Websites
Plan a website redesign from audit to launch
A website redesign begins by deciding what must change and what should be preserved. Visual design matters, but the work also affects copy, page addresses, forms, administration and team habits. Preparing these elements reduces avoidable launch problems.
Review the existing website before drawing new layouts
Gather the sitemap, account access, content and connected services. Identify useful pages, outdated offers and duplicates. Where enquiry records or usage data are available, use them to understand important journeys. When evidence is missing, keep assumptions explicit rather than treating them as measured results.
Try a few tasks on a phone: find a service, read a relevant project and send an enquiry. Record concrete obstacles. This separates visual concerns from problems with wording, navigation or functionality and helps focus the redesign on changes that have a clear purpose.
Organise pages around visitor questions
Visitors need to understand what you offer, who it serves, what supports the offer and how to proceed. A shorter menu is not automatically clearer. Specific labels and a coherent hierarchy can be more helpful than removing every secondary page.
Decide which pages to retain, combine, rewrite or remove. Assign copy approval and gather usable images before final implementation. A redesign cannot resolve an unclear offer by appearance alone. Review layouts with representative content rather than assuming placeholder copy will fit the eventual message.
Prepare URL mapping and search metadata
Map previous URLs to relevant new destinations. When an address changes, a permanent redirect to equivalent content helps people and search engines reach it. Redirecting every removed page to the homepage can leave visitors without the information they expected.
Check internal links, titles, descriptions, canonical addresses and the sitemap. Verify indexing instructions when moving out of staging. These checks cannot guarantee unchanged search positions; they help avoid unnecessary technical breaks during the migration. See Google’s migration guidance below for the underlying process.
Test complete journeys before the switch
Acceptance testing covers forms, error messages, notifications, links and different screen sizes. A form that appears to submit but never reaches the intended recipient has failed its purpose. Check language changes, downloads and external services that are actually part of the site.
Write a launch plan naming the operator, the backup of the existing site, any domain changes and the rollback process. Explain expected interruptions and ensure people able to verify critical functions are available. The exact operations depend on the existing infrastructure.
Monitor the launch and hand over publishing
After launch, check missing-page errors, incoming enquiries and important journeys. Early observation can reveal forgotten links or routing differences between staging and production. Record corrections separately from new ideas so the delivery remains understandable.
Train the person who will publish content and hand over accounts with clear responsibilities. Short instructions for editing copy, adding a page and recovering a backup are often more useful than broad documentation. Base further improvements on questions from real visitors and the team operating the website.
Your checklist
- Inventory pages, accounts, forms and integrations.
- Approve content and the new page hierarchy.
- Map old URLs to appropriate destinations.
- Test mobile journeys and enquiry delivery.
- Plan backups, launch, rollback and monitoring.
Frequently asked questions
Can a redesign keep the same domain?
Yes. Replacing a website does not require a new domain. Hosting, DNS and associated services determine the work involved. Identify email services before making changes that could affect them.
Should low-traffic pages be deleted?
Not automatically. Consider their purpose, links and content quality. Some should be improved or combined. Any removal should have a clear reason and an appropriate treatment of its previous address.
A project to explore
Pare-Brise Éco
Pare-Brise Éco combines a brand website with franchisee-specific pages. This structure illustrates how a shared offer can also provide focused entry points.
Explore the project