Relaunching Your Website: Design or Performance First?

Planning a website relaunch and torn between investing in stunning design or blazing-fast performance? This guide gives you a clear, practical framework to choose with confidence.

The Tale of Two Relaunches: One Beautiful but Failed, One Ugly but Costly

Imagine two business owners:

Business Owner A decides to relaunch their website. They hire a top-notch designer who makes everything "minimal, modern, and sleek." New fonts, smooth animations, large headers, stunning stock photos... The website launches, and everyone on Instagram writes: "Wow, your website looks amazing!"

But after a month, the numbers tell a different story:

Conversion rate is lower
Site speed on mobile is terrible
SEO has plummeted

Great appearance, but the cash register is quieter than before.

Business Owner B does the opposite. They say: "Appearance doesn't matter for now, just speed and SEO!" They hand the site to a highly technical team. Great speed, clean code, but low-level design—it feels like a website from ten years ago.

Users enter the site, don't take it seriously, don't feel a professional brand presence, trust doesn't form. They browse for a few seconds and leave.

These two scenarios are real. One is a victim of excessive focus on design, the other a victim of excessive focus on performance. The main question is right here:

In a relaunch, when budget and time are limited, is design or performance more important?

The simple and foolish answer is: "Both are important." But you don't need a simple answer; you need a decision-making framework.

That's exactly what we're going to build in this article.

What Is a Relaunch and Why Is It Both an Opportunity and a Threat?

A relaunch (or serious redesign) means: you're not just making a small change, but transforming the image and structure of your website.

This action has three important characteristics:

High Risk

SEO rankings might collapse
Users accustomed to the current structure might get lost
Speed and performance might be destroyed due to new elements

Opportunity for a Leap

If done correctly, it can double conversions
It can take brand image to the next level
It can transform user experience from "tolerable" to "delightful"

Wrong Decisions Are Understood Late

You relaunch, and only after 2-3 months do you realize how much damage you've done; meaning mistakes here burn slowly and silently.

That's why before we ask "Is design or performance more important?" we need to understand what exactly we call design and what we call performance in this game.

What Exactly Does "Design" Mean in a Relaunch?

When we say "design," we don't just mean looking pretty. Design in a relaunch means:

UI (User Interface)

Colors, fonts, spacing, buttons, forms, layout.

Making the site look "modern and trustworthy" at first glance.

UX (User Experience)

The user's path to accomplish a specific task (purchase, registration, booking, contact).

Ensuring the user doesn't get lost, doesn't get tired, and every step is clear to them.

Brand Perception

Does your website look like a cheap brand or a premium service?

Does it feel like there's a serious team behind this site?

In a relaunch, good design means: when a user enters the site, in the first few seconds they understand where they are, understand what problem you're solving for them, feel they can count on you, and don't want to flee.

Does "Performance" Just Mean Site Speed? No, Much More

Most people, when they say "site performance," only think of speed. While performance in a relaunch means a complete package:

⚡ Load Speed (on mobile and desktop)

First page load, responsiveness (Interaction, TTFB, ...)

🔧 Stability and No Nerve-Wracking Bugs

Forms work correctly, payment gateway, login, product filters, search...

🔍 Technical SEO

URL structure, headings, responsiveness, proper use of tags and structured data

💰 Conversion Performance

What percentage of users who come actually do what you want them to do

Performance means "the website isn't just pretty, it actually works."

In a relaunch, if you ruin performance, you might:

See your traffic from Google plummet
Not get your advertising costs back
Have users abandon you mid-purchase and leave

Two Fatal Mistakes: "Design First Only" or "Performance Only"

❌ Mistake #1: "Let's Make the UI Awesome First, the Rest Later"

This model usually goes like this:

Lots of time and money on graphic design, animations, effects, and motion
Using heavy libraries, fonts, and videos

In the end:

The page is overwhelming
Speed drops
Users on mobile with weak internet completely close the site

From the outside, this site is amazing. But when you look at the numbers—revenue, leads, calls, registrations, sales—you realize design without performance is more like an empty showcase.

❌ Mistake #2: "Just Speed and SEO for Now, UI Later"

In this model:

The technical team says: "The simpler, the better"
Minimal UI, no visual identity, no story, no brand feel
Users enter the site and feel like they're in a student project, not a professional business

Here too, the numbers tell the truth: users don't stay, don't trust, don't enter their credit card.

From the User's Perspective, What Do They See First?

When a user enters your site:

👁️ First, they sense the appearance and structure

Is the site old or modern?
Is it clear what's going on here?
Is everything messy or clean and logical?

⚙️ Then they experience the performance

Load speed
Clicking buttons
Smooth or slow scrolling
Filling forms, adding to cart...

If design is weak, performance might never get a chance; users decide in the first few seconds whether to stay or leave.

But if design is great and performance is terrible, users come with hope and leave with anger; and that's poison for the brand.

From a Business Perspective, Which One Makes Money?

🎨 Good Design:

Increases trust rate
Makes users feel "this brand is worth my time and money"

The best design, without proper performance, doesn't convert to money.

⚡ Good Performance:

Increases conversion rate
Doesn't waste traffic

The problem is if design is at the level of an old, cheap website, even great performance can't completely fill the trust gap.

The bitter truth: Performance puts money in the bank account, but design is what allows users to take you seriously and enter the game in the first place.

The Straight Answer: Is Design or Performance More Important?

The minimum standard of performance is non-negotiable; after that, investing in design is what makes ROI jump.

What does this mean?

Step 1: First, ensure your website doesn't "break" in terms of performance

✓ Acceptable speed on mobile
✓ No major bugs
✓ Basic technical SEO structure
✓ Main conversion paths (purchase/contact/registration) are healthy and smooth

These are red lines; if these aren't right, no matter how much design you pour into the site, you've burned your money.

Step 2: Then, depending on your business growth stage, invest in design

Let's look at this in the form of several scenarios:

Three Business Scenarios

📊 Scenario 1: Startup or Very Early-Stage Business

Not much traffic
Product still being tested
Limited cash

At this stage:

Basic performance must be right (fast, no bugs, basic SEO)
Design is necessary, but not to the point of visual obsession

Main focus: Understanding whether this product actually sells or not.

📈 Scenario 2: Business with Traffic but Old Website

Already have customers and traffic
Current website is old and doesn't give a good feeling
Numbers show many users jump out mid-way

Here:

Bring performance to a "reasonable" level (not necessarily flawless)
Then seriously update design and UX to build trust, clarify conversion paths, and align with brand identity

🏆 Scenario 3: Established Brand with Intense Competition

Competitive market
Your brand is recognized
One mistake in relaunch can damage credibility

Here you must:

Have performance at a high level
Have design at a level that meets "market expectations and brand position"

In this scenario, the answer to "design or performance?" is: Both, but with a phased plan, not simultaneously and aimlessly.

Decision-Making Framework for Relaunch (An Olymaris-Like Approach)

To move away from "making decisions based on taste," you can use a four-step framework:

Step 1: Diagnose Today's Actual Site Condition

What's the current speed?
What's the conversion rate?
Where do users jump out?
Where does current traffic come from (SEO, ads, social media)?

Without numbers, every decision is a guess, not a strategy.

Step 2: Find the Main Bottleneck

If users don't stay at all → problem is likely design and UX
If they stay but don't convert → problem is UX/performance/trust
If traffic is low → before relaunch, you have an important question: Is now really the time for a relaunch or should you first work on attracting traffic?

Step 3: Define Minimum Performance Standards (Non-Negotiables)

For example:

Homepage and money-making pages must open in under X seconds on mobile
Work without bugs on major browsers
Have no fundamental SEO errors

Until you reach this level, you shouldn't burn budget on animations, videos, and effects.

Step 4: Bring in Design as an "Amplifier"

Once you're sure the site doesn't "break" in terms of performance, now design enters to:

Elevate the brand
Make the experience pleasant
Make the conversion path clearer, shorter, more attractive

At this stage, clean UI, right content tone, good photos and graphics can increase ROI.

This approach is what a professional team like Olymaris has in mind during a relaunch: first control the risk, then amplify growth.

Common Relaunch Mistakes You Must Avoid at All Costs

1️⃣ Relaunch Based on Taste, Not Data

"I think this color is prettier..."

"This new font is trendy..."

Without examining user behavior, these are just playing with appearances.

2️⃣ Ignoring Mobile

Design is only tested on desktop, while a large portion of users are on mobile. If it's slow or messy on mobile, you've basically lost the game.

3️⃣ One-Time Launch Without A/B Testing or Pilot Phase

You change everything, suddenly.

Then you can't figure out which change had what impact.

4️⃣ Breaking SEO Connection in Relaunch

Changing URLs
Deleting old content that brought traffic
Not having proper redirects

These can halve your traffic without you understanding why.

5️⃣ Thinking of Relaunch as a "Project That Ends"

While a website is a living organism; after relaunch, you must constantly watch user behavior and make small, targeted improvements.

Conclusion: So Which Is More Important After All?

If we want to summarize this question for a decision-making business owner:

✓ Without minimum acceptable performance, no design will save you.

✓ When performance reaches an acceptable level, smart design is what puts real money on the table.

In a relaunch, the right question isn't:

"Is design or performance more important?"

But rather:

"At my business's current stage, which is the bigger bottleneck that, if I solve it right now, will have the greatest impact on revenue and growth?"

If data says users don't stay at all → Design and UX first
If they stay but don't convert or the site is slow → Performance first
If both are at average level and business is growing → A phased plan where you strengthen performance and design in turn is the smartest model

A Logical Next Step for You

If you're currently in the relaunch phase and this question is spinning in your mind:

"With this budget and time, should I invest more in design or performance?"

Before any major decision, it's wise to have:

Your site's current condition
Real numbers (traffic, conversion, speed)
Your business's growth stage

...examined by an external and unbiased eye.

A team specialized in relaunch (like Olymaris) can:

In a few hours of analysis
Tell you exactly which part is the golden priority right now
And how to transform the relaunch from a gamble into a calculated move

Instead of blindly choosing between "design" and "performance," it's better to have a decision-making framework; then every relaunch can be a real step forward, not a scary risk.