Website redesign checklist
Website redesign checklist — what to protect before changing anything.
A redesign is not only a visual exercise. The biggest risk isn't a dated colour scheme — it's quietly losing the traffic and enquiries the old site was already producing. This checklist is about protecting what works while you fix what doesn't.
Before you start
Record what's working before you touch it.
- Define the objective — what the redesign is actually meant to achieve.
- Record existing analytics before anything changes.
- Review Search Console for current performance and any warnings.
- Identify your highest-value landing pages.
- Inventory current URLs — every page, not just the obvious ones.
- Identify backlinks worth protecting, where relevant.
- Identify content that's genuinely worth keeping.
- Record current conversions and enquiry volume as a baseline.
- Understand current forms and any integrations they feed into.
Content
Keep, improve, consolidate or delete — with a reason.
Every page should end up in one of these four categories, and every category should have a stated reason, not a guess.
| Decision | Reason |
|---|---|
| Keep | It ranks, converts, or is genuinely still accurate and needed. |
| Improve | The topic is right but the execution is weak or outdated. |
| Consolidate | Several pages compete for the same topic and dilute each other. |
| Delete | It no longer serves a purpose and isn't bringing in traffic or enquiries — check the data first. |
SEO
The technical detail that protects rankings.
- URL mapping — old URL to new URL, page by page.
- Redirects for every URL that changes.
- Titles rewritten deliberately, not left to a template.
- Canonicals set correctly on every page.
- Sitemap updated and resubmitted.
- Internal links checked and repointed where needed.
- Structured data added where appropriate.
For the fuller picture of SEO risk during a rebuild, see SEO for website redesigns.
Design
- Mobile — genuinely tested, not just resized in a browser.
- Clarity — can a new visitor tell what you do within seconds?
- Trust — signals like contact details, credentials and real content are visible.
- Conversion — the path to enquiry or purchase is short and obvious.
- Accessibility — contrast, text size and navigation work for everyone.
Technical
- Testing across the whole site, not just the homepage.
- Forms tested end to end, including where submissions actually go.
- Analytics installed and verified as firing correctly.
- Tracking and conversion events set up before launch, not after.
- Speed checked on real devices, not just a lab test.
- Browser and device checks across the common combinations.
Read this before you delete anything
Never delete or restyle away a page just because it looks old.
If a page is bringing in valuable search traffic, an outdated design isn't a reason to remove it — it's a reason to improve it carefully. Check the analytics and Search Console data first, before a page disappears in a redesign because it "looked tired".
Launch
- Redirects live and tested before the old site goes offline.
- Indexing allowed — no accidental noindex left over from staging.
- Search Console set up or reconfirmed for the live domain.
- Sitemap submitted.
- Forms tested live, not just on staging.
- Analytics confirmed as tracking real traffic.
Post-launch
- Crawl the new site for errors.
- Watch rankings for the pages that mattered before.
- Watch clicks and impressions in Search Console.
- Watch overall traffic against the baseline you recorded.
- Watch conversions and enquiries, not just visits.
- Fix errors as they surface — don't wait for a quiet month to check.
Planning the redesign itself? See website redesign. Moving domains or platforms too? See our website migration checklist. Ready to go live? See the website launch checklist. For what to track once you're live, see how to measure website success, or start with a website audit of the current site.
Next step
Don't let a new look cost you old results.
Protect what's working, fix what isn't.
We'll help you plan a redesign that keeps the traffic and enquiries you already have.