Preparing for Launch: How to Introduce a New Website Design

Digital is forever changing with search engine updates, updated website trends, new and evolving features and functionalities and so much more. This can make it challenging for your brand to maintain an attention-grabbing online presence and keep ahead of the competition. However, a website redesign can help you attract potential customers and online visitors by improving the overall performance and usability of your website.

With the amount of time, money and effort that goes into redesigning or launching a new website, you should want to show it off to as many people as possible! Doing so in an exciting way can create more opportunities for your business that you just don’t want to miss out on. Additionally, preparing current customers, employees and team members for upcoming changes and updates to your website is critical. With all of this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of exciting ways to introduce a new web design and what you need to prepare for before launch.

Website Launch Announcement Ideas to Help Showcase Your New Web Design

When you’re redesigning your website, whether to modernize or rebrand, it’s a good idea to give your current and new customers a heads up in advance and a reminder after it happens. This will prevent any confusion, and can be used as a way to guide users through the new look, point out improved user experience details or key new features.

Email Your Subscribers About The Web Redesign Before Launch

Using your newsletter or email list is a simple and cheap way to announce your new website. You can create suspense with some of your most loyal brand followers and customers by letting them know in advance that they can expect something new in the future! Your email subscribers are usually a list of loyal customers you’ve had positive experiences with and built over time, and they should be the first to know about the updated website with an exclusive email announcement. This will create anticipation and excitement among your audience.

When your business introduces a new website design, you should already have an idea of what will be included in your redesign so you can reveal some of the major improvements in your announcement. That way, if there are any unsatisfied users, they will know there are improvements to look forward to. As for those who are already satisfied with your current website, a new look is always exciting and this tactic will create an opportunity for your audience to pass the news on to others.

Create a Pop-Up Alert on Your Current Website to Announce Your New Website is Coming

If your business is redesigning your site, pop-ups are a great way to give your regular audience something to look forward to! It will give them a teaser of the new design and leave them wanting to come back again. Plus, this website launch announcement idea is hard to miss, ensuring that current site users will receive the exciting news.

To make your pop-up alert entertaining and personalized, keep the message short and brand-related. Afterall, it is a pop-up and should only take a few seconds to view at most. If your business provides cleaning services, you might say, “We’re freshening up our site with a new design, come back next month to see!” This puts a unique spin on your alert and is fun for your customers.

One major SEO website redesign mistake our experts notice is the creation of a new landing page designated to telling users you have a new website coming. This could harm your SEO efforts unless the message is placed on your homepage. You don’t want a temporary page gaining SEO value before you launch as that will serve no purpose after the new website is live.

Create a Blog to Introduce Your New Website Design & Share on Social Media

In a digitally driven world, it is becoming more and more important for brands to build a “personality” so that customers and potential customers can feel connected. Allowing visitors to feel involved with your brand’s story and mission, and the goals you set to reach your overall vision makes them feel valued. Unfortunately, successfully building your brand’s personality and connecting with customers through a screen can present many challenges.

A blog gives you the opportunity to explain why your website needed a more modern look, share your brand’s research and thought process for the redesign and it lets you showcase some of the new features that will aid the user experience. For many people this may be a simple story, but creating content that discusses the details could help your users adjust to the new look, as well as help them connect with the purpose of your website redesign and your brand.

We recommend releasing a redesign blog the same day you launch your new web design. Sharing the blog on social media will help drive more users back to your enhanced website! Utilizing social platforms can encourage your followers to share the news with others, helping you gain even more traffic.

Introduce Your New Web Design With a Countdown

If you want to add hype around your website launch, set up a countdown clock to track how many days or minutes until the new site goes live. Having a countdown provides an exciting element of anticipation for your users and keeps them coming back.

Our experts recommend being cautious with this approach. A soft launch where a few people test out the website first is usually best to work out any final edits. Doing so will ensure there are no issues with the new design and functionalities of your website. It also provides an opportunity for customers and new users to send feedback and for you to make any necessary updates and changes before the official launch. This is also a great way to make your most loyal followers feel even more connected because they get to be a part of the process.

Encourage Users to Explore the New-And-Improved Site

This could be as simple as creating an industry-relevant offer for users who sign up for your newsletter or take a designated action on your website. You could offer a discount on your services or a value-add promotion. These options entice users to not only buy your products but also interact with the new site.

Another alternative is to get creative and turn your website into a virtual scavenger hunt, then offer a gift card or small prize to those who take the time to complete the game and explore your redesigned website. For example, pick a handful of vital pages on your new site to share with users. They should be pages that help the user learn more about your brand and mission, and that include exciting features or products to help convince users that they would enjoy doing business with you. If a user visits all of the pages you’ve chosen, award them with a prize.

Keep Promoting Your New Web Design After Launch

We believe it’s important to keep the buzz going after the initial launch day so the ‘newness’ of your website won’t wear off for a while. Plan to follow-up a successful launch day with social posts or more email promotions weeks after the redesign goes live. This will help you sell your brand and show your users you are dedicated to making the online customer journey as convenient for them as possible. It will also keep the word about your new and improved site alive so that more potential customers, those who may have missed out on the news on launch day, hear about it and visit.

Ask Your Team Members to Share the Website Redesign News

Imagine all the connections your team members have to expose your brand to new people. Whether it’s on social media, via email or through word-of-mouth, we believe having your team share the exciting news is a website launch announcement idea that will help promote your brand. Plus, if users have any questions about your new site, your team members will have the best answers for them and can help speed up the user learning process. Your team can also highlight any special or new features you don’t want visitors to miss out on.

Are You in The Market For a Website Redesign?

The experts at Blue Compass can help you with your web design and development process, and now that you know how to introduce a new website design, you can get the most out of this investment. Our award-winning web designers, developers and digital marketers implement an SEO-first strategy to ensure your redesigned website will perform well and bring in new customers.

Reach out to the Blue Compass team to find out how we can partner with you to launch your new and improved website.

Kevin McMurray

Kevin McMurray is a Digital Marketing Specialist at Blue Compass. He enjoys spending time with his family, cheering on Cyclones sports and leisure sports.