Cornell University is currently undergoing a redesign of their website. They have a weblog that is documenting the entire process! There is more to this idea than meets the eye.
First of all, as our websites get older intermittent redesign will definitely have to happen, no matter how happy you are today with the look and functionality of the website you have.
There are so many issues relating to a major redesign, having to do not only with usability but also implications for the way your site will be indexed in search engines. It’s critical to be aware of how changing pages and especially page URLs could be impacting search engine crawlers in their success or failure at crawling and indexing your site, especially relative to the old site design.
Cornell has made a terrific object lesson in the redesign of an enormous site and even if you don’t have a renovation planned soon for your website it makes for interesting reading.
