A website redesign should start with an inventory, not a mockup. List every URL, find the pages that bring in search traffic and enquiries, and keep their addresses. Fix thin or outdated pages instead of deleting them, redirect anything that moves, and throw away only what nobody visits and nothing links to.
Most redesigns begin with someone saying the site looks old. That is a fair reason to start, and a poor guide to what should happen next. The look is the easiest part to replace. The addresses, the articles, and the pages that already bring in work are the parts you cannot get back if you lose them.
When we rebuilt the AZ Litigation Group site, the dated theme went. The 105 blog posts stayed, and we deepened them into proper reference articles. The checklist below is the order we work in.
What should you do before redesigning a website?
Before redesigning a website, make an inventory of what exists. Export a list of every URL, note which pages receive search traffic and which produce enquiries, and record every login you hold. A redesign that starts from a full list rarely loses anything by accident.
The inventory needs four columns: the address, what the page is for, whether it gets visits, and what will happen to it. Google Search Console supplies the visits. Our guide to Search Console for business owners shows which reports to open.
Check access at the same time. Charme and Sons had no copy of their own source code, so we rebuilt the site from its public pages. That is possible, but you want to know it on day one, not at launch.
What should you keep in a website redesign?
Keep the URLs, the pages that rank, the content that earns links, and the facts that customers rely on. A redesign changes how pages look and how they are organized. It should not change where a page that is already working can be found.
Search engines store your pages by address. If /services/roof-repair/ becomes /roofing/, the old address is a dead end unless you redirect it, and even a correct redirect is a change search engines have to process. The safest move is no move.
Also keep anything that proves the business is real: reviews, license numbers, photos of actual work, and the names of the places you serve.
What should you fix instead of replacing?
Fix pages that are thin, outdated, or badly structured but sit on a useful address. An old article that answers a real question in three short paragraphs is worth expanding. Deleting it and writing a new one elsewhere gives up whatever standing the old address had.
This is what we did with the AZ Litigation Group blog. The firm already had 105 blog posts. We did not discard them. We deepened them into real reference articles. The six business litigation pages were rebuilt in the new design system, and the firm's move into personal injury became a hub with eight supporting pages.
Fixing in place applies to more than articles:
- Titles and descriptions that are missing or duplicated
- Pages with no internal links pointing to them
- Images with no dimensions or alt text
- Contact details that differ from page to page
What can you safely throw away?
You can safely throw away the theme, unused plugins, stock photos, pages with no visits and no inbound links, duplicate pages, and features nobody uses. If a page has an address that other sites link to, redirect it to the closest relevant page instead of letting it return an error.
| Item | Keep, fix, or throw away | Why |
|---|---|---|
| URLs of ranking pages | Keep | Search engines and links point at them |
| Reviews, licenses, real photos | Keep | Proof that cannot be recreated quickly |
| Thin articles on good topics | Fix | The address has value, the content needs work |
| Titles and meta descriptions | Fix | Cheap to correct, visible in search results |
| Old theme and page layouts | Throw away | This is what the redesign is for |
| Unused plugins and scripts | Throw away | They slow the site and add risk |
| Pages with no visits or links | Throw away | Nothing is lost, and the site gets simpler |
| Duplicate or near-duplicate pages | Merge, then redirect | One strong page beats two weak ones |
What is the full website redesign checklist?
The full website redesign checklist has ten steps, in order: inventory, access, decide the fate of each page, map redirects, design the page types, move the content, build, test on a private address, launch, and check again a few weeks later. Skipping the first four causes most redesign losses.
- Crawl the current site and export every URL.
- Confirm access to the domain, hosting, analytics, and source code.
- Mark each page keep, fix, merge, or remove.
- Write the redirect map: every address that changes, and where it now goes.
- Design page types, not individual pages: home, service, location, article, contact.
- Move and improve content page by page, keeping addresses where you can.
- Build with titles, descriptions, and structured data set from the start.
- Test before launch: every redirect, every form, and every page on a phone.
- Launch and submit the new sitemap.
- Check again after a few weeks for errors, missing pages, and broken links.
If the redesign also changes platform, steps four and eight carry most of the risk. We cover that case in migrating off WordPress without losing URLs.
How do you redesign without taking the site offline?
Redesign without taking the site offline by building the new version alongside the old one and switching over only when it has been checked. Visitors keep using the current site until the moment the new one replaces it, so there is no "under construction" period.
This is standard practice and worth asking any developer about. It also lets you compare old and new page by page before anything is public. The same idea, applied to software in general, is explained in staging vs production.
Frequently asked questions
Will a redesign hurt my search rankings?
It can if addresses change without redirects or if ranking content is removed. A redesign that keeps URLs, keeps or improves the content, and loads at least as fast usually gives search engines little reason to rank the site lower. Nobody can promise the outcome.
How often should a website be redesigned?
When it stops doing its job, not on a schedule. Signs include content you cannot easily update, pages that are slow on phones, and a structure that no longer matches what you sell. If the site still brings in work, improve it in place.
Can I redesign a website without changing platforms?
Yes. A new theme or design system on the same platform is a smaller project than a move, and every address can stay exactly where it is. Change platform only when the current one is the cause of the problem.
What is a 301 redirect?
A 301 redirect is a permanent forwarding instruction. When a browser or search engine requests the old address, the server answers with the new one. It tells search engines the page has moved for good and that the new address should take its place.
Do I need new content for a redesign?
Not necessarily. Good existing content should move across unchanged or improved. Write new pages only for services or places the old site never covered.
If you are planning a redesign, send us the current address. We will start with the inventory and tell you what we would keep.