Infographic: 4 Types of Redesigns

When you think of a website redesign, what comes to mind? Is it a new look and feel only? Does it include updated functionality? What about backend updates? Where is the line between updating a site and starting over with a new one? Everyone seems to have their own definition.

When you think of a website redesign, what comes to mind? Is it a new look and feel only? Does it include updated functionality? What about backend updates? Where is the line between updating a site and starting over with a new one? Everyone seems to have their own definition.

So at a recent HansonU (our ongoing team sharpening program), Senior Interactive Designer Warren Parsons and I led a discussion designed to craft a more useful vocabulary for approaching redesign projects. Our terminology likens a website to a house, honing in on 4 types of redesigns:

  • Redecoration
  • Rewire
  • Remodel
  • Rebuild

The differences between these types have to do with the business objectives and the timeline, budget and potential for scope variability due to unknown factors. Few projects fit perfectly into any one category, so we treat each project on a case-by-case basis. But it helps to start somewhere and modify as necessary as we get into defining a given project with our client and internal teams.

After our presentation, Interactive Designer Brian Thomas took this discussion a step further, capturing the main points in this infographic.

Now we’re inviting your feedback. Do you find the house terminology helpful? How would you modify the categories? Let us know what you think!

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