Redesign for the Right Reasons at the Right Time
August 28th 2007
Redesigning has become a hot topic in the blogosphere, largely because of the redesigns of two of the most popular blogs, ProBlogger and John Chow.com. One blogger went as far as to dub 2007, Year of the Redesigns. Why should time be a factor in a redesign?
Redesigning for the Wrong Reasons
There are many reasons for a blog redesign. However, not all of these are good reasons, and what's more is that they are no different than they have always been. What makes now so special? Hype.
One of the most frequently mentioned benefits is the hype and attention that a redesign obtains. The amount of attention that John Chow has received cannot be denied, but lest we forget, you are not John Chow. The same level of attention will not be repeated on you. If anything, you will receive less attention than ever as your blog will be lost between the dozens of others changing themes.
Redesigning for the sake of hype is not a good reason to redesign. When the hype dies, what are you left with? If you rushed out a new design, there will be flaws. There will be annoyances and imperfections which will punish your regular readers. What will you do if they prefer the old theme?
Redesigning for the Right Reasons
A successful redesign begins with a successful reasoning. Look critically at your blog analyse its flaws. Ask questions such as,
- What bothers you about your blog?
- What could be improved upon?
- What are the limitations of the theme?
- How have your readers changed since the theme first went live?
Answering these questions will lay the groundwork for your redesign. If you can look objectively at your blog and list every flaw you find, you can set about fixing every flaw with your new design. This is what makes a successful redesign. There is no obligation to keep up with the Joneses. Your only obligation is improve the experience of your users.
When Time Is a Factor
There does come a time when a site may feel old, or when your visitors do deserve something fresh. On these occasions, it does make sense to allow time to dictate when to redesign. Such occasions might be,
- If your design uses features which have become decidedly "old-fashioned," e.g. Times New Roman font and marquees.
- If your blog's content flow stagnated for a while, and you want to show that you're coming back for a fresh start.
- If your blog is dedicated to the latest trends, in any industry, e.g. a tech news blog will always be expected to have a modern design.
- If your design has been up long enough that it has become boring to your readers.
Whilst all of these reasons are to do with time, not one of them is on a time line. Even when your main reason for redesigning is that you feel you have had your old theme for too long, there is no need to rush the process of creating a new one.
Don't jump on the redesign bandwagon. Take your time, and give your readers the experience they deserve.
So, what bothers you about your blog? And is it enough to warrant a redesign?
Twitter
August 28th at 4:00 pm GMT
Comment #1
Great Post.
You just have to watch out for the...Excessive Redesigner...
I've had to literally force some of my clients to finally stick with one design. The perpetual state of "oh, I'm almost finished" seems to be very comfortable to some people. Committing to a design can sometimes feel limiting, but let me assure you - it is necessary.
Thanks again Michael,
- Mason
August 28th at 4:30 pm GMT
Comment #2
I know that feeling! Every now and again you get hit by a rush of inspiration and are convinced that redesigning your site is the only way to keep it alive.
Learning to ignore that rush is crucial, and afterwards you realise that your time was much better spent not designing.
August 29th at 9:27 am GMT
Comment #3
I think I can more or less stop my tweaks at my blog for now. It has, after all, undergone such a radical change over the past month.
Now is time to just appreciate and savour it until the next redesigning madness comes about. LOL!
August 29th at 10:43 am GMT
Comment #4
I actually just started working on a redesign for my own blog a couple of days ago, it's quite funny to later on read that 2007 has been announced to year of blog redesign. I'm not that active on visiting the bigger blogs that much except for dropping by every now and then with a couple of weeks at least between each visit but currently it's been more like a couple of months since I visited problogger and probably a year since I visited john chow.
Since I'm not that much into following any of those major blogs they also won't really put any rush on me, in my case I was simply getting tired with the looks myself and it just totally wouldn't fit the direction I'm heading.
The last time I actually rushed it quite through and even if it lasted for a long time, there have been flaws turning up every now and then as a result of it. Even if that was still before 2007 already started, I suppose it's something everybody will probably come across at some point. Currently I'm no longer letting myself be lead by any pressure though to come up with something quickly so I can just take time to finish it off correctly and don't have to end up relying on lame excuses like "optimal viewing experience in browser A" to cover up my own errors.
August 29th at 11:57 am GMT
Comment #5
pablopabla - Definitely. You've chosen a great theme, and tweaked it to suit your blog. Perfect.
Slevi - It sounds like you've thought properly about your redesign. That's the best way for it.
Let me know when it's done. It will be nice to see the changes!
August 30th at 4:49 am GMT
Comment #6
Thanks Michael. By the way, great article you wrote at ProBlogger!
August 30th at 12:27 pm GMT
Comment #7
Thanks. I was all happy about it being published!
September 29th at 1:42 am GMT
Comment #8
I'm starting to think I have a problem. LOL
Every season I complety change the look of my site, from top to bottom. My users say that I don't let them enjoy one design before I aplly the other.
Right now I'm redesigning it again (Autumn) and I hope it stays like that until at least Spring. This sentence really got me thinking.
"Learning to ignore that rush is crucial, and afterwards you realise that your time was much better spent not designing."
I have to learn to ignore that flush of inspiration or apply it to something else, and leave my site alone for a while.
Anyways, I'll post back once my site is updated so you can check it out. I've fallen in love with your blog by the way.
September 29th at 1:43 am GMT
Comment #9
PS: I'm sorry for my spelling mistakes. I'm spanish, and it's nearly 3 am. T_T
September 29th at 7:51 pm GMT
Comment #10
lol - Four redesigns per year? That's definitely a lot!
Designing is a lot of fun, and it makes sense to want to use your own designs on your own site, but I think your readers are right. Give them the time to get used to your layouts.
If you really do enjoy the designing though, you could simply create free themes to be distributed? It would get a few links back to your blog at least.
(Or you could save the time altogether. 
)