Of all of the websites I've designed for various clients, about half of them have been redesigns of existing sites. In the early days of the web, most companies were concentrated on developing their very first websites. But now, since so many people already have existing sites, much of the focus of web development has shifted toward redesigns instead.

It's high time to take a moment and think about the redesign process. After all, redesigning an existing site involves slightly different considerations than developing a brand new site.

For one thing, companies that have existing sites have had a chance to see what works and what doesn't about their current site. Recognizing that asset can help you significantly in launching an effective redesign.

If you've had a website for two or three years and are considering a redesign, here are three top tips to help with your planning:

1) Identify problem areas in your current site

Launching into a redesign without having a clear idea of what improvements need to be made won't be beneficial. In order to be effective, you'll need to be intentional about identifying what needs to be improved.

So before you get caught up in planning your new site, take some time to analyze your current site. Identify problem areas and think through any elements your current site lacks.

Here are some questions to get you started:

- Does your site spur visitors to take action?

- Have you given visitors enough information to enable them to confidently make a decision to buy?

- Is your site organized clearly and logically?

- Have you addressed the emotional needs of your visitors through both the appearance and content of your site?

- Does your site exhibit a professional appearance?

These kinds of questions will help you evaluate the shortcomings of your current site and will help you plan effectively for your redesign.

If you need to, bring in some help from a professional. It's not always easy for site owners themselves to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their websites. If you're not sure exactly where your problems areas are, get a professional third party to help you.

2) Lay out a game plan for fixing the problem areas you've identified

Although it's good to identify what the problems are, labeling them doesn't help in and of itself. You have to establish a plan for how to solve those issues.

Generally speaking, that's easier said than done. Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out an effective solution to a problem you're facing.

But that's exactly why it's so important to define a game plan BEFORE you start your redesign--otherwise, your new site will just have a new facade to cover over the same problems.

When you're writing down your game plan (and yes, you should write it down), be specific. Don't try to get away with generalizations--explain exactly how you want to deal with each issue you've identified.

3) Clearly define your goals for what a redesign should accomplish

Aside from addressing problem areas, there will probably also be new initiatives you want to take with your new site. You need to have a good idea of the overall purpose of your site and where you're headed. What results are you aiming for?

Remember, redesigning for the sake of redesigning is a waste of time and money. Before you ever develop any design concepts for your new site, be clear on your focus and your goals.

BONUS ARTICLE: 4 tips for creating great page layouts

By Jamie Kiley
Contributing Writer

When it comes to laying out the content of a web page (especially a site's home page), many people aren't sure how to go about it. It's difficult to create a layout that is attractive, well-organized, and easy for visitors to absorb.

But don't give up hope! Here are four top tips to help you in creating effective layouts:

1. Don't center everything.

Centering all the content tends to make a page look more disorganized, since there isn't strong alignment on either the left or right margins. This gives the page a "scattered" appearance.

Centering also tends to waste space. For an example, take a look at this Chinese restaurant's website: http://www.hsus.com/.

In this example, the content is placed right in the middle of the page, which leaves empty pockets on both sides of that space. It would have been more efficient to left-align the content and add an additional column on the right. The new column could be used to display more content, which would prevent visitors from having to scroll down so far to read everything on the page.

2. Use contrast.

Employing contrast will help organize your page as well as make it more attractive. You can do this by using contrasts in color, size, value (which refers to the relative lightness or darkness of an object), and weight. A good example is:

http://www.csszengarden.com/?cssfile=/024/024.css&page=0

Notice that the heading of each section of the page is bolded (which gives it a heavier weight than the text underneath), in addition to being a bigger size and a different color than the rest of the copy. This helps make the page look very organized and easy to scan at a glance.

3. Visually distinguish each section of the page from other sections.

You can do this in several different ways. First, you can use different background colors to separate various parts of the page. For an example, visit http://www.real.com/realplayer.html. Notice that half of the page has a white background and the other half has a grey background.

Second, you can use thin dividing lines to distinguish different sections. eDEVcafe (http://www.edevcafe.com/) uses this technique to good effect (it also uses contrasting background colors as mentioned above).

Placing a border around various sections is also a good way to employ the concept of dividing lines.

Finally, you can use blank "buffer zones" in between various sections in order to separate them. This is similar to the concept of dividing lines, except you create an invisible line by physically separating two parts of the page, rather than using an actual line.

4. Keep information tight.

In order for a layout to really be effective, you need to be as efficient in your use of space as possible. The following site is an example of what happens when a site doesn't use space efficiently:

http://www.atlantarestaurants.com/minipage/frog&peach.htm.

On this site, the entire right half of the page is wasted.

Although you don't want to make your pages look crowded, DO make good use of all your screen real estate. Use multiple columns in order to display information side by side.

Also, avoid stacking elements in a narrow column on top of each other if it means leaving blank space to the side. For example, in the site listed above, the two photos in the middle section of the page should be displayed side by side instead of on top of each other.

If you keep these four principles in mind, you'll be well on your way to creating great layouts.

These articles were reprinted with permission.