The good news is your merger is official and financials are all figured out. The bad news is now you have to hurry up and redo your website—or, is it?
Though building a new website that gets results is always a big task, it’s a critical communications investment after a merger and should be part of any change management strategy.
Embarking on a post-merger website redesign project gives you an excellent opportunity to build credibility, update messaging, and grow brand recognition for your new, unified organization (while fixing what wasn’t working on your former business websites, too).
Read on to learn more about special considerations for post-merger website projects.
Who are you?
“Hello, World!” After bringing two or more companies together, you get to chose what story you tell. If you strike the right tone, your post-merger website will be one of the most important ways to introduce your new company.
Before launch is the perfect time to audit your existing website content to see what makes sense to push over to your new site, find gaps where you need to write new copy (and identify what content should be removed entirely), and refine any new messaging guidelines that reflect your new brand identity and voice.
Acquisitions require special website redesign considerations, too. There are nuances to every situation when a parent organization absorbs another company. Take a 360-degree view of what is going on. Think about your users, their needs, and common touchpoints. Then, take appropriate website updates and refine content to ensure the transition is as seemless as possible (and so that you can leverage any good ranking your acquired company might have).
Pro-tip: Now is the time to get into the weeds. Be specific about who you are, what you have to offer, what makes you different, and how your new organization can help solve your customers’ problems. For instance, if your companies before had only a local reach but post-merger you are global, you will want to update verbiage across your website content to reflect this change to serving customers worldwide.
Top website content to update after a merger
Web design after a merger involves more than just creating a new design and updating your site’s logo and visual brand identity elements. You also need to create a road map for reviewing and updating what information you share, as well as writing new pages that cover critical details.
Pro-tip: Use redirects on the backend so you don’t lose ranking power from your old sites. Keep as much link equity as possible by creating a plan to tidy up your web presence by creating redirects that point to your new site, as appropriate. Learn more about avoiding 404s.
In terms of content, some of the most essential things to think about for a post-merger web design project include:
- locations
- products and services
- locations
- forms (and associated workflows/processes)
- contact information
- customer service information
- staff directory listings
- login links to portals and apps
- and more!
Remember to note your big news
Your post-merger corporate website should include a press release or blog post that covers your merger. As part of your rollout, consider interlinking to this announcement from your homepage and other critical pages to make sure the news isn’t missed and customers are kept in the loop.
You can’t have a successful merger without a great brand and supporting website. Take the time upfront as part of your change management strategy to build your set your business apart post-merger. Your new organization’s home online, when developed with care, will help you not only keep your existing customers but it will also help you put your best foot forward to a whole range of potential leads.
