Website redesign / Research
How to Use Competitive Research in a Website Redesign
Competitive research should reveal what buyers expect, where every company sounds alike, and which unanswered questions create an opportunity. It should not become a mood board for copying competitors.
Start with a decision the redesign must support
Research is useful when it answers a project question: how competitors frame the category, which proof buyers are shown, how pricing is explained, what routes different audiences receive, or where enquiries become difficult. A broad request to “review competitor websites” usually produces screenshots and opinions rather than decisions.
Write down what the business already believes, what evidence supports it, and what remains uncertain. Competitive review complements customer, sales, search, analytics, and operational evidence; it does not replace them. The redesign user research guide helps keep buyer evidence in the wider research plan.
Compare direct, indirect, and reference experiences
Include direct competitors buyers actually consider, indirect alternatives that solve the same problem differently, and a few reference businesses that handle a relevant challenge well. Record why each one belongs in the set. A famous brand is not a useful benchmark if its audience, reputation, budget, or sales model is fundamentally different.
Use the same tasks for every site: understand the offer, find a relevant service or product, evaluate proof, learn the process, find price information, and take the next step. Review mobile as well as desktop. Note what is present, absent, clear, difficult, and unverifiable without judging visual taste in isolation.
Capture patterns without inventing performance claims
Build a simple comparison across positioning, navigation, content depth, service architecture, proof, conversion paths, accessibility, speed, and post-click experience. Distinguish an observation from an inference. Seeing a repeated pattern proves that competitors use it, not that it converts or that customers prefer it.
Do not copy wording, layouts, assets, or distinctive interactions. Preserve links and dated screenshots for internal reference where appropriate, because sites change. Use public facts carefully and do not imply access to a competitor’s analytics, customers, or commercial results.
Translate findings into a small set of choices
Decide which category conventions help comprehension and should remain familiar, which gaps the business can credibly fill, and which competitor patterns conflict with the company’s strategy. A useful outcome might be clearer qualification, stronger technical proof, a simpler service model, or an enquiry path that sets better expectations.
Connect every recommendation to a buyer need and an internal capability. Prioritise changes the business can support with real content, proof, and operations. Revisit the research when positioning or structure changes, but avoid chasing every competitor update after the direction is approved.
Use the market to clarify your own choices
Planning a redesign in a crowded category?
Northform can combine competitive, customer, content, and performance evidence into a clearer strategy and website system.
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