A website redesign usually starts with a list of everything wrong with the current site. The ones that go well make a second list too: what it’s getting right.
A new site can fix a lot. It can also throw away search rankings and pages people rely on, simply because nobody checked what the old site was doing before it was switched off.
In Summary
- A redesign earns its cost when the site itself is the limit, such as a platform that’s out of support or a structure the business has outgrown.
- Before anything is designed, find the pages that already bring in visitors and enquiries.
- Every page whose address changes needs a permanent redirect to its closest new page.
- Judge the new site on enquiries over a few months, not on how it looks in launch week.
Elevate Your Brand, Effortlessly.
Let Lemongrass Media craft a digital experience that sets you apart. From stunning designs to strategic branding, we bring your vision to life.
Redesign or refresh?
Not every tired website needs replacing. If the problem is a new logo, dated photography or copy that no longer describes what you do, that can often be fixed on the site you already have. We’ve written about when a new website is the wrong answer, and it’s worth a read before you commit.
A full redesign makes sense when the site itself is the problem. Perhaps the platform is out of support and every update feels like a gamble. Perhaps the business has added services the current structure was never built to hold. Either way, polishing the surface won’t fix it.
If that sounds familiar, a redesign is probably the right call. The next question is what you could lose by doing it carelessly.
Find out what the current site is already doing
This step gets skipped more than any other, because it isn’t the fun part. Before anyone talks about layouts, it’s worth knowing which pages are pulling their weight.
Google Search Console shows which pages people find through search and what they typed to get there. Your enquiry forms show which pages lead to conversations, especially if you ask people how they found you. If you want to know which pages other websites link to, a tool like Ahrefs or Semrush will tell you.
What you find can be awkward. The page bringing in steady search traffic might be an article from years ago that nobody remembers writing. A service page with a clumsy title might be the one ranking for your most valuable term. Pages like these look unimportant from the inside, so they’re often the first to go when the new sitemap is drawn up.
If you’re not sure how to read the numbers, our guide on how to know if your website is actually working covers the basics.
Give every old address somewhere to go
When a page moves to a new address, or disappears, anyone following an old link hits an error page. So does Google. Whatever that page had built up in search goes with it.
The fix is a permanent redirect, known as a 301, from each old address to the closest matching new page. Google’s own guidance on site moves says permanent redirects don’t cause a loss in PageRank. It also warns that rankings will move around for a while, and that a medium sized site can take a few weeks or more to settle.
Two habits make this much easier. Keep the same address for any page that’s staying, even if its design changes completely. And build the redirect list as you go, old address in one column and new address in the next, rather than leaving it until the week before launch.
We did exactly this on our own blog in September. Thirty two older articles covered ground that newer posts now handle better, so each one now redirects to the page that replaced it. Anyone arriving from an old link gets something useful instead of an error.
Brief the new site around the visitor
With the groundwork done, the brief can focus on what the new site needs to do: who it’s for, what they need to find quickly and what you’d like them to do next. Copying the old menu into a new design rarely gets you there.
Our article on writing a website design brief covers what to include. The other thing to sort early is content, because it holds up more projects than anything else. There’s more on that in how to keep your website project on track.
After launch, compare like with like
For the first few weeks after launch, check Search Console for pages Google can’t find. Any missed redirect will show up there, and it’s a quick fix once you know about it.
Then give it time. Rankings can wobble while Google catches up, so the first fortnight tells you very little. Compare enquiries over a few months against the same months last year. If they’re up, the redesign did its job. If they’re down, you’ll have the old numbers to work out why.
Assuming the project ends at launch is one of the reasons corporate website projects fail, and it’s an easy one to avoid.
If you’re weighing up a redesign and want a second opinion on what your current site is already doing for you, give us a call on 0800 690 6250 or drop us a message.
About Lemongrass Media
Lemongrass Media is a boutique website design agency with offices in Milton Keynes, St Albans and Bedford. We design corporate websites that look great, work hard and deliver real results for your business.
Contact Us | View Our Corporate Website Portfolio | Corporate Website Design Services
