[Sigia-l] Avoiding alienating existing users upon redesign

[Ashk, Adamya]

As is obvious, any major site redesign will initially cause people some pain
(probably more so for a subscription site). It is important, therefore, to
get a sense of how severe the changes are and work out a solid migration
plan. This includes all the things you mention below; beta testing,
announcing change, new site-tour (some sites run the new one side by side
for a few days, some change over but give users the option to continue using
the older version). 

In addition, I have found that having specific data on 'how your site is
being used by users' is extremely helpful. So even before the redesign is
begun I would suggest you put in a plan to mine and analyze data on
site-usage in detail. That way you will have a good idea of how your changes
will effect the existing userbase and you can include measures in your
design (both permanent and time based) that will take care of 'the pain' or
at least minimize it. For example, if the changes are navigational and you
are moving an often used link to another location leave pointers in the old
location, at least for a few days. 

Also, think about publishing a list of major changes to your site. Look to
the data to make the decision on what is major and what is not. Sometimes
simple changes (like those to confirmation pages) will turn up more irate
users. The publishing can be both on the site or through e-mail.

Nothing irritates users more than having a redesign thrust upon them. So
plan for extra customer service support and proactive messaging for the
first few months. On the flip side users tend to ignore e-mail from familiar
sites. So slice your user-data and put in an extra effort for your
larger/loyal/profitable customer base.

Remember, it takes users extra time to put their feelings in an e-mail. If
you make them feel it was worthwhile by a quick and courteous response you
have more chances of retaining them.

HTH,

-Adamya

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Lash [mailto:jeff at jefflash.com]
Sent: 02/02/2004 8:54 PM
To: SIGIA
Subject: [Sigia-l] Avoiding alienating existing users upon redesign


How can a site implement a significant redesign without alienating existing
users?

A large subscription-based site has a significant number of users, many of
whom have been paying customers for several years without any major design
changes. Though the site is successful, there are several significant
usability issues that need to be addressed, as well as changes from the
business perspective. How can we successfully improve the site and expand
our user base while keeping our current users (who are notoriously fickle
about even the smallest of changes)?

I'm aware of the arguments against a major relaunch
--> http://www.uie.com/Articles/quiet_death_of_relaunch.htm
and will certainly make the case for that, but assuming there is going to be
a major re-launch, how can it be done?

I would especially appreciate any publicly-available articles, case studies,
or similar materials that deal with this issue, so that I may pass them on
to others working on the project. Specifically, if there is a list of what
things can be done
- before the redesign
- during the redesign
- after the redesign
to make the impact as minimal as possible, that would be excellent. (Things
like beta testing to a random sample, announcements that a change is coming,
new-site tour, etc...)

Good resources I've already found:
--> http://tinyurl.com/34bvj (Computerworld.com article)
--> http://www.ezrc.hud.gov/library/bookshelf15/redesigningexistingsite.cfm

Any others?

Thanks,
Jeff
--
http://jefflash.com

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