Got another cautionary tale for ya if you’re thinking about getting your website redesigned.
In the past four years since starting my business, a handful of my clients have made this mistake. And if I’m recalling correctly here—and it’s entirely possible I’m missing the exception to this rule, but I don’t think I am—not a single one of my clients who decided to get their website redesigned and “optimized” were happy with the results.
More:
Besides not being happy with the results, each and every single one of my clients who got their website redesigned by an agency even used the “new and improved” site because it was such a massive downgrade to the site they had before.
This is the case for all four or five clients who got duped into letting an agency redesign their website.
And last night, I accidentally crashed one of my client's site because they made this same mistake.
Here’s what happened:
Few months back, my keto client let me know that she was getting her website redesigned. I smelled trouble a mile away.
Anyway, fast forward to yesterday, January 31, otherwise known as the day before Google and Yahoo updated their sender requirements. After getting into my client’s GoDaddy account, I noticed that her nameservers weren’t controlled by GoDaddy and were instead controlled by, yes, you guessed it, the design agency she hired to redo her website.
Now, I don’t know the difference between a nameserver or a server. The technical side of DNS settings ain’t my strength (besides knowing how to configure SPF, DKIM, and dmarc records), so I let my client know that her new agency controlled the nameservers and DNS settings, so I couldn’t add the DNS records we need in order to send emails.
She replied back saying how disappointed she was in the site’s new design, especially for the ungodly amount the agency was charging her. And she said to go ahead and move the nameservers back to GoDaddy.
Welp, after switching the nameservers back, the entire site crashed. Luckily, I was able to republish the site by switching the nameservers back to her agency, but this leaves us with a massive void in her business:
She can’t send emails until she fires the design agency, and I’m able to configure her DNS settings.
Yeeeeeeeeessh.
Not only did the design agency overcharge my client and not only did they make her “new and improved” site worse than before they got involved, but now they’re actively preventing us from sending emails.
Triple whammy.
Moral of the story?
Website redesigns almost never go as planned. (What’s funny is that my newest client made a similar mistake, and are currently in the process of reverting their site back to their old site too.)
Worst part?
They never actually move the ROI needle either. Even if the website design agency doesn't mess everything up (which they do a shockingly high amount—100% in the case of my clients over the past four years), new websites still don’t drive the revenue needle much.
Not when compared to email (or really any other kind of marketing for that matter).
Heed this warning.
You’ll save yourself weeks (mayhap even months) of frustration.
And if you actually wanna drive that revenue needle forward like TSwift does for the NFL, hit reply, and let’s chat.
J0hn