Website Redesign Checklist: 23 Things to Get Right

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A website redesign is exciting—but it is also where many businesses make expensive mistakes. Missing a critical step can cost thousands in lost traffic, broken functionality, or a site that looks great but does not convert.

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Phase 1: Pre-Design Planning

Before touching any design tools, get your foundation right.

1. Audit your current site performance. Document your baseline metrics: traffic, conversion rates, bounce rates, top-performing pages. You need these numbers to measure whether the redesign improved things.

2. Define clear goals. What should the redesign accomplish? More leads? Better user experience? Faster load times? Be specific. "A better website" is not a goal—"increase consultation bookings by 50%" is.

3. Research your audience. Who are your ideal visitors? What do they need? Interview customers, review support tickets, and analyze search queries.

4. Analyze competitor websites. Study 3-5 competitors. Note what they do well and where they fall short.

5. Map your customer journey. Document the path from first visit to conversion. Identify friction points and drop-off areas.

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Phase 2: Design & UX

6. Start with mobile. Design for mobile first, then scale up. Over 60% of your traffic is likely mobile.

7. Establish visual hierarchy. Guide visitors' eyes to what matters most. Use size, color, contrast, and spacing to create a clear flow.

8. Design for accessibility. Ensure sufficient color contrast, add alt text to images, make the site navigable by keyboard, and use semantic HTML.

9. Simplify navigation. Aim for 5-7 main navigation items maximum. Use clear, descriptive labels.

10. Create consistent branding. Define your color palette, typography, button styles, and spacing system before designing any pages.

11. Plan for white space. Resist the urge to fill every pixel. White space improves readability and makes your design feel premium.

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Phase 3: Content

12. Write conversion-focused copy. Every page should have a clear purpose and a specific CTA. Lead with benefits, support with features, close with social proof.

13. Update your SEO content. Review and update title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and image alt text.

14. Create or update case studies. Document 3-5 client success stories with specific, measurable results.

15. Prepare testimonials. Gather fresh testimonials with photos and specific outcomes. Aim for at least 5-10.

16. Plan your blog migration. If you have existing blog content, plan how it will be migrated. Do not lose high-performing content.

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Phase 4: Technical

17. Plan your URL structure. Map old URLs to new ones. Every changed URL needs a 301 redirect. Missing this step is the #1 cause of traffic loss after a redesign.

18. Optimize for speed. Set performance budgets. Compress images, minimize code, implement lazy loading. Aim for under 3 seconds load time on mobile.

19. Implement analytics and tracking. Set up Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, conversion tracking, and heatmaps before launch.

20. Set up proper schema markup. Implement LocalBusiness, Organization, FAQ, and other relevant structured data.

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Phase 5: Launch

21. Test extensively before launch. Check every page on multiple devices and browsers. Test all forms, buttons, and links.

22. Create a launch plan. Schedule the launch during low-traffic hours. Have a rollback plan if things go wrong.

23. Monitor closely post-launch. Watch your analytics daily for the first 2 weeks. Check for crawl errors. Monitor form submissions and conversion rates.

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The Redesign ROI

A well-executed website redesign should pay for itself within 3-6 months through increased conversions.

Red flags that your redesign is going sideways:

• No baseline metrics to compare against
• Designing before defining goals
• Ignoring mobile users
• Forgetting URL redirects
• Launching without thorough testing

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Need Help With Your Redesign?

We have guided dozens of businesses through successful website redesigns. Schedule a free consultation to discuss your redesign project.

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