A website redesign plan that protects useful content
Plan a website redesign from the first audit to launch. Keep useful URLs, improve customer tasks and check the new site before switching over.
Robert TicknerWeb designer, Melbourne
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A redesign can solve a frustrating website. It can also create new problems if the old pages disappear, enquiries stop arriving or useful content gets removed with the old layout.
Start by deciding what the site needs to do better. Then plan the pages, content and migration together. This guide gives you a sequence you can use with a designer, including the checks that belong before launch and the ones that belong after it.
Diagnose the problem before choosing a layout
“It looks old” is a starting point, not a complete brief. Can customers find the right service? Does the form work? Are the pages being indexed? Which enquiries are useful to the business?
The website audit guide helps record those questions with evidence. If the problem is poor enquiries, the website diagnosis guide separates visibility, page clarity and contact issues. If only a few sections need work, refresh or rebuild can help you avoid a larger project than necessary.
Record a baseline. Save the current URLs, contact routes and any available search or enquiry reports. Keep copies of the useful content and business photos. You will need those records when deciding whether the new site changed the right things.
Give each page a clear purpose
Build a simple page list. Beside each URL, write its main customer question and desired next action. A Home page introduces the business; a service page explains a specific offer; a Contact page collects the details needed to respond.
The Home page structure guide covers the first impression and route into your services. For a page aimed at one offer, use the lead-generation page guide. A separate local campaign landing page needs a relevant offer and genuine service-area detail rather than a copied page with another suburb name.
Avoid creating three pages that answer the same question in slightly different words. Keep distinct jobs for each page. A useful redesign can reduce confusion without increasing the total number of pages.
Work on content before polishing the design
A new layout cannot explain a vague service for you. Gather the service scope, customer questions, process, proof and business details first. Put unresolved claims on a review list so they do not quietly become published facts.
Use the website copy guide to draft clear headings and customer-focused explanations. Then apply the persuasive design checks to make the information easier to use. Real examples, readable prices where appropriate and specific contact instructions matter more than a series of unsupported promises.
Write the essential features into the brief. A website feature list keeps bookings, forms and payment requirements visible. Each feature should have an owner, an agreed cost and a test before launch.
Map the old URLs to the new site
Keep a useful existing URL where it still matches the page’s purpose. If a page moves or is retired, choose the closest relevant destination and plan a permanent redirect. Do not send every old page to Home just because it is convenient.
Keep this record for every old URL:
On a small screen, scroll the table to view every column.
| Old page | Decision | New destination | Launch check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Still useful | Keep the URL | Same page path | Page loads and has the right canonical |
| Content moves | Redirect | Closest matching page | Permanent redirect reaches that page |
| Duplicate content | Combine deliberately | Main useful page | Links point directly to the final URL |
Check images and links as part of the same job. Old image hosting, hard-coded live-domain links and forgotten enquiry pages can keep sending visitors to the previous platform.
Review the website as a customer would
Use a phone and a desktop screen. Read the services, open the menu and try the contact routes. The mobile website checks explain what to inspect beyond whether the page fits the screen.
Send a controlled test enquiry through the deployed site and confirm it arrives in the right place. A form can look correct in a preview while its delivery settings remain unfinished. Check the thank-you route and the details included in the notification too.
Follow the website launch checklist for links, redirects, forms and search settings. Agree on who approves the site and who changes the domain. Keep the previous site available until the new deployment has been checked.
Measure the changes after launch
Check the important pages and enquiries immediately after the switch. Then monitor indexing, relevant search queries and useful enquiries over time. A redesign is not a guarantee of better rankings, and one quiet week does not explain a trend.
Record what changed, when it changed and how you are measuring the result. That makes the next decision more useful than comparing a new screenshot with an old one.
For a planned rebuild, our small business website service covers structure, content and launch checks. If you have an existing site, send the URL and the problems you want to fix. We can decide whether it needs a refresh or a wider redesign.
Robert Tickner
Founder and web designer, Web Design Studio Melbourne
Robert works directly with small businesses on website design, content structure and local SEO. His approach starts with the business offer and the customer’s next step.
First published .
Prepared with AI assistance. Examples labelled illustrative are not client results.
