One of the best ways to survey the evolution of Web design over a number of years is to compare different versions of websites. In other words, by comparing redesigned websites to their earlier incarnations, we become informed about new technologies, design trends and other things that emerged in the time between the two designs and the impact of these things on Web design.
In fact, the redesign process can do more than improve a website’s look and feel; it might be intended to enhance functionality, make the website more user-friendly, remove deficiencies or even change underlying concepts. Redesigning websites isn’t a frequently occurring process; designers usually do it when it’s necessary, which is usually every two or three years.
In this article I’ll showcase some examples of redesigned websites that might inspire you as you work on your own redesign projects.
Crazy Egg
Old Design
New Design
Both the new and the old Crazy Egg designs have some user-friendly features, but the new design is more subtle and elegant—and the new feature (“view demo”) is a creative idea. The old design took advantage of call-to-action buttons and was more colorful. Both present a similar thing in different ways. This is a well-executed redesign that doesn’t affect functionality while changing the appearance.
Change.org
Old Design
New Design
Change.org has done a dramatic redesign. It has added some new features that reflect its new capabilities and provide opportunities for users. The new call-to-action button is used more than the old one was, and the new footer contains a well-placed sitemap as well as some description about the organization. The only drawback, perhaps, is the long home page; it increases initial load time.
Electric Pulp
Old Design
New Design
Web development studios like to show off their ability to design outstanding websites in their own website’s design. It looks good for them, and it makes prospective clients want to work with them. In the case of Electric Pulp, we can see it. The new design, despite its length and multiple pictures (of completed projects), features a simple navigation menu at the top of the page and complete contact information in the footer section. Personally, I liked the old design; it was alive and captivating.
Evan Eckard
Old Design
New Design
In this example, the designer has tried to maintain the identifying elements of the original design. The design elements include: use of lines, style of navigation menu and colors for background, text and introduction block (which are almost are as they were, though they are now more subtle). Using big typography and sliders injects new trends and technologies into the design. It’s a great example of a redesign.
Linked In
Old Design
New Design
Websites like LinkedIn, whose users are professional folks, have to maintain certain aspects of the user experience over time while continually increasing functionality and efficiency. It’s done properly in this redesign; every working part of the old design is still in place. The only altered section is the navigation menu in the header, and there are two new things: a log-in box for registered users in the header and a one-line description just below the search box. There are also new items in the footer. This is a functionally improved redesign effort.
Bose
Old Design
New Design
There are instances in which the redesign process can degrade a design’s efficiency.
Bose’s new website serves as an example: many working features of the old design have been lost. Comprehensive navigation, a search box, the ability to sign up for an email subscription and the shopping cart have been omitted, and it negatively affects functionality. In fact, the new design seems to be an intro page rather than a home page. The old design’s look and feel was more user-friendly and appealing. Let this redesign warn you about potential dangers.
Veerle’s Blog
Old Design
New Design
Both the old and the new are well designed. Both are attractive and appealing, and they reflect the designers’ skills. The useful navigation bar from the old design header has been omitted in the new. Of course, the ability to search ability can compensate for lack of clear navigation, and the new design also makes use of the footer. Overall, the new design is elegant, well structured and easy to use. The old one was a bit distracting.
31Three
Old Design
New Design
The only thing that has changed is the look and feel. Everything else remains unchanged and in its place, and yet the design has become more beautiful and pleasant. Round corners play a key role in that.
Blue Flavor
Old Design
New Design
Blue Flavor’s new design has some advantages over the old one—but it also has disadvantages. From the appearance perspective, the new design is brilliant and has personality; it showcases designers’ abilities, which is important for any Web design company. From the perspective of usability, the old design ranks higher because its navigational items were in a good place (the header). Of course, the new design has good navigation in the footer. Frankly, neither are great designs, but the new one is far better.
5th Column Digital Design
Old Design
New Design
This is an evolutionary redesign that turns a simple design into a notable one. The old design was basic and a bit strange in spite of its creative nature. The refreshed design has suitable navigation and a clean design, and the slider in the header and the log-in section are good features for user experience.
Convex Digital
Old Design
New Design
This company’s website, like other commercial websites, has to present the services it provides as well as support for clients. In the previous design, this was done by providing live chat (a great feature) for customers. In the new design, complete contact information is provided in both the header and the footer. The navigation in the old design was more readable, and it was placed well. Both used design trends that were common at the time of design: big header and tag cloud in the old, and a slider, call-to-action buttons and a big footer in the new. The new design attempts to be informative and user-friendly, but the old one was far tidier and better structured.
In my view, a combination of the two would make a great design.
Philips
Old Design
New Design
The changes in this redesign seem trivial. Everything is the same as it was. The only added feature is the “Our Vision” section and some informational videos. The new design is more delicate, though. The two designs aren’t perfectly similar, but the accustomed users won’t get into trouble when they try to use the new design. It’s a beauty, and a great example.
Hicks Design
Old Design
New Design
The old design was clean, concise and pretty. Every necessary feature was there: navigation, introduction and contact information. Recent projects were showcased in an appealing manner. The new design is still somewhat clean, but it’s essentially a very long home page that increases page-load time and is difficult to use for all the scrolling. In this case, the old design is far better than the new one.
Clay Ant Creative
Old Design
New Design
Here’s another example of a website that was degraded during the redesign. The old design was attractive and had good structure and well-formed navigation. The new design has its own style; in spite of its creative layout, there is nothing similar to the old design. Perhaps that is rooted in the changing ideas of the company? In any case, the only upgrade seems to be the proper use of the footer.
Cabedge
Old Design
New Design
The refreshed version of Cabedge’s website is an instance of minimal design that seems to be the incorrect choice for business activities. It’s nice, but its drawback is the lack of essential elements. The old design was a general example of Design Company. It had a good introduction, links to (recent) works and explicit navigation—which are essentials. The new design looks more professional, though, which could be its winning point.
Robert Goodlatte
Old Design
New Design
Rob Goodlatte’s new design is clean and captivating, for a personal website. The old design had more features but was a bit distracting because of its layout. The old navigation tool has been omitted in new version, but the well-designed layout, big search box and footer links work well. Personal websites get a different type of visitor, so there are fewer constraints when designing them (as compared to websites with many users from different groups or commercial ones that must maintain a professional image).
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