Website Redesign Checklist: 15 Things to Plan Before You Start

A redesign is a chance to make your website faster, clearer and better at bringing in business. Without a plan, it can also break links, lose search rankings and confuse existing customers. Work through this checklist before any design work begins.

Goals and audience

• Write down what is not working on the current site
• Decide the main action you want visitors to take
• Describe your ideal visitor and what they are looking for

Content

• List every page on the current site and decide to keep, merge or remove it
• Rewrite unclear page titles and headings
• Collect real photos of your team, office and work
• Plan who writes or approves new copy

SEO protection

• Export a list of all current URLs before anything changes
• Plan 301 redirects from old URLs to their new equivalents
• Keep page titles and descriptions for pages that already rank
• Check that structured data and the sitemap are rebuilt

Design and performance

• Test the new design on mobile first
• Set a speed target and compress images
• Make sure text has enough contrast to be read easily

Launch

• Set up analytics and Google Search Console before launch
• Test all forms, buttons and phone links on a real device

After the launch

Watch your search traffic and error reports closely for the first few weeks. Fix any broken links quickly and keep an eye on pages that drop in ranking. Most issues are small and easy to correct when caught early.

If you are planning a redesign, DigiQuest can review your current site and create a step-by-step migration plan that protects the visibility you have already earned.