{"id":18281,"date":"2020-03-31T14:51:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T20:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memberpress.com\/?p=18281"},"modified":"2022-09-12T17:22:10","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T23:22:10","slug":"redesigning-your-membership-site-how-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/memberpress.com\/de\/blog\/redesigning-your-membership-site-how-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Consider This Before Redesigning Your WordPress Membership Site (Checklist)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re thinking about redesigning your membership site, this site redesign checklist will help you prepare and successfully complete the project.<\/p>

WHAT'S INSIDE<\/p>\nToggle<\/span>

Get Help or Go it Alone?<\/a><\/li>
Planning the Site Redesign<\/a><\/li>
Choose an Approach to Site Redesign<\/a><\/li>
Test Your Backups<\/a><\/li>
Keep Your Members In the Loop<\/a><\/li>
Post-Redesign Testing<\/a><\/li>
Don\u2019t Stop Monitoring<\/a><\/li>
Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
As web design trends come and go, it\u2019s important to keep the design of your membership site up to date. Doing so will help your website stay relevant, appeal to your target audience, and continue to work on the latest devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, there\u2019s a lot to consider before starting work on redesigning a website. But by the time you\u2019ve finished reading this guide, you should be ready to successfully update your membership site without running into any surprises along the way or negatively impacting your members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ready? Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Get Help or Go it Alone?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
One important decision to make when planning a website redesign is whether you want to do it yourself or hire someone to help<\/a>. If you\u2019re using WordPress for your website, then you can choose from thousands of themes, including some impressive themes that have been built specifically for creating membership sites<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means there\u2019s no need to be a professional web designer in order to carry out a successful redesign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, even if you choose an off-the-shelf theme, you might want to find a freelance developer you can turn to if something goes wrong or you need some custom coding carried out on the theme. You can find freelancers to suit a range of budgets on sites like People Per Hour and Upwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another option is to sign up with a WordPress maintenance and support service, like WP Buffs<\/a> or WP Site Care. For a monthly fee, these companies will take care of any small problems that arise on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if you\u2019ve got a handle on the design and development aspects of redesigning your membership site, there are other areas to consider. One example is search engine optimization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So maybe think about hiring an SEO expert to check that your new website design won\u2019t cause any problems with search engine visibility and a drop in organic traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Planning the Site Redesign<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to redesigning your membership site, planning is vital. Planning is probably even more important for a redesign then when creating a brand new site from scratch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is mainly because you\u2019ll have your existing members and audience to consider. Without a plan, the chances of something going wrong are higher, so if you don\u2019t want to lose members, you need to have a solid plan in place before getting started on your membership site redesign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When planning the redesign you\u2019ll want to explore your analytics data<\/a> to find out how your visitors are interacting with your current website and which pages are the most popular. If you find there are a few pages that attract a lot of visitors, or there\u2019s some content with higher conversion rates than other pages, be sure to find out what\u2019s so special about these pages. Then try to integrate the features of those pages into your redesign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to services like Google Analytics, heat map tools<\/a> can help you get a good insight into how your visitors are interacting with your website. By viewing where your visitors are clicking and scrolling on your website, you can see if anything needs changing, such as images that look like buttons, or buttons that no one is clicking on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll also want to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make a list of which plugins you\u2019re currently using<\/p>\n\n\n\n
List any plugins you intend to install<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check the availability of anyone who will be helping you with your membership site redesign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your membership site is busy at particular times of the year, try to avoid scheduling your redesign for these periods.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Choose an Approach to Site Redesign<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Another point to consider is whether you want to do a complete site redesign or implement gradual changes to your site over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe if you have a small website that doesn\u2019t require much custom coding, you could quickly carry out the full redesign in one go, over a short period of time. Alternatively, you might have a large website with lots of bespoke solutions and integrations that would suit a more gradual approach to being redesigned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Test Your Backups<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before you get started, it\u2019s vital that you test your website backup system. Hopefully, you\u2019ve been backing up your website on a regular schedule. However, you must test that you can restore those backup files without any problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If something goes wrong with the new version of your website, you need to know that you can quickly revert back to the previous version without any problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our guide to the best WordPress backup plugins<\/a> can help you find the right solution for your membership site.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Keep Your Members In the Loop<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before you start your membership site redesign, you should do all you can to let your audience and members know what to expect. Consider sending out a message to your email newsletter subscribers and putting a notice on your site or inside your members area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You should also think about putting up a coming soon <\/em>or under maintenance<\/em> page while you\u2019re redesigning your site. If you\u2019re using WordPress, there are some maintenance mode plugins<\/a> that can help with this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Something else to think about is enlisting some of your members to help with testing and providing feedback on your new design either before or after you\u2019ve launched it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Post-Redesign Testing<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Although you should definitely test the new version of your website before you launch it, you should also carry out rigorous testing after its gone live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to testing the user experience, and making sure that everything is working as it should, you should analyze the data collected by a service like Google Analytics to monitor key metrics such as time on site, bounce rate, and your conversion rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your new site might look great. But if it\u2019s not resonating with your audience or isn\u2019t performing as well as the old site, you need to take action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In some cases, the redesign could go so badly you have to revert back to the previous site. However, it\u2019s more likely that you\u2019ll need to make a few adjustments after it goes live, based on feedback from users and the data from your tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t Stop Monitoring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once your new site has gone live and you\u2019ve implemented any necessary changes, you should continue to monitor your membership site. There are many tools you can use to monitor the performance of your membership site<\/a>, including its loading times and ability to handle multiple visitors at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Final Thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Redesigning your membership site can be fun and exciting. However, it can be a risky process if you don\u2019t sufficiently plan the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although testing isn\u2019t as fun as working on the design aspects of a website refresh, it\u2019s just as important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So before you start, make sure you have a realistic plan in place and some before-and-after data to help you evaluate the effectiveness of the redesign. Also, don\u2019t forget to read our checklist for launching new membership sites<\/a> for some tips on creating your new website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you have any questions about redesigning your membership site? If so, please let us know in the comments below.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you liked this article, be sure to follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, and LinkedIn<\/a>! And don\u2019t forget to subscribe in the box<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019re thinking about redesigning your membership site, this site redesign checklist will help you prepare and successfully complete the project. As web design trends come and go, it\u2019s important to keep the design of your membership site up to date. Doing so will help your website stay relevant, appeal to your target audience, and [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2122,"featured_media":18285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_strive_editorial_status":"not-started","_strive_copy_of":0,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_strive_checklists":"\"\"","_strive_active_checklist":"62291e2bb2422","_strive_post_notes":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69,120],"tags":[338,445],"class_list":{"0":"post-18281","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-advice","8":"category-content","9":"tag-checklist","10":"tag-web-design","11":"entry"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t