Most companies start a website redesign with the same checklist (or maybe not even this much): a cleaner layout, updated branding, faster load times, better mobile experience, maybe some new messaging. All of that matters, but none of it determines whether the redesign will actually move the business forward.
Before you touch a single pixel, there’s one question every business should ask:
“What business problem should this website solve?”
Your website isn’t just an online brochure. It’s a tool — and tools should have jobs.
Without a clear business problem, you end up redesigning the cosmetics instead of the function.
And that’s where redesigns go wrong. The colors change. The hero image is crisper. Maybe the menu is cleaner. But conversions don’t improve. Leads don’t increase. Sales don’t accelerate. Customer support tickets don’t decrease. The business stays the same, just with a nicer paint job.
When you start with the business problem, everything changes.
A Real Example: How the Opengear Redesign Solved a Customer Problem
One of the best examples of this approach is the work we did for Opengear.
Opengear sells highly technical networking hardware, and with dozens of models, configurations, and connectivity options, customers were constantly struggling to understand which product was right for their environment.
Sales reps were spending a significant amount of time walking customers through product choices, often over and over again.
The business problem became clear:
“It’s too hard for both customers and sales reps to find the exact product they need.”
So instead of simply redesigning pages, refreshing colors, and updating layouts, we built something that actually solved the problem:
A powerful product selector.
The selector allows users to input parameters like:
- Network size
- Connectivity needs
- Number of ports
- Environmental or remote-site requirements
- Redundancy features
…and instantly returns the right Opengear models.
The result?
- Customers get to the correct product much faster.
- Sales reps no longer need to manually guide every prospect.
- Mis-matched purchases drop dramatically.
- The website becomes a real sales tool, not a digital catalog.
That solution only exists because the redesign started with the business problem, not aesthetics.
Examples of Other Redesigns Done the Right Way
If the problem is “People can’t find what they need.”
You rethink navigation, add structured markup for search engines, integrate conversational search tools like VectorSeek, and make product or service pages easier to reach.
If the problem is “We’re paying too much for paid search.”
You reduce dependence on PPC by improving your SEO structure, fixing content gaps, tightening conversion paths, and removing friction on the landing pages customers actually use.
If the problem is “Staff loses too much time answering repetitive questions.”
You redesign support content, reorganize resource libraries, and give customers more intuitive ways to search manuals, PDFs, and policies.
If the problem is “The site doesn’t make our value clear.”
You refine messaging, restructure the homepage story, and align visuals with real buyer priorities instead of internal assumptions.
Why This Question Matters More Than Anything Else
When a website is built around a clear business challenge, it becomes:
- A growth engine, not an expense
- A decision-making tool, not guesswork
- A sales asset, not a digital business card
And suddenly the success metrics shift:
“Does it look good?” turns into “Is it doing the job we hired it to do?”
Ask This One Question First
Before you redesign anything, schedule one short meeting internally and answer:
“What business problem must this website solve in the next 12–24 months?”
If the entire redesign aligns with that answer, you’ll end up with a site that’s not only beautiful, but genuinely useful.
And that’s the kind of website that wins.