The question to wether we should gradually improve your Shopify store versus completely redesign it is one we get asked all the time.
In this article I'll talk about the bad reasons and then the good reasons why a brand might want to redesign
Here is why it might be a bad idea:
1. Brand wants to increase performance (conversions, aov etc)
Imagine you run a business with conversion rate averaging 1.5%. Now imagine you spend months and tens of thousands redesigning your store only to see the conversion tank to below 1%. Technically the site is a lot better but it simply doesn't perform the same and no one knows why... that happens more than what you would think, and the usual solution is then to revert back. The result is wasted time, money and not really learning anything about what happened.
When you make too many changes at once, it is hard to know what works and what doesn't, so a redesign is a pretty big gamble. We have seen instances where it didn't pay off and that is not a good place to be.
2. Brand feels like they just need a "refresh"
Usually, this is the worse reason to redesign and results in a huge waste of time, money and energy. You need a solid reason (discussed later in this post) to a redesign. A lot of agencies don't care and just want the project, but good partners will measure the need of a redesign with you. If your agency says yes to everything you do, chances are they don't know what they are doing.
3. Competitive pressure
Your neighbor just bought a brand new car, so now you feel the pressure of changing the one you have only it works perfectly fine... You can and should definitely see what your competition is doing, but unless you know their metrics, you won't even know if their site performs better than yours. Even if it is "prettier". The best approach in this situation would be to take and test features gradually.
Here is why it is a good idea:
1. Your business model changed
If your are now B2B or targeting a completely new type of ICP, you might need a redesign if we can't use the site we have.
2. You completely rebranded
Following point 1, if your new visual identity requires a whole new website structure, you might need a redesign if we can't use what we have.
3. Your website structure sucks
this is the best reason why you would need a redesign. A good example is when Shopify changed their theme architecture from 1.0 to 2.0. This change brought flexible sections, metafields and a lot of other features that allow for faster builds, less bugs and better App integrations.
Some apps are starting to ditch 1.0 support, leaving merchants with the need to change to a 2.0 theme.
Another case is when you build a highly custom theme and it wasn't built properly. Now every time you need a change it takes your agency triple the time to do it.
So to conclude, the more revenue you generate, the bigger the risk is to redesign it completely, even if the redesign offers a better experience. Consider these points carefully, if you need a structural change then a redesign is welcome, if not you are better off optimizing the one you have.
Hope this is helpful!
