A website redesign checklist should cover five things: why you are redesigning, a baseline of how the site performs now, a decision on every existing page, a tested launch with redirects, and a review after launch. Most of the risk sits in the old site, not the new design.
What should you settle before any design starts?
Settle the reason, the baseline and the decision-maker. If the main reason is that the team is tired of the look, stop and ask what the site should do better. Then check whether a redesign is the right size of project at all: read redesign or rebuild first.
- Write one sentence of purpose. For example: "Technical buyers should understand within one page what we do and request a call."
- Record a baseline. Enquiries, top pages, top landing pages and current page speed. Without it, nobody can tell if the new site is better.
- Name one decision-maker. Consolidated feedback keeps a project moving.
- Write a brief. Here is how to write a website design brief.
- List access and ownership. Domain, DNS, hosting, analytics, fonts and forms. Check who owns your website before you need the answer.
What do you do with the existing pages?
Give every existing page one of four labels. This is the step people skip, and it is the one that protects what already works.
| Label | Use it when | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Keep | The page brings visitors and is still correct | Keep the URL if you can, refresh the design |
| Improve | The topic matters but the page is weak | Rewrite, then keep or redirect |
| Merge | Several pages answer the same question | Combine and redirect the others |
| Remove | Nobody needs it and nothing links to it | Delete, and redirect only if a true equivalent exists |
What belongs on the build checklist?
- Real content in the design, not placeholder text
- Mobile checked on a real phone, not only a narrow browser window
- Forms tested through to the inbox or CRM
- Page titles, descriptions and headings on every page
- Key messages in real text, not inside images
- Analytics and consent set up and tested
- A pass through the accessibility checklist
- A check of Core Web Vitals on your main page templates
How do you protect your search visibility at launch?
Map every old URL that changes to its closest new page. Google's guidance on site moves recommends permanent server-side redirects, warns against sending many old URLs to one unrelated page such as the homepage, and advises keeping redirects for at least a year. It also says to expect temporary fluctuation while pages are recrawled. So don't launch right before your busiest period.
If you keep the same URLs, the job is much smaller. That alone is a good reason not to restructure without a clear purpose.
What should you check after launch?
- On launch day. Test forms, redirects, the sitemap and that crawlers are not blocked. A staging setting left on is a classic mistake.
- In the first weeks. Watch for pages that can't be found, in Search Console and server logs.
- After a few months. Compare against your baseline, including how your business appears in AI tools. Our free AI scan checks how readable your site is.
- Afterwards. Decide who looks after the site. Website Care is €99 a month, excluding VAT, if you would rather not have that be you.
What are the warning signs that a redesign is off track?
- Feedback is about colours while nobody has approved the message
- Content is scheduled for the last week
- No one can say which pages bring in enquiries today
- The launch date is set but the redirect list doesn't exist
