When the time comes for your website to be upgraded, there are three categories the scope of work will usually fall under: reskin, redesign, or recode. Below, you’ll see rationale for which type of site update is most suitable for you, and reasons why one might be better for your situation rather than another, and ways in which White Lion can assist you in moving forward.

What is a reskin?

A reskin is modifying the existing theme of a website. In other words, it’s the process of changing things such as colors, fonts, and images while generally leaving the layout intact. This process usually involves changing only the visual aesthetics of a website.

You may want a reskin if:

• the design is less than a couple years old and you’d like to update some imagery, colors, or typography.
• your company has recently rebranded and the website needs to match.
• you are having some issues with conversion and you’d like to make some minor adjustments to increase conversions.
• you’d like to freshen up the site and want to avoid significant functionality changes.

What is a redesign?

A redesign is a rewrite of the front-end of a website. This may include a new theme, enhanced user interactions, and adjusting layout for increased conversion. This process usually involves changing the stylesheets, markup, and scripting of a website. Sometimes new designs call for additional content or a significant change in content and a recode may be required.

You may want a redesign if:

• the site is more than a couple years old and no longer up to today’s design standards.
• you have trouble using the site on mobile devices.
• your users are frustrated with the current functionality.
• you’d like to rethink the way your site engages users by restructuring pages.

What is a recode?

A recode is a rewrite of the back-end of the website. This may involve rewriting the data model, updating the content management system, and changing the routing structure. This usually involves removing legacy code and replacing it with new server-side scripts, migrating existing data into the new system, and updating production servers to reliably run the new codebase.

You may want a recode if:

• slow performance is becoming a concern with an increasing number of users.
• you are considering implementing third-party apps or merging with another platform.
• you have trouble managing the content of your site with the current tools.
• you need your site to make data publicly available for other web services.

How we can help

White Lion is fully capable of fulfilling all of your web needs from reskin and redesign to recode. We understand your unique website needs a unique solution. Whether it be migrating your site to a more performant codebase or fast forwarding the look and feel to a modern mobile-friendly structure, we’ve got the talented team and processes to make that happen. Contact us and let us give you the confidence you need from a website that works for you and not against you.