The Website Redesign Checklist
Most redesigns fail because teams focus on looks and forget function. Use this checklist.
Before You Start
1. Document Current Performance
Export your Google Analytics data. Note current rankings for important keywords. You need baselines to measure improvement.
2. List What's Working
Don't redesign pages that already convert well. Keep what works.
3. Identify Real Problems
"It looks dated" isn't enough. What specific business problems will the redesign solve?
Planning Phase
4. Define Success Metrics
How will you know the redesign worked? Pick 2-3 measurable goals.
5. Map User Journeys
What do visitors actually do on your site? Design for their needs, not your org chart.
6. Content Inventory
List every page. Decide: keep, update, merge, or delete. Most sites have 30% dead content.
Design Phase
7. Mobile First
60%+ of traffic is mobile. Design for phones first, then expand to desktop.
8. Page Speed Budget
Set a target: under 3 seconds on mobile. Test every page.
9. Accessibility
WCAG compliance isn't optional. Check contrast, alt text, keyboard navigation.
Development Phase
10. URL Structure
Changing URLs kills SEO. Keep them the same, or set up 301 redirects for every page.
11. Technical SEO
Meta titles, descriptions, schema markup, sitemap, robots.txt. All must transfer correctly.
12. Forms and Tracking
Test every form. Verify analytics, conversion tracking, and CRM integrations.
Launch Phase
13. Staged Rollout
Don't launch everything at once. Start with less important pages, verify everything works.
14. Monitor Everything
Watch analytics daily for two weeks. Look for traffic drops, conversion changes, error pages.
15. Redirect Audit
Check for 404 errors. Fix broken links. Search Console will show issues.
Post-Launch
Compare performance at 30, 60, and 90 days. If metrics dropped, diagnose and fix immediately.
A good redesign improves metrics within 90 days. If yours didn't, something went wrong.