Unlike a good bottle of whisky, your website doesn’t get better with age. Most companies benefit from a website redesign every 3-5 years. With their launch, they also send out website redesign announcements to their raving fans.
Why should you redesign your website this often? Because your business focus and offerings have likely grown, and technology has also evolved.
From a technical perspective, web design and usability standards change frequently. If you’re not playing by their rules, you may be penalized in Google rankings and not appear as current and professional as your competitors.
Today though, we’re going to focus on all the fun you can have when you announce your new website. We will share some great ideas and outlets to share the news to build your brand, engage with your audience, and grow your business.
Why should you announce your website redesign?
If everything went well with your website redesign, you should send out a website redesign announcement to share it with the world. It’s an excellent way for your followers to see that you are committed to your company’s future and success. After all, you wouldn’t invest in a website redesign if you planned to close up shop next year.
While a website redesign announcement can come across as a bit self-promoting, it has some practical benefits if you approach it from the right perspective. Your announcement can:
- help people navigate the new site, so they have a smooth user experience
- reinforce your brand and message
- attract new and existing people to check you out
- increase engagement with your customers
- re-engage people who haven’t interacted with your brand or website in a while.
When you share website redesign announcements, have a few of these goals in mind so you don’t come across as spammy. Find ways to show your followers why this is good for them.
10 Creative website redesign announcement ideas
1. Build excitement
People don’t like surprises, even if it’s good for them. About 1-2 weeks before launch day, start sharing the news through a few teaser posts to build that excitement and anticipation. These teaser posts could include:
- a vague mention that “something new is coming soon”
- being forthright and telling them a new website is in the works
- teaser (or blurred) screenshots of any new branding or elements you’re using
- a countdown graphic for social media or to display on your website
Before you post any teaser content with a launch date, be sure your project is on schedule.
2. Share behind the scenes
People are nosy! They love seeing behind-the-scenes peaks and pictures of your business. Consider documenting photos from a website team meeting or sharing some early sketches of the website so people can follow along in the process and see how much work you’re putting into this project.
Upload a few images as Facebook or Instagram stories, reels, videos, or carousels. This will help boost your content to more people.
3. Announcement email
People are busy! They may not see your social media posts announcing the news, so get into their mailboxes (virtual or physical) with a special announcement* once the website is live. Keep the email short with a screenshot of your new home page, and a link to your new website.
* Always be sure you have their permission to email or mail them.
Fun idea: Encourage people to click through and interact with your new website by running a contest like a scavenger hunt. Ask them to find specific pieces of information throughout your website and submit their answers to win a prize.
4. Distribute a press release
People love “newsworthy!” Does your website relaunch need a press release? If the changes are more cosmetic and don’t contain new branding or functionality, it may not warrant a press release. If you’re releasing brand new (or new to you) technology or functionality, then a press release can help build awareness of this milestone.
To determine if you need a press release, ask yourself two honest questions (and try not to answer in marketing-speak):
- Is this going to have a significant impact on the lives of your visitors, customers, or clients?
- Is your launch newsworthy?
If you can answer yes to both questions, consider distributing a press release (even if it’s just for your website). If not, a blog post on your website is a better option to “formally” announce your new website.
5. Write a blog post
People love reading blogs! Your blog is a great place to share more about your new website. Write a short post saying how excited you are for the new website and highlight a few new features or changes. Be sure to focus less on you and more on how this redesign will benefit your users.
Fun idea: If you have samples or screenshots of previous versions of your website, add screenshots of these sites within your blog post to show how you and your business have evolved over the years. It’s something we did in a blog post during the last big Out-Smarts website redesign announcement earlier this year.
6. Record a video or LIVE
Why stop at a blog post. Get a key member of your company (usually the owner, founder, or a PR team member) to record a video (or go LIVE) with the announcement. This is an opportunity for your visitors to see your excitement, which will get them excited about it too. You can post this video on social media, YouTube, or within the body of a blog post, along with your written announcement.
7. Promote on social
People love social! In 2020, people spent an average of 145 minutes per day on social media! It’s a great place to tease and announce your new website because people are always watching and listening.
Get your graphic designer to create a series of graphics to accompany some short social media posts. Consider posting a few teaser or countdown posts before the launch, one or two on launch day, and a few in the weeks preceding the actual launch, so it stays top of mind a bit longer.
You can use Canva to create professional-quality graphics. Create one or two templates, or customize the templates in the app, and swap out images and text so you can create a whole series of graphics that are on-brand and consistent throughout your campaign.
Fun idea: Can you gamify your launch to engage with your followers? Run a contest, get people to guess how many hours the project took, or encourage people to “tag a friend” for a chance to win a prize.
8. In-person marketing
People crave in-person connections! As much as the online world has opened up new opportunities for businesses, often we forget that face-to-face (or over the phone/zoom) relationships are meaningful too. When you chat with customers, prospects, or networking colleagues, ask them about their experience with the new website.
This is an excellent way to user-test the website for usability and accessibility to ensure there isn’t anything you’ve overlooked or something that’s broken or not working as intuitively as expected. However, if you’ve hired a web design company, you’ve likely had a large chunk of user testing done before launch, but it never hurts to check with your visitors regularly.
9. A Website Popup
People need reminders! Just in case they miss all other announcements of your new and improved website, place a discrete pop-up on your website for a short time. Keep it short and highlight the most significant functionality or feature improvements in an easy-to-read bulleted list.
Ask your website administrator only to show it to visitors once, so they don’t get annoyed with it. Then keep it active for 1-2 months.
We suggest doing a pop-up that’s a bar across the top of your homepage or one that pops discreetly on the side of a browser window, rather than one that pops up and blocks your content. Website visitors don’t like intrusive pop-ups, and Google often penalizes websites with annoying pop-ups on mobile.
10. Never stop sharing
People may forget you! You’ve invested a good chunk of time and resources into your new website. Don’t let the excitement and buzz fizzle after a few weeks. Create a marketing plan to push traffic to your website continually. This includes a solid:
- SEO strategy to attract visitors from Google Search
- Social strategy to engage with your audience and drive them to content on your website
- Email strategy to nurture leads once they’re in your marketing and sales funnel.
When was your last website redesign?
Is your website still serving your needs? If not, let’s talk about what a website redesign can look like for you. Our team can help with the planning, design, coding, and content for your website and help plan your website announcement plan.
info@out-smarts.com
604 909 3532
