Forbes recently published an article on website redesign by Brandon Ortiz, the marketing director for Salesforce.org. In it, he describes the experience of talking with a friend about re-doing the site, and he offers what amounts to a very interesting thesis statement: “I listened selectively and ended up ignoring half of his advice.”

In my blog posts, I’ve occasionally advocated for breaking with common wisdom. I’ve cautioned against doing things a certain way just because that’s the way a website redesign is supposed to go, according to a friend or a web design company. Ortiz has shared essentially the same message, and I’m sure other professionals will do so as well.

A website redesign project should be the product of serious dialogue between site owner and web design firm. But the owner is by no means obligated to take any particular piece of advice. It’s a good idea to defer to expertise, but website redesign projects are too complicated and subject to follow any one overarching formula.

Don’t be too worried about striking off on your own, as by avoiding the minimalism that is so prevalent in web design today, or by looking past web analytics in order to execute a vision that the data hasn’t yet taken into account. These and other risks have paid off for many site owners in the past. And while a professional firm can offer you important advice on your initial design or website redesign, it’s ultimately up to you to determine what’s best.