A website redesign can completely transform your business — but only if you prepare for it the right way. Without a plan, redesigns often lead to lost rankings, broken pages, missing content, and months of frustration. With the right prep, though, your redesign becomes a smooth, strategic upgrade that improves performance, user experience, and conversions.
This simple checklist walks you through everything you need to do before your redesign begins, so you can launch with confidence.
1. Audit Your Current Website (Before You Change Anything)
Before you redesign, you need to know what’s working — and what isn’t. Skipping this step is one of the biggest reasons redesigns fail.
Record your current:
- Traffic levels
- Top‑performing pages
- Conversion rates
- Page speed
- Mobile performance
- Bounce rates and user flow
This gives you a baseline to measure improvement and ensures you don’t accidentally remove pages that are already performing well.
2. Define Your Redesign Goals
A redesign isn’t just about making your site “look better.” It should solve real problems.
Common goals include:
- Improving mobile usability
- Increasing conversions
- Reducing bounce rates
- Improving SEO structure
- Updating outdated branding
- Speeding up load times
Clear goals guide every design and content decision.
3. Map Out Your New Site Structure
A redesign is the perfect time to fix confusing navigation or reorganize your content.
Plan:
- Your main menu
- Your service pages
- Your homepage flow
- Calls‑to‑action
- What content stays, goes, or needs rewriting
A strong information architecture is one of the biggest predictors of redesign success.
4. Gather All Content and Brand AssetsIf you want a redesign that’s smooth, strategic, and built to convert, Nine By Six can help through professional website design, reliable web hosting, strategic SEO services, and ongoing website care
Before your designer starts, collect:
- Updated copy
- New photos or videos
- Branding guidelines
- Testimonials
- Updated service descriptions
- Lead magnets or downloads
This prevents delays and ensures your new site reflects your current business.
5. Review Your SEO and Plan for Content Migration
A redesign can tank your SEO if you’re not careful.
Make sure you:
- Identify your top traffic‑driving pages
- Plan redirects for any URLs that will change
- Keep high‑performing content intact
- Maintain title tags and meta descriptions
- Ensure your new site is mobile‑first and fast
A strategic redesign protects — and often improves — your rankings.
6. Prepare for Testing and Launch
Before launch, your redesign should go through:
- Mobile testing
- Speed testing
- Form testing
- Link checks
- SEO checks
- Accessibility checks
A thorough QA process prevents broken pages, missing content, and user frustration.
Your Website Redesign Should Feel Exciting — Not Stressful
If you want a redesign that’s smooth, strategic, and built to convert, Nine By Six can help through professional website design, reliable web hosting, strategic SEO services, and ongoing website care.