Website Redesign ROI: A Guide for B2B Marketing Leaders

Your B2B website needs a redesign. You can feel it. Your team knows it. But how do you convince stakeholders that it's worth the investment?

That's what this guide is all about: helping marketing leaders like you build a rock-solid business case for your website redesign project.

As a marketing leader, you're probably familiar with this scenario: Your website is showing its age. Maybe it's not mobile-friendly, loads too slowly, or simply doesn't reflect your current offerings. But when you bring up a redesign to stakeholders, their first question is always about ROI.

And it's a fair question. Website redesigns aren't cheap, and in today's data-driven business environment, every major investment needs to be justified.

Why Measuring Website ROI Matters

Let's be honest: calculating ROI for a website redesign isn't as straightforward as measuring the return on a paid advertising campaign. But that doesn't make it any less important.

A well-planned website redesign can transform your digital presence from a liability into a powerful asset. But a website redesign won’t just make your website look pretty – it will drive real business results. 

Did you know it takes only half a second for a visitor to decide whether or not they like your website? 38% of website visitors will refuse to engage with your website if they find its layout unattractive, and 57% of visitors won’t recommend your business if your site is poorly designed. 

That means your subpar B2B website is costing you critical engagement that could lead to conversions, sales, and satisfied customers who could recommend your business to other potential buyers. 

That’s why we encourage you to think about your website as your hardest-working salesperson. It's available 24/7, often creates your company’s first impression, and influences countless buying decisions. And the best part is that its performance is completely measurable.

The key is knowing exactly what to measure and how to present those measurements in a way that resonates with decision-makers.

Key ROI Metrics to Track

When building your business case for a website redesign, you'll want to focus on three main categories of metrics: revenue impact, cost savings, and user experience improvements.

Let's break these down into practical terms that your stakeholders will understand.

Revenue-Based Metrics

Your website directly influences your company's bottom line in several ways. Start by tracking these key metrics:

• Lead Generation: 91% of marketers say lead generation is their most important goal. That’s because lead generation helps businesses identify potential customers so they can begin nurturing a relationship that can result in sales.
  
  How many qualified leads does your website currently generate each month? A well-executed redesign can significantly increase this number through improved forms, enhanced calls-to-action, and an optimized user experience.
  
  
• Conversion Rates: What percentage of visitors take your desired action on your website? This desired action might be filling out a contact form, downloading a whitepaper, or requesting a demo. A responsive website design can increase your conversion rates by 11% when compared to a non-responsive website, and websites that are optimized for mobile see 40% higher conversion rates.
  
  
• Sales Pipeline Value: 81% of consumers begin the purchase process by doing research online. With that statistic in mind, how much potential revenue is influenced by your website? Consider both direct online conversions and deals where your website played a critical role in the buying process.
  
  
• Customer Acquisition Costs: The average organic customer acquisition cost for B2B SaaS companies is around $205. A more effective website can lower this cost per acquisition by streamlining your buying process, providing valuable content, and automating your lead generation tactics, thereby reducing the need for expensive sales outreach and converting more visitors into leads and customers. 

Cost-Based Metrics

Website ROI isn't just about generating more revenue–it's also about reducing costs and improving efficiency.

Modern websites built on robust platforms require less technical maintenance. That means fewer emergency fixes, less downtime, and reduced IT costs. Software engineers currently spend an average of 20-40% of their time debugging–time that could be better spent developing scalable solutions and streamlining operations to reduce costs.

Your team's efficiency matters too. How much time does your marketing team spend wrestling with your current content management system (CMS)? Do you struggle to add new types of content? Does your CMS integrate well with other systems?

84% of technology leaders feel their CMS is preventing their business from unlocking its full content potential. 40% say they experience difficulties adding new data and content types, while 36% say their CMS struggles to integrate with other systems. Over half of technology leaders believe their current CMS is preventing them from quickly bringing new services to market. 

If these struggles sound familiar to you, it’s time to consider a more intuitive CMS that can free up significant resources. After all, every hour you spend struggling with a difficult CMS adds up, and this wasted time can be significant.

User Experience Metrics

While harder to directly tie to revenue, user experience metrics are crucial indicators of your website's effectiveness. They also tend to be the easiest metrics to measure and present. These metrics include:

• Bounce Rate: If visitors are leaving your site immediately, that's a clear sign something isn't working. A high bounce rate often indicates a disconnect between what visitors expect and what they find. In 2024, the average website sees a bounce rate between 26 and 70%. You can consider your bounce rate “excellent” if it falls somewhere in the range of 26 to 40%.
  
  
• Session Duration: How long do visitors spend exploring your site? Longer sessions typically indicate more engaged visitors–people who are actually reading your content and considering your solutions. In the B2B space, you should aim for an average session duration of around 2 minutes.
  
  
• Mobile Usage: If your site isn't mobile-friendly, you're likely losing a significant portion of your audience. Nearly 50% of online shoppers compare prices on a mobile device before making a final purchase. If your mobile site is difficult to access, you’ll lose visitors to competitor websites. In fact, Google’s own research shows that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site if they had difficulties accessing it previously, and 40% will bounce to a competitor.
  
  
• Page Load Speed: Every second counts. Slow-loading pages frustrate visitors and hurt your search rankings. In fact, one study found that conversion rates improve by 17% for every second a website loads faster. That means a website that is slow to load results in more bounces, which jeopardizes your conversion rates and leads to lost ROI.

Calculating Website ROI: A Practical Approach

Now let's talk about how to actually calculate the ROI of your website redesign project. We'll break this down into manageable steps that make sense for B2B companies.

Start With Your Baseline

Before you can project future gains, you need to know where you stand today. Gather current data for all the metrics we discussed above. Don't worry if you don't have everything–start with what you have and identify gaps.

For example, your B2B company might have baseline metrics like:

• Conversion Rate: 1.5% (indicating low lead generation and conversion effectiveness)
• Bounce Rate: 55% (suggesting users leave quickly due to poor user experience or irrelevant content)
• Page Load Time: 6 seconds (leading to frustration and high bounce rates)
• Organic Monthly Traffic: 1,000 (low, flat, or declining traffic reveals potential SEO issues or outdated content)
• Average Session Duration: 1 minute (indicating that visitors are not engaging deeply with your site)

These metrics highlight areas of improvement that a redesign aims to address, like user engagement, site performance, and conversion optimization.

The key is to document your current situation thoroughly. This gives you a clear starting point and makes it easier to demonstrate improvements later.

Set Realistic Goals

This is where many ROI calculations go wrong. Either the goals are too conservative to justify the investment, or they're so ambitious that they lack credibility.

Your goals should be both ambitious and achievable. Look at industry benchmarks, but also consider your specific situation. A company with an extremely outdated website will typically see more dramatic improvements than one with a merely adequate site. 

These website redesign benefits can help you establish your redesign goals and build your business case for refreshing your website.

Consider Your Investment

The average cost of working with an agency to redesign your website is around $15,000 to $30,000. However, a large, complicated website may run closer to $40,000 to $75,000 (or more, depending on the team you choose and the size and complexity of your site). 

Keep in mind that your website redesign budget needs to include more than just the initial design and development costs. Consider all aspects, from the initial strategy to ongoing maintenance, including:

• Initial planning and strategy work
• Design and development
• Content creation or migration
• Training for your team
• Ongoing maintenance and updates
• Marketing automation integration

Typical ranges for these costs in the B2B space vary drastically depending on your industry and the scope of work.

Website redesign costs vary significantly based on factors like site size, functionality needs, and content requirements. Getting a detailed project quote helps ensure accurate budgeting.

And remember: cheaper isn't always better. A properly executed redesign that drives results is an investment that pays dividends for years.

Project Your Timeline

Website ROI doesn't happen overnight. Set appropriate expectations with this typical timeline:

• Months 1-3: Initial technical improvements (faster loading, better mobile experience, etc.)
• Months 3-6: Improved user engagement metrics
• Months 6-12: Increased lead generation and conversion rates
• 12+ Months: Full realization of benefits and compound growth

Common ROI Calculation Mistakes

After working with numerous B2B companies on website redesigns, we've seen several common mistakes in ROI calculations. Here's how to avoid them.

Mistake #1: Focusing Only on Direct Revenue

While lead generation and direct conversions are important, they're not the only way your website delivers value. Don't forget about:

• Brand perception improvements
• Customer service efficiencies
• Reduced support calls
• Employee productivity gains
• Competitive positioning

Mistake #2: Ignoring Maintenance Savings

Your current website might be costing more than you realize. Many companies underestimate their ongoing maintenance costs, which frequently include:

• Emergency fixes and updates
• Security patches
• Regular backups
• Content updates
• Technical support time

The average cost of maintaining a website falls between $400 and $60,000 per year. A website redesign can significantly reduce these ongoing maintenance costs.

How? Improved code quality and site structure mean fewer bugs and less need for frequent fixes and updates. A modern CMS with intuitive, drag-and-drop tools and a user-friendly backend means you can make site updates without the need for developer intervention. 

And a simpler, cleaner site requires less time and energy to maintain–not to mention the reduction of data breaches, hacks, and malware infections that come with updated site infrastructure and enhanced security protocols. 

Mistake #3: Undervaluing Brand Impact

It's hard to put a dollar value on brand perception, but that doesn't mean it's not valuable. A dated website can seriously damage your credibility with potential customers.

First impressions are 94% design-related, and 75% of visitors judge the credibility of a company based solely on its website design.

This shows the significant impact of website design on B2B buyer confidence. While a professional, easy-to-navigate website that builds trust and clearly communicates your value will boost your visitors’ confidence in purchasing from your company, a poorly designed website will send your visitors straight to your competitors.

Making Your Business Case

Now comes the crucial part: presenting your ROI calculations to stakeholders. Your approach here can make or break your website redesign project.

Start With Pain Points

Begin your presentation by highlighting current website issues that directly impact your business. This isn't about complaining–it's about identifying specific problems that affect your company's bottom line.

For example, if your sales team regularly apologizes for your website, that's a red flag. If customers frequently reach out to support while struggling to find important information, that's costing you money. If your team spends hours on simple content updates, that's a clear efficiency issue.

Let’s take a look at a couple of real-life B2B website redesign case studies and the pain points that convinced these business’s stakeholders to move forward. 

EVPassport: Pain Points Resolved through Website Redesign

EVPassport, a revolutionary company working to implement their unique infrastructure-as-a-service model within the electric vehicle charging industry, approached Trajectory to help them address several website pain points:

1. Their outdated website failed to capture their innovative spirit. 
2. The existing site struggled to clearly communicate their unique infrastructure-as-a-service model.
3. The site lacked the user-friendly interface their tech-savvy audience expected.

So, what did we do to transform their online presence? We crafted a sleek, modern website to mirror EVPassport's cutting-edge technology, created industry-specific pages tailored to their diverse clientele, designed an interactive pricing page, implemented a responsive design, and integrated case studies and client logos to boost the organization’s credibility. 

The results? The company saw a 100% improvement in page load speed and a significant uptick in qualified leads.

PRAXIS3: Pain Points Resolved through Website Redesign

Here’s another example. PRAXIS3, an award-winning architecture firm, contacted Trajectory in desperate need of a website redesign. Here are the pain points that convinced their stakeholders to move forward:

1. Their existing website struggled to showcase their diverse expertise without diluting their core strength. 
2. Their website heavily emphasized just one facet of their expertise–automotive work–which was failing to capture the interest of clients in other sectors, such as higher education and mixed-use development.
3. The site lacked the sophistication and user experience that architecture clients expected.

To address these pain points, we focused first on content strategy and information architecture to ensure proper organization and accessibility of their diverse portfolio. We then created distinct sector-based entry points to allow visitors to dive straight into relevant work, designed a homepage that balanced their expertise across industries, built a robust careers section to showcase their unique culture, and implemented a news feed to highlight their thought leadership and involvement in the community.

This B2B website redesign improved page load speeds by 85%, increased mobile engagement by 60%, and increased average session duration by 40%. Most importantly, the site began successfully attracting diverse project opportunities while maintaining the company’s position as the go-to firm for automotive retail design.

Present Clear Numbers

When presenting ROI projections, clarity is crucial. Break down your calculations into simple, easy-to-understand terms.

For example, let’s say your most important key performance indicators are monthly website visitors, conversion rate, average lead value, and leads generated per month. 

Imagine these are your current numbers prior to your website redesign:

• Monthly Website Visitors: 10,000
• Conversion Rate: 1% (leads per visitors)
• Average Lead Value: $500
• Leads Generated Per Month: 100 leads (10,000 x 1%)

You are projecting to reach the following numbers after the redesign: 

• Monthly Website Visitors: 12,000 (20% increase in traffic)
• Conversion Rate: 1.5% (0.5% increase due to enhanced lead capture and UX)
• Average Lead Value: $500
• Leads Generated Per Month: 180 leads (12,000 x 1.5%)

Let’s say your website redesign cost is $25,000. 

Here’s how you can calculate your ROI using these metrics:

• Additional Leads After Redesign: 180 leads (after) - 100 leads (before) = 80 additional leads/month

• Additional Monthly Revenue: 80 additional leads/month x $500 (average lead value) = $40,000 additional revenue/month

• Annual Additional Revenue: $40,000 x 12 months = $480,000 additional revenue/year

ROI Calculation:

In this example, your calculated ROI is 1,820% for the first year after your website redesign. This shows a strong return on investment, making redesigning your B2B website a worthwhile decision.

Pro Tip: Remember to frame everything in terms of business impact. Instead of talking about bounce rates and page views, talk about leads, sales opportunities, and revenue.

Address Common Objections

Be prepared for these typical concerns:

• "Can't we just update our current site?"
• "What if we wait another year?"
• "How can we be sure we'll see these returns?"

Here are some sample responses to help you address each of these concerns. Be sure to add relevant metrics and specific pain points to tailor your responses to your business for maximum impact.

• “Can't we just update our current site?” - Sample Response: “Updating our current site might seem like a quicker and cheaper fix, but it won’t be enough to drive the results we need. A full redesign will allow us to rethink the entire user experience. We’ll be able to redesign our site architecture and navigation, streamline the customer journey, and incorporate modern design and functionality that’s not possible with just updates.
  
  It’s not just about looks—it’s about performance, mobile optimization, better lead generation, and aligning with current SEO best practices. A website redesign is the best way to ensure long-term growth and keep us competitive in our industry.”

• “What if we wait another year?” - Sample Response: “Waiting another year could put us at a serious disadvantage. While it might seem like a cost-saving measure, it could cost us more in the long run by causing us to miss out on valuable leads and conversions.
  
  In the next year, our competitors will be working on improving their digital presence. Meanwhile, our visitors will continue bouncing to other sites because our website is outdated and slow, hard to navigate, and is not optimized for mobile.
  
  Investing in a website redesign now will help us keep up with market trends, improve our search engine rankings, make it easier for visitors to find the information they’re looking for, and boost leads and sales. The longer we wait, the harder it will be for us to catch up.”

• “How can we be sure we'll see these returns?” - Sample Response: “While there’s no guarantee of immediate results, investing in a B2B website redesign is a proven way to drive measurable returns. Just take a look at our projected ROI for the year following the redesign. 

By improving our site's user experience, mobile optimization, and lead capture processes, we can directly address the factors that are currently limiting our conversions and customer satisfaction. With the right tools, we will be able to track improvements in traffic, engagement, leads, conversions, and sales.

Plus, a well-executed redesign will position our brand as modern and trustworthy so we can stay ahead of the competition. Redesigning our website will set the foundation for long-term success.”

The key is having data-backed responses ready. This shows you've thought through all angles and builds confidence in your projections.

Measuring Post-Launch Success

Your work isn't done once the new site launches. In fact, that's when the real ROI tracking begins. You’ll need to set up proper analytics tools to measure your success. 

Analytics tools typically include:

• Google Analytics Setup: Google Analytics is a free tool that collects and analyzes data about website users to help the website owner understand their business performance. Here is a walkthrough for setting up your GA4 account.
  
  
• Conversion Tracking Tools: Conversion tracking tools are digital marketing platforms that monitor and measure how many of your website visitors convert, or take a desired action on your website. These tools help you understand the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
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• ‍Heat Mapping Tools: Heat mapping tools help you visualize how users interact with your B2B website by transforming large amounts of data into visuals. They use a color spectrum to show which areas of your website are interacted with most.

• ‍Form Analytics Tools: Form analytics tools monitor website visitor engagement with your online forms to show you how visitors view your form, whether they start to fill it out, and when they abandon your form. ‍
  
  

• Customer Feedback Mechanisms: Customer feedback mechanisms are systems or processes used to collect, analyze, and respond to feedback from your B2B customers. This feedback helps you understand their needs, identify areas in need of improvement, and take action to enhance customer satisfaction.

Create a simple but comprehensive reporting dashboard that tracks your ROI metrics. Plan to review these numbers monthly at minimum. See more post-launch activities here.

Continuous Improvement

A website redesign isn't a one-and-done project. The most successful B2B websites are continuously optimized based on data and user feedback.

Plan for regular check-ins and adjustments. Set some of your budget aside for ongoing improvements, including:

• User Experience Optimization: Perform heatmap analysis, A/B test design elements, and analyze user feedback
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• Performance Optimization: Monitor core web vitals, including largest contentful paint, interaction to next paint, and cumulative layout shift
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• Accessibility Improvements: Regularly audit to check for accessibility issues and ensure compatibility with screen readers and alt text for images
  
  
• Content Management: Refresh and create new content regularly, optimize content for search, and monitor content performance
  
  
• Technology Updates: Update plugins, regularly enhance security measures, and implement new technologies as needed

These ongoing tasks will ensure your website continues to deliver increasing returns over time.

Unlock the Full Potential of Your B2B Website

Investing in a website redesign can be a game-changer for your B2B business, but it's important to approach it strategically. By focusing on clear goals and establishing your website redesign ROI, you can secure the buy-in you need for a new website that helps you stand out in a competitive B2B market.

Calculating these metrics doesn't have to be overwhelming. Focus on the numbers that matter to your organization, set realistic expectations, and track your results diligently.

Remember: a successful redesign isn’t just about aesthetics, and your website is more than just a digital brochure. It's a crucial business asset that, when properly executed, can drive significant revenue and efficiency gains for your organization. The benefits of a well-designed website extend far beyond the initial launch, leading to sustained business growth and deeper customer relationships.