Redesigning your website? It’s more than a tech upgrade—it’s a chance to realign your digital presence with your mission, your audiences, and your future. Here are a few things I recommend every organization remember when starting a website redesign.
This is the time you’ll reconnect with your mission.
It’s common for the grind of day-to-day work to detach you from the bigger picture. A website redesign brings you back to your purpose.
Why? The first phase is all about learning, and it hyper focuses on your audiences, their needs, and your goals in order to design a digital presence that supports your mission.
It’s an organizational inflection point.
Your mission was set in stone long ago, but how you achieve it has evolved. Your website is chock full of old initiatives and retrofitted for new ones.
A website redesign forces the entire organization to make some tough decisions about how to present itself. You’ll have to decide which initiatives are most important at launch and guess what will be important in the future. (It really helps to have a 3- or 5-year organizational strategic plan in place.)
It’s hard to let go, but some content shouldn’t have a home on the new site. Some programs will be elevated over others. The website doesn’t dictate these decisions, but it puts them under a microscope. It becomes the catalyst for intentional decisions: What’s core to your mission today? What’s just clutter?
There will be feelings.
All these decisions amount to change, and not everyone will feel like they got their way.
Avoid the angst by developing and publicizing a stakeholder engagement plan. It paves the way for smart decisions and internal buy-in. Questions to include:
- Who’s on the core project team?
- Will there be a cross-department working group for consultations?
- Who should participate in stakeholder interviews?
- Will there be a staff survey?
- Who makes the final decisions?
And don’t disappear into a black hole during the website redesign. Keep your colleagues informed by scheduling a communications plan around milestone moments. Research, recommendations, information architecture, and visual designs are all great times to update your colleagues on progress and next steps.
Trust your audiences.
Yes, there’s a lot of work to do within the organization, but remember: The primary audience for your website won’t be staff members. (That’s what your intranet is for!)
Your website vendor should take the time to determine your target audiences during the learning phase, and uncover their real motivations. Audience surveys and interviews will often uncover gaps between what staff think people care about and what actually drives action. A successful website gives the people what they want. From there, you guide them on a journey to deeper commitment to your mission.
This is a job on top of a job (or jobs).
It doesn’t matter how large or small your operating budget is–nonprofit staff members always juggle multiple roles. A website redesign is a huge lift over many months, and it’s pretty unlikely you’ll get to offload any duties during the project. It’s a lot to take on. That’s why it’s important to set realistic expectations, stay flexible, and create a process that feels sustainable.
A website redesign can feel overwhelming—but it’s also one of the most meaningful ways to invest in your organization’s future. It’s where your mission meets the moment, and where clarity creates connection. With the right strategy, the right team, and the right mindset, you’ll end up with more than just a better website. You’ll have a tool that amplifies your impact.
At Teal, we specialize in guiding mission-driven organizations through this journey—with empathy, insight, and a deep commitment to your goals. If you’re planning a redesign, we’d love to help you make the most of it.
