Planning a Website Redesign: What to Keep Before You Rebuild

A redesign should improve the website without losing what already works. Before discussing layouts, take stock of the pages people use, the information your team depends on and the routes that bring visitors to you.

Find out what earns its place

Use analytics and Search Console, where available, to identify pages receiving visits, search impressions and enquiries. Ask the people who answer customer questions which pages they share most often. A page that looks dated may still answer an important question or attract relevant visitors.

Create a simple inventory with the current address, purpose, owner and proposed action for each important page: keep, revise, combine or retire. Review downloads, forms and campaign landing pages too; they may not appear in the main menu.

Map URLs before changing them

If a useful page moves, plan a permanent redirect from its old address to the closest relevant replacement. Sending every retired address to the homepage often gives visitors a poor answer. Keep existing addresses where they still make sense, and make sure internal links point directly to the final pages.

Document the things a screenshot cannot show

List enquiry forms, mailing-list connections, booking tools, analytics, embedded resources and other integrations. Record what should happen when someone submits a form, who receives it and what confirmation the visitor sees. Make sure the business controls its domain and essential accounts.

Decide who supplies and approves content

A new layout cannot resolve unclear information by itself. Identify who will confirm service details, review copy, supply photography and approve the finished pages. Real project examples and accurate team information are more useful than filler added to make a layout feel complete.

Check the experience before launch

• Test navigation and forms on a phone as well as a desktop.
• Check important old addresses against the redirect plan.
• Review titles, descriptions, headings and internal links.
• Confirm production indexing settings and the final domain.
• Verify analytics and enquiry delivery without treating test traffic as leads.
• Keep a backup and an agreed recovery plan.

Treat launch as a handover

Assign responsibility for requests, updates and monitoring after the site goes live. Compare traffic and enquiries over time, allowing for seasonality and other marketing changes rather than attributing every movement to the design.

Explore WhizCom’s custom website design and development and website project portfolio. For ongoing responsibilities, see what website maintenance should include.