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Ok, you’ve rebranded. You’ve done the research, gone through the process of getting super clear on who you’re talking to, of refining your message, of putting it into a nice visual package. Now what? How do you bring that new message and vision to your most important digital asset?
The process of rebranding takes thought, strategy, research, and time. And in order to get the most out of all that work, you’re going to need to do more than swapping your logo, colors, and fonts. You have an opportunity to do more than just surface level adjusting.
If you want the rebrand to be successful, you’re going to want to commit to it and invest in this next phase.
Revisit Your Domain Name
If there was ever a time to change your domain name, which is your URL, this is the perfect opportunity to do that. You’ll be going through and updating your logo anyway, so you can just update your URL too.
You’ll have to do a little work in order to make sure your pages redirect properly. But the good news is this can be relatively easy, especially since you’ll want to keep the old domain around for at least a little while to make sure you retain control over it and the email addresses attached to it.
Even though you’ll be keeping your old email addresses, you’re going to want at least one email address associated with the new domain. This way, people can find the new website easily and associate it with the new domain.
Don’t forget any automations and subdomains you have associated with your website. Those might need to be updated as well.
Take the Design to a New Level
It’s tempting to just make some visual changes to bring everything in line with the new brand and move on to planning your launch, but take it to the next level by implementing a totally fresh start.
That doesn’t have to mean changing everything and starting from scratch. If your website was developed properly, you won’t have to. Just take what you have and bring it up a notch. Bring in experts who can make those small but meaningful changes and can tell you if you’re in need of a more major redo.
But if you do decide to start from scratch, make sure you’re evaluating your platform choice (ease of use, cost, and especially growth potential). And you really aren’t starting from scratch, you do have some things that already exist.
Review Your Content
You should have at least a starting point, perhaps from previous website content, marketing materials, or even social media posts. You can use that as a starting point for reviewing what’s on your current website.
You’re looking for tone, services, company name, references, images, everything on every page to make sure it still aligns with your brand. Review keywords, SEO, and other content-related things. Everything that makes up the website.
If you get rid of any pages, try to pick an appropriate page to redirect it to, but only if there is a page to redirect to. Don’t just send it to your home page. A “page not found” error is sometimes appropriate.
And if you are updating your domain name, make sure to update any links on the pages as well.
Tell Everyone About It!
When you’re working on your new website, you’ll want it to be hidden so you don’t end up with new logos and images before you announce your new brand, and you don’t want your website to still have old branding when you announce the new brand. By having that new hidden version, whether you’re making those small changes or kicking it up a notch, it will make it easier to launch that new site at just the right time.
You’ll make your list of what needs to change when you’re making the switch: profile photos, social media IDs, payment information, URL, new website, and so on.
And don’t forget to tell everyone about the new website! You should be making the new brand announcement all over social and your newsletter, so flip that switch and don’t forget to invite everyone to visit your new website!
Your Website Is An Opportunity
A rebrand is the perfect opportunity to set off on the right path with a solid website and plan. Show how reliable you are, how much your customers can depend on you, how seriously you take your business. A solid, refreshed website provides the credibility and trustworthiness that’s so important. Nothing shows how much you’ve grown up like taking your new website seriously.
