What came first, the chicken or the egg? If you’re not a biologist or a farmer then the answer is pretty much irrelevant (and we don’t really have an answer). But, we do have an answer for those of you who are at a crossroads between redesigning your website or implementing inbound marketing and that answer is yes. Yes you should redesign your website and yes you should implement inbound marketing but like the chicken and the egg; which one comes first?
What came first? Inbound or the redesign?
Neither. Inbound marketing and web redesign have a bit of a symbiotic relationship meaning that neither can succeed without some support from the other. A redesigned website without inbound marketing is like a cheetah without teeth or claws (you might catch your customers but you’re going to have a difficult time holding onto them). You could also try taking the metrics from your inbound marketing strategy and use them to shape your website but that can take a lot of time, time you and your company may not have. So, what approach do we recommend?
Sometimes you’ve got to run before you can walk.
And that’s exactly the approach you should take with both your inbound marketing strategy and web redesign. Doing both at the same time can save you precious time and money as your web team will get to explore the ins and outs of your inbound strategy with you and then find ways to seamlessly integrate that plan with your new site. By not working both elements in simultaneously you will expose both you and your web team to major problems that could be fairly pricey in the future. Think of it as if your website is a house and you’re the contractor. You might do a great job on the exterior (your website) but without a solid foundation (your inbound marketing strategy) the house will eventually crumble and become yet another website lying in ruin on the vast plains of the internet. So, when you’re thinking about redesigning your site and implementing a new inbound strategy pretend you’re building a house and work inside out. Your inbound strategy should inform your site and your site should empower that plan. To do that you’re going to have to create an inbound plan, talk about it to your web team, put it on your site and launch both inbound and the redesign at the same time. Doing so will save you time, money and a lot of future headaches. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Fat Guy team.
