Websites are not static entities. They are ever-evolving, growing with your business and your needs, as well as with time.
Pages should be added when necessary, content updated, images refreshed. And there will be times when your recruitment website will need a complete design overhaul. In order to get the most out of a redesign, there are a number of questions you should ask yourself so that you can have productive chats with your designers and end up with a result you are truly happy with.
Why does your recruitment website need a redesign?
This may seem like an obvious question but until you ask yourself why and really dig into those reasons, you won’t get a full picture of what needs to be done. What is your primary driver for wanting your recruitment website redesigned? Is it purely a style issue or has something changed in your business model? It could be that you currently have three different websites and want to consolidate them into one, or that you are diversifying to include training for candidates and/or clients, or perhaps you just need a website refresh as the design is dated or the structure and navigation don’t quite work anymore. Look at each reason and deconstruct them to decipher what you really want from a redesign as this will guide your designer.
What needs or goals are not being met by your current website?
What has to change or be added to your website to meet your business needs or goals? Do you want to bring more clients on board or drive more candidates to your website? Are you not generating as many applications as you would like? Do you have a high bounce rate and want to increase visitor engagement? Perhaps you want to display your expertise, instilling trust and loyalty in your audience by publishing thought pieces and industry news. Your website is an integral part of your business strategy and your recruitment marketing plan so if it is not helping you to reach those goals, something needs to change.
Who is your target audience and has that changed?
Have you diversified, added revenue streams or branched into another sector and need your website to reflect a different demographic? This is crucial as, ultimately, your website is for your users. If your site doesn’t meet their needs or appeal to them, it’s not doing its job. Everything from tone, to colours, to shapes, to the overall structure of the website should be designed with your users in mind.
What does your website need to boost your branding?
Your website is your online ID, it is an extension of who you are as a business and therefore branding is key. Ensuring colours and shapes match those in your logo is one part of it but overall messaging and tone is also a big part of branding that needs careful consideration on your website. Images, graphics, features, all should be on-brand. Just remember never to sacrifice user experience for design elements. Always check that navigation remains clear – the functioning of your website is paramount.
What do you want visitors to do on your website?
Clear navigation and a positive user experience is essential. Working out exactly what you want visitors to do when they’re on your website will inform its design. If you don’t make it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for – or what you want them to find – engagement will drop and your bounce rate will increase. Make it easy for candidates to find your jobs page or your candidate registration page. Send clients on a clear journey that ends at your contact page. When you redesign your recruitment website it’s a good idea to have a clear separation between candidates and clients on the homepage so that they are guided right from the start. An intuitive site that is quick and easy to navigate is vital.
What do you like or not like about competitor websites?
As well as fleshing out what you love and hate about your own website, making comparisons with other websites can be really helpful to work out what you do and don’t want. There’s no reason you can’t take inspiration from competitor websites as long as you don’t plagiarise their design. This will also help the design team to understand your vision and the aesthetic you are going for. It can also help your designers to explain why certain elements would and wouldn’t work for your particular website and your users.
What pages do you need?
It may be that you have pages you no longer require and pages that you need added. Some may need expanding upon, others may need streamlining. Most recruitment websites will have a homepage, an About Us, a jobs page, a candidate page, a client page, and a contact page. You may also want a blog page, pages for the different sectors you recruit in, and a testimonials page.
What are your most important CTAs?
What calls to action are the most important, where do you need them, how should they be worded and where should they send visitors? These need to inspire visitors to perform the required action, whether that’s to apply for a job, contact a recruiter, read a blog, or something else. Make them short and snappy and place them on the right pages and in the best spaces.
What is your most important messaging?
A website is fundamentally a vessel for communication and every element of your site should aid that communication. Text, images, design styles, colours, shapes, multimedia, all tell your users something about your business. In order to convey the right message you need decide what messaging is most important. The right messaging will attract the right candidates and help to win over clients.
Will you need any further services?
A redesign of your recruitment website is a great time to think about extras that you would like for your website or your business in general. Will you need ongoing support to help maintain your website and keep it online and functioning correctly? Perhaps you need a complete rebrand and want a new logo. Do you need a copywriting service to help with regular blogs or future website copy updates? These are all important considerations going forwards and a redesign is the perfect time to put these in place.
A redesign can transform your website, not just aesthetically but functionally too. Your recruitment website needs to fulfil the goals you have for it, from driving clients and candidates to it, to communicating your brand, to converting visitors into clients and applicants. A redesign should address any function that is lacking in your current website as well as projecting the right image to the world.
