PLANNING GUIDE · WEBSITE REDESIGN
A website redesign that keeps what already works
Most redesign damage is avoidable. Before new layouts are drawn, decide what the current site has earned and how you will carry it across.
Discuss a website redesignJiangmen, China. Working globally.
Inventory before you design
Export every URL that receives traffic or links, then group them: pages that convert, pages that answer questions, pages nobody visits and technical duplicates.
Record the current title, description, main heading and primary action for each page you intend to keep. That record becomes your acceptance checklist later.
Keep, rebuild or retire, decided per URL
Keep the pages that earn traffic, links or a clear commercial role. Rebuild pages with a valid purpose but weak structure or outdated content. Retire duplicates, leftover campaign pages and content nobody needs. A retired URL should redirect to the closest relevant page, not to the homepage.
Deciding this per URL prevents the usual outcome, where a redesign quietly removes the pages that were doing the work.
Redirects carry the value forward
Build a redirect map from old URL to new URL before launch, one to one wherever possible. Leave redirects in place for at least a year; links and saved bookmarks do not expire on your schedule.
Test the map after deployment: request each old URL and confirm a single redirect to a live, relevant page rather than a chain of hops.
Check metadata, tracking and forms before launch
Every page needs one title, one description, one main heading and a canonical address. Language versions must reference each other. Confirm that analytics still records page views and that enquiry forms deliver to the right inbox.
Run these checks on the staging site, then repeat them on the live domain. Configuration that works in staging can still break behind a production CDN.
The first two weeks after launch
Watch 404 reports, search console coverage and enquiry volume. A rise in 404s usually means the redirect map has gaps. A drop in enquiries usually means a form or a checkout step broke.
Fix crawling and redirect issues first. Design opinions can wait a week; a broken journey cannot.
Questions we are asked
Will rankings drop during a redesign?
They can. Most drops trace to removed pages, missing redirects, changed titles or blocked crawling. A URL-by-URL plan and post-launch checks reduce the risk, but no responsible supplier can promise zero movement.
Should we change the domain at the same time?
Avoid combining a redesign with a domain migration unless you have to. Doing both at once makes it hard to tell which change caused a problem.
How long do redirects need to stay?
Keep them for at least a year, and longer for pages with external links. A correct redirect costs nothing to leave in place.
What happens next?
- Review the goals, users and essential features.
- Confirm the deliverables, USD estimate and key milestones.
- Agree responsibilities and acceptance checks before work begins.