Wakefly BlogPreparing a Website Redesign Budget for 2025: A Step-by-Step Guide

As we approach 2025, businesses are recognizing the necessity of a fresh, user-friendly website to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Whether your site is outdated, hard to navigate, or simply not performing as expected, a redesign can make a significant difference. However, a successful website redesign requires careful planning and a well-structured budget. Here’s how to prepare your website redesign budget for 2025.

1. Assess Your Current Website

Before diving into budgeting, conduct a thorough assessment of your current website. Identify its strengths, weaknesses, and areas that need improvement. Key factors to consider include:

• User Experience (UX): How easy is it for users to navigate your site? Are there any usability issues?
• Supported: Is your website running the most current, supported version? Is it supported at all? 
• Performance: Is your website fast enough? Does it perform well on mobile devices?
• Content: Is your content up-to-date and relevant? Are there gaps that need filling?
• SEO: How does your site rank in search engines? Are there technical SEO issues that need addressing?

This analysis will help you determine what aspects of your site need the most attention, guiding your budget allocation.

2. Define Your Goals

What do you hope to achieve with your website redesign? Common goals might include:

• Improving user engagement and conversion rates
• Streamlining content management
• Increasing website traffic and search rankings

Clearly defined goals will not only inform your design and functionality decisions but will also help justify your budget when presenting to stakeholders.

3. Identify Required Features and Functionality

Once you know what you want to achieve, outline the specific features and functionalities your new site needs. Consider the following:

• Responsive Design: Ensuring the site is mobile-friendly.
• Content Management System: Will you need a new CMS, or can you work with your existing one?
• Integrations: Do you need to integrate third-party tools (like CRM systems, email marketing platforms, etc.)/ These may save you a lot of time and improve data quality.
• Accessibility Features: How will you ensure your site is accessible to all users?

Creating a comprehensive list will give you a clearer picture of the costs involved.

4. Allocate Budget Categories

Once you have a clear idea of your goals and required features, break your budget down into categories. Typical budget categories for a website redesign might include:

• Website Enhancements: Costs associated with improving your website, including designs, features and functionality.
• SEO Services: Budgeting for SEO consultations and optimization efforts.
• Accessibility (ADA): Budgeting for ADA monitoring and optimization efforts.
• Hosting and IT: Ongoing costs for software upgrades, web hosting, and maintenance.
• Licensing: Budgeting known licensing costs like the CMS platform.

Allocating funds to each category will help you track spending and ensure you don’t overlook any crucial aspects.

5. Factor in Contingencies

No project or budget goes exactly as planned, especially when it comes to marketing and websites. Allocate at least 10-20% of your total budget for unforeseen expenses. This cushion will help you manage unexpected challenges without derailing your budgets. This could be something as simple as an employee change at your company. Boarding new employees and training is expensive and time consuming. 

6. Explore Funding Options

If your budget feels tight, consider various funding options. You might explore:

• Internal Budget Reallocations: Identify areas in your marketing budget where you can cut back.
• Payments: Work with your partner to have projects or at least payment terms hit multiple annual budgets.

7. Monitor and Adjust

Once your budget is set, keep a close eye on your spending as the project progresses. Regularly review each category to ensure you’re staying on track. If adjustments are needed, be proactive in reallocating funds as necessary. Wakefly supplies Retainer reports so this is easily within your view. 

Conclusion

Preparing a website redesign budget for 2025 is an essential step towards creating a more effective online presence. By assessing your current website, defining clear goals, and breaking down costs into manageable categories, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate the redesign process. Remember, a well-planned budget not only helps you manage expenses but also sets the stage for a successful website that meets your business objectives.

Your Customer Success Manager at Wakefly can work with you to make sure you have everything you need at no cost to your organization.