Before diving into the design and development phase of your website design project, it is essential to conduct a discovery period to evaluate the current website, define goals and objectives, conduct user research, and create a plan and roadmap.
Use a Discovery Period to Understand the Current Website
Before beginning any redesign project, it is important to evaluate the current website. This evaluation can be done using a variety of methods such as analytics and metrics, user feedback, and competitor analysis. Understanding the current website’s strengths and weaknesses can help in identifying areas that need improvement and create a baseline for measuring the success of the redesign.
Purpose and Goals
What is the purpose of the current website, and what are the goals it’s trying to achieve? Understanding this will help in determining what changes need to be made in the redesign to better achieve those goals.
User Behavior
How are users currently interacting with the website? What pages are they visiting, and what actions are they taking? Understanding user behavior can help in identifying areas of the website that need improvement or optimization.
Content
What content is currently on the website, and how is it being presented? Are there gaps in the content, or is there too much content that could be consolidated? Understanding the current content can help in creating a more effective content strategy for the redesign.
Design and Functionality
How is the website currently designed, and how does it function? Are there any usability issues or design flaws that need to be addressed? Understanding these issues can help in creating a more user-friendly and visually appealing website in the redesign.
Defining Goals and Objectives
The next step is to define clear goals and objectives for the redesign project. These goals and objectives should align with the business’s overall strategy and be measurable. Identifying stakeholders and conducting surveys, questionnaires, and stakeholder interviews can help in defining these goals and objectives. Clear goals and objectives can ensure that the website redesign project stays on track and meets the business’s needs.
Conducting User Research
User research is an essential aspect of the discovery period before launching a website redesign project. It involves gathering data about the target audience’s behavior, needs, and preferences. User research can be conducted using a variety of methods such as interviews and focus groups, usability testing, and user surveys. User research can provide insights into user behavior and preferences, which can help in designing a website that meets their needs.
Here are the steps involved in conducting user research:
Define the research objectives: Before starting the research, it’s important to define the research objectives. What are the key questions that need to be answered through the research? What information do you need to gather from users to inform the redesign? This will help to ensure that the research is focused and targeted.
Identify the target audience: Who are the users that the website is targeting? It’s important to identify the target audience for the website, as this will inform the research approach and the questions that are asked.
Choose the research method: There are a variety of research methods that can be used to gather user insights, including surveys, interviews, focus groups, and usability testing. The choice of method will depend on the research objectives and the target audience.
Recruit participants: Once the research method has been chosen, participants need to be recruited. This can be done through social media, email lists, or other channels.
Conduct the research: With participants recruited, the research can be conducted. This may involve conducting interviews or surveys, observing user behavior, or testing website usability. It’s important to record the data gathered during the research in a structured manner, such as notes or recordings.
Analyze the data: After the research has been conducted, the data gathered needs to be analyzed. This may involve identifying patterns or trends in the data, coding and categorizing responses, or creating personas or user journeys to represent the target audience.
Synthesize findings and create insights: With the data analyzed, the insights gathered need to be synthesized. This involves creating a summary of the key findings and insights that emerged from the research.
Share the findings: The final step is to share the findings with the project team and stakeholders. This can be done through a report or presentation that summarizes the research findings and insights.
Creating a Plan and Roadmap
Once the current website has been evaluated, goals and objectives have been defined, and user research has been conducted, it is time to create a plan and roadmap. The plan and roadmap should include a timeline and milestones, budget and resources, and deliverables and outcomes. A plan and roadmap can ensure that the website redesign project stays on track, meets the business’s needs, and is delivered on time and within budget.
A discovery period is an essential aspect of any website redesign project. It involves understanding the current website, defining clear goals and objectives, conducting user research, and creating a plan and roadmap. A discovery period can ensure that the website redesign project meets the business’s needs, is delivered on time and within budget, and provides an improved user experience. Therefore, businesses should take the time to conduct a discovery period before engaging in any website redesign project.
