Do you know your web site has become dated and unmanageable, but are scared of a major overhaul? Perhaps you are right to be; even changes unquestionably for the better can alienate and anger some of your users.
In "the Quiet Death of the Major Re-Launch" usability consultant Jared M. Spool explains how even major web sites with millions of users can make radical changes over time that hardly anybody notices.
<!--break-->The VP leaned forward and asked me, "How do we orchestrate a re-launch on a site this big without upsetting our customers? Any change is going to be so dramatic that people are definitely going to complain. How do we do this?"
I leaned back in my chair, paused for a second, then dropped the bomb. "You don't, " I responded. "A re-launch is a very bad idea. I highly recommend against it."