Top 10 Things Website Redesign Client Want

As Sherpa! Web Studios begins redesigning its own website, our first task was to make sure it gets done. So, Sherpa! is proud to introduce its newest customer — Sherpa! Web Studios. We think we will get along well; we have a lot in common.

Sherpa!'s first question to Sherpa! was what they expected and wanted from their web site redesign partner. Here were their expectations, and our replies.

1. They provided an objective, budget, and timeline. We clarified they couldn't be "everything", "free" and "yesterday".
2. They said they didn't have a budget. We said that's like saying you are investing in a car or house, but not stating your budget for said purchase. We showed them a $1,000,000 website, and then a $1,000 one — the opted on a custom website redesign budget of $30,000.
3. They wanted results and ROI from their investment. We realized they needed help calculating them.
4. They wanted an agency that understands their industry. We questioned if this was a conflict of interest with our other clients, and wondered how we will remain creative doing the same thing.
5. They said they would handle content writing. We asked them if they normally had all of their print, radio, and video content drafted by an intern.
6. They said they needed a content management system. We asked why, how often they were planning to change the content, which content they planned on changing, and who would change it.
7. They said they wanted to be #1 in the search results. We asked for what terms, and what budget they had to achieve this, as the #1 spot was already taken by companies that invested in search marketing.
8. They said they wanted "social marketing". We asked how they planned to manage ongoing communications and community management.
9. They said they wanted their site to be optimized for mobile devices. We asked what percentage of customers browse their current site with a mobile device.
10. They said they didn't have a "maintenance" budget. We clarified that internet marketing, in order for it to really work, includes both short and long-term investments.

What do you expect from a partner or agency helping your company with its web site redesign?