Lessons Learned from a Website Redesign Disaster
Okay, so picture this: I'm sitting at my kitchen table, nursing my third cup of coffee (you know, the one that's gone from "perfect temperature" to "why am I drinking lukewarm bean water?"), and I suddenly remembered this hilarious disaster from last month.
So there I was, feeling like the Marie Kondo of web design! I had this client, right? And I went IN on their website. I'm talking scorched earth, people. Every button, every widget, every little doo-dad that I thought was "cluttering up the place" – GONE!
By the time I was done, this website was so clean you could perform surgery on it. I'm not even kidding – it was like those Instagram photos of people's houses where you're like, "Okay but where do you keep your mail? Your keys? That pile of receipts you swear you'll organize someday?"
The client? Oh, they LOVED it. They were practically doing cartwheels (well, virtual ones – we were on Zoom). Analytics showed people were spending more time on the site! Everything made perfect logical sense! I was basically ready to update my LinkedIn to "Website Miracle Worker."
And then... oh boy. Then the emails started rolling in.
- "I can't find the contact form."
- "Where did the product categories go?"
- "How do I get to my account?"
You guys. YOU GUYS. I had created the digital equivalent of one of those minimalist restaurants where you can't figure out which door is the bathroom and which is the kitchen.
Talk about a face-palm moment! There I was, sitting in my pajamas at 10 PM (don't judge), realizing that I'd been designing for MY eyes, not theirs. I'd built this gorgeous, pristine digital palace... and forgotten to put up any signs!
See, here's the thing nobody tells you – and I'm gonna get real with you for a second – sometimes what we call "clutter" is actually just... life? Like, you know how your junk drawer is a disaster but you can find everything in it blindfolded? That's because it's YOUR disaster. It makes sense to YOU.
Same deal with websites! What looked like digital chaos to me was actually a roadmap my client's customers had been following for YEARS. And I just... deleted their map. Whoops!
After a few sleepless nights (and some seriously awkward "So, um, we need to add some stuff back" conversations), I completely changed how I work. Now? Now I start by basically becoming a digital detective. I watch how people ACTUALLY use websites – not how I think they should.
It's like... okay, you know when you visit your parents and they have 47 remote controls but they know EXACTLY which one does what? That's not clutter to them – that's their system! And my job isn't to throw out their remotes. It's to help them work better while still making sense to THEM.
These days, I spend way more time in the messy middle. I watch people click around, get lost, find their way back. I see where they expect things to be (spoiler alert: it's usually not where I would put them!). And THEN I design.
The best part? When you actually pay attention to how people really behave – all their weird habits and illogical patterns – you can create something that's both clean AND useful. It's like organizing someone's closet but keeping their "lucky shirt" exactly where they always look for it, even if that spot makes zero sense to anyone else.
So yeah, I learned my lesson! Sometimes the cobwebs are there for a reason – they show you where the paths are. And honestly? Figuring out how to clear the dust while keeping people happy on their journey? That's where the real magic happens!
*takes final sip of now-cold coffee*
Trust me, your users will thank you. And you won't have to send those awkward "So about that update..." emails at midnight. Win-win!
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