign
You probably don’t want visitors to see you making changes to your site. As it may appear broken to them.
It would be best to put some type of maintainance sign up. You can even use a plugin for these. Under Construction is a plugin that I often use when I am working on a live site.
With the Under Construction plugin, you can put up a image or text letting your visitors know that your site is being worked on and even give them contact information, or even add an contact box, if they need to reach you with any questions.
5-Testing Functionallity and Plugins
Once you get your new theme installed, you will need to test that you still have all the functionally and the plugins still work. Remember those notes you took in step two. These notes will come in handy now.
Go back and add any of the functionally that you had in the previous theme if you have not done so already.
Try out all the features, including the commenting process, single post pages, search, 404 page, archive page, contact page, etc.
Make sure all of your widgets are still there and that they work. This is one of the most common areas that will need to be updated with a new theme.
Speaking of your plugins, make should the formatting is the same. A lot of plugins use your existing theme styles to display their output. So you want to make sure they still look good with the new theme.
6-Browser Compatability
Test your site in every browser that you have access to. Different browsers will render things differently. You want to make sure your site looks good in all the major browsers.
And if the majority of your audience is using a particular browser, say Internet Explorer, then you want to make sure your site is still working in that browser.
7-Removing Plugins
This is a good time to assess all the plugins you have on your site. Make sure you still need them all. Some themes come with functionally that you may have been using a plugin for.
If you find that you have plugins that are no longer needed, then get of them, as they are taking up resources from your site.
8-Take Small Steps
Make the changes to your site very carefully. Start with smaller elements and be sure they are compatable in all browsers. Once you are confortable with the small changes, then make the big ones.
9-Test Loading Speed
Take the numbers you had on the loading time of your old theme and compare them to the new theme. See if there’s anything you can do to improve the load time.
You can check out my article, How To Increase Your Website Speed With 5 Easy Steps, if you need help increasing your load time.
10-Check Bounce Rate
After switching themes, make sure you monitor the bounce rate. Some themes are just more friendlier than others when it comes to user experience.
If your bounce rate has increased, compared to your old theme, then you may need to work on this.
Adding some more features to your site could help with the bounce rate. Using a better call-to-action, adding a related post widget, or poplar post widgets, or just moving widgets around your site to see what readers like the most.
If you have WordPress, a re-design can be as simple as changing your theme.Click To Tweet11-Let Your Audience Know
After your finished, and turned off the maintanance mode, let your audience know. I know you think you’ve checked you new site out pretty good, but you still could have missed something.
When your new design comes out, readers are almost certainly going to have feedback on it. They may even love or hate the new features. Communicate with your audience and ask them what they think about your theme.
It’s bound to happen, you spent hours, days, maybe weeks on your new theme before you rolled it out, but you still didn’t catch everything. But, your readers are sure to notice anything that doesn’t work.
If your readers contact you with issues or suggestions with your site, then take this as constructive feedback. Thank them for their responses and if you make changes to your theme based on their suggestions, then be sure to let them know.
Making mistakes with our sites show that we are human and make mistakes. People love it when you praise them for their suggestions.
How Did Your Re-Design Go?
Well that’s it for the steps to help you with your re-design. If you have not re-designed your site yet, I hope these are helpful to you in planning and doing your site re-design.
If you have already done your re-design, then maybe this article will remind of something you forgot and can go back and fix. (Like that Google Anayltics code.)
How did you re-design go? Are you still wating to do yours? Not sure what you want to do with your site design?
If that’s the case I am here to help. Hit me up on my contact form, if you would like to hire me to re-design your site.
You can check out the services I offer on my Services page, and there is a Web Design Questionnaire that you can fill out and I will send you a quote for your new design.
If you have already made a new design, say from a Photoshop mockup, and you just don’t know how to implement it, then I can develop the site for you from your design.
I would love to hear how your re-design went. Were you able to make all the changes you needed? Are you still tweaking the design? I would love to hear about these in the comments below.
11 Things You Must Do Before Re-designing Your WordPress Website https://t.co/swxmSCG9CN pic.twitter.com/PO4m9K6SoO
— Rob McDonald (@RobsWebDesign) January 26, 2016
Robin McDonald
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Thanks so much for this list.
Backing up is so important. My host does it, but I want to also have an off site version. Got any suggestions?
Hey Brent and welcome to my site.
Yes backing up your site on a regular basis is so important to the security of your site.
Two good backup options are Updraft Plus and BackupWordPress.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the comment and I hope you have a great week!
–Rob
Robin McDonald recently posted…11 Things You Must Do Before Re-Designing Your WordPress Website
Hey Rob,
Fantastic checklist.
I changed my theme last month, and boy am I happy I did. I like it so much better now 🙂
I did have to get rid of a few plugins that no longer served me well. I have no intentions of keeping anything on the blog that isn’t necessary.
I’ll admit I didn’t have the maintenance mode plugin at the time, but I do now thanks to my friend Cori. I’ll have it handy if I need to make any changes.
I also finally installed a backup system, so that’s a relief.
Your mention of taking notes on what you had going on in the previous theme is valuable. I implemented this tip to avoid having to recreate everything on the sidebar. That would have been a HUGE hassle, so I’m glad I did this.
I know anyone looking to change their theme or update their current theme would appreciate what you’ve shared here, so thanks for that. I’ll have this pinned for future reference.
Dana recently posted…Grammarly: Unleash the Writer In You
Hi Dana and welcome to my blog.
I think you should change up your design at least every 3 years, but some change it every year. Its a big deal and don’t know if its wise to do it every year, unless it’s just not working for you.
Taking stock of existing plugins is just a wise idea. Over a period of time, plugins can just accumulate and if they are not being used, then you should get rid of them.
The maintenance mode plugin is good if you are making small changes to your live site. I don’t recommend making the complete re-design on your live site. I tell people to work on that locally if they can, and then just upload the new files to the service. This decreases down time of your site.
Dana, it’s good to hear that you have a backup plan. This can save you when something happens that breaks your site. Just install the backup and your good to go.
Glad you like the idea of taking notes. You want to make sure that you don’t forget anything from your old site.
Thanks Dana, for the comments and I hope you have a great week!
Robin McDonald recently posted…11 Things You Must Do Before Re-Designing Your WordPress Website
Hi there, Rob!
Nice post.
Having just completely relaunched my blog, I found myself nodding all throughout your post like, “Yup. Good idea. Wish I had thought of that.”
LOL
Anyway, I made it through relatively unscathed, and that’s what matters.
Actually, I had one person so impressed with my newly launched blog design that they offered to pay me to make their blog look the same.
Imagine that!
Web design is more your thing — I don’t really do web design projects for the most part. But for something simple like creating a few header graphics, changing a theme, installing a few plugins… sure, no problem. I can make an exception!
This time, however, I’ll remember to follow some of your advice — like taking notes on the current setup. (Even screenshots would be helpful, really!)
Best,
Brent
Brent Jones recently posted…11 Different Types of Freelance Jobs & How to Price Them
Rob Excellent post about redesigning blog. From time to time we all have to do it. So, mistake is easy to make. But with this step i am sure that everything will go ok. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Hrvoje and welcome to my blog.
Yes you need to think about changing up things with your site at least every 3 years, some do it every year. I think it would just depend on how well your current site is doing, and if you think a re-design would help.
Thanks Hrvoje, I tried to list the steps I went through when doing my re-design, so though it might be helpful to you.
Thanks for commenting Hrvoje, and I hope you have a good week!
Robin McDonald recently posted…11 Things You Must Do Before Re-Designing Your WordPress Website
Really helpful post, Rob
For a site/blog that already has traffic, do you think a preferable option would be to do all of the work on a sub-domain, then simply transfer the files from one to the other, when the work has been done?
This approach would reduce the downtime for the site
Thanks Rob
Kim
Kim Willis recently posted…If I Had My Time Over Again As a Blogger
Hey Kim and thanks for stopping by.
To answer your question, it depends on how experience you are and how confident you are with doing this.
My preferred method, as a developer, is to copy the site to a local install, and then make all the changes needed, and then upload the files.
Not everyone is comfortable with doing this, and I think that’s why most people would just edit on their live site. This is risky though, if something goes wrong, but then that’s why you backup your site first.
Thanks, for your comment Kim and I hope you have a great weekend!
Robin McDonald recently posted…11 Things You Must Do Before Re-Designing Your WordPress Website
thanks for your quick response Rob. And yes I get what you’re saying. Actually, I think most people should get professionals like yourself to do this type of work
Kim
Kim Willis recently posted…If I Had My Time Over Again As a Blogger
Hey Kim,
Being a developer, I would agree that they should.:) But, I know a lot of people are on a low budget, and probably think they can not afford one. And also, I think its good that they get their hands dirty and try to build their own website, this way they can get a boost of confidence that they did it themselves. And then maybe they will ask for my help later.
–Rob
Robin McDonald recently posted…11 Things You Must Do Before Re-Designing Your WordPress Website
Hey Rob,
One can’t be too careful when it comes to redesigning their site. You always want to take precautions.
These are some great precautions to take note on… I did a redesign 2 years ago and I think my biggest mistake was not redirecting my permalinks. I posse off a couple of people but eventually I got them working.
The “under construction” plugin caught my eye and I wished I’ve known about it before. It’s a great way to show your audience that you’re making some changes to your site and it’s something they’ll appreciate. I will have to install it.
Thanks for sharing Rob and you have a great day!
Sherman Smith recently posted…Commit, Connect, Convert (3 Tricks To Becoming An Online Heavyweight)
Hey Sherman,
Yes you definitely want to take precautions when redesigning your site, as anything could go wrong, so you want to be prepared.
The permalinks are important, and if you forget these, then you may not realize the mistake until you get feedback from your readers. Hey no ones perfect, and it hard to remember everything, that’s why I think its good to have a checklist to follow, so hopefully you catch everything. It’s possible you still might not, but hey, 95% is better than 60% right?
Glad you like the idea of using the Under Construction plugin, this is just the one I use, you don’t want your readers to see your site live while you are working on it, that’s for sure.
Your welcome Sherman. Thanks for commenting and I hope you have a great weekend!
Robin McDonald recently posted…11 Things You Must Do Before Re-Designing Your WordPress Website
Hey Rob!
Thanks so much for this list. You covered all the major items which I am sure I would forget to do a couple. I am getting ready to redesign one of my websites in the next few weeks.
Backing up is so important. Do you have a favorite plugin to recommend for backups? I honestly have no idea how to back up the database.
So glad you mentioned the plugins. I noticed that I collected a few over the years that I don’t even use anymore.
I really need to go through and weed out the ones that don’t serve a purpose. It’s definitely a task that I don’t like but needs to be done!
thanks again for the tips. Very helpful.
Lisa
Hey Lisa and welcome to my blog.
I tried to cover the most important ones in this list, these are all the ones that I did before I did my re-design, so I thought they may be useful to others.
Yes backup up your website is extremely important, as you never know what can happen when you start making changes to your website.
I use the BackUpWordPress plugin. It does a full backup, it does just the files, or just the database. Its very simple to use, and you can install it, do the backup, and then un-install it if your want, but I use it to backup my site on a regular basis.
It is important though, to download a copy of your backup, and save it away from your site, as the plugin saves the backup files to your WordPress install on your server, so if your site breaks on your server, then you’ve lost the backup as well.
Plugins are another issue Lisa, the re-design is a good time to do the laundry, so to speak, on plugins you may not need.
Your welcome Lisa and thanks for commenting and I hope you have a great weekend!
Robin McDonald recently posted…11 Things You Must Do Before Re-Designing Your WordPress Website
Hey Rob,
After seeing your headline on Google+ I was a bit nervous. Since I just did my redesign I was thinking “oh boy, what did I mess up”. LOL!!!
To my surprise, as I went down your list I was going check, check, check, etc. Yay!!! I did them all and everything went rather smoothly I must say.
Of course I don’t have Safari installed on my computer and I had no intention of installing it but I had a friend look at my test site for me and it was fine. I did have issues with it looking differently on the two browsers I don’t use that often so I had to do some adjusting. I wonder why that happens. Like on my home page I had one of my images going off the page. How are you supposed to fix something that’s right in the first place. Anyway, I had to do some adjusting but finally got it all squared away.
Thanks for putting this together because there is a lot of stuff people don’t think about. Glad I’m done with that though, finally!
Have a great week.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted…How to Write Content That Will Guarantee Results
Hey Adrienne,
I had feeling you had done everything right with your site. I believe you are just like me in that when you set your mind to do something, you are going to keep at it until its done.
I don’t use Safari, even though I have a Mac now, I use chrome, I just think it is the best overall browser. It is important to know, that there are other ones out there, mainly Internet Explorer, and Firefox, that your audience may be using (you can tell from your Google Analytics), so its best to check out how your site responds to them as well.
Thanks Adrienne, I am glad you enjoyed this. I just figured, that I went through a recent site re-design, along with a lot of other people I know, so I don’t if this helped them, but maybe it will help the ones that haven’t done it yet, or that are thinking about it.
Thanks again for the comments Adrienne, and I hope you have a great rest of the week!
Robin McDonald recently posted…11 Things You Must Do Before Re-Designing Your WordPress Website