Website redesign
A website redesign checklist before launch.
Before launching a redesign, review your existing content and URLs, agree the new structure, and test the important user journeys. Keeping a record of these decisions makes the launch easier to check and reduces avoidable mistakes.
Record the existing website before changing it
Create a list of current pages and what each page is for. Where available, use Search Console to identify pages receiving search impressions or clicks. Traffic data is useful context, but a page can also matter because it contains essential business information.
Record published contact details, opening hours, service descriptions and important external links. This becomes a reference for deciding what to retain or update.
Check before you continue
- List current URLs and their purpose.
- Save important content and business details for review.
- Record available search data before launch.
Give every changed URL a deliberate outcome
If a page moves and still has an equivalent replacement, plan a permanent redirect from the old URL to the new one. Keep navigation, canonical URLs and sitemap entries aligned with the preferred address.
Avoid sending every removed page to the homepage. A relevant replacement is more useful; if content has genuinely disappeared with no suitable replacement, a proper not-found response can be appropriate.
Check before you continue
- Map moved pages to their closest replacement.
- Update internal links to point directly to the preferred URLs.
- Check redirects for loops and unnecessary chains.
Review content and metadata together
A new layout should not leave a page with a title or description that explains the old content. Check each page’s main heading, title, description and visible offer as a connected set.
Descriptions should summarise the actual page. Google may still select a different snippet for a search, so useful visible copy matters alongside metadata.
Check before you continue
- Give each indexable page a distinct, accurate title and description.
- Check the preferred canonical URL and indexing directives.
- Review social-sharing previews after the content changes.
Test real journeys across screens
Check more than the homepage. Open service pages directly, use the menu, follow contact links and review any shopping or booking flow included in the project. Test keyboard focus and reduced motion as well as touch and mouse interaction.
Record the devices or viewport sizes used in testing. A successful simulated test is useful evidence, but it does not prove every real-user device behaves identically.
Check before you continue
- Test important pages at mobile and desktop widths.
- Check meaningful images, forms or external actions included in the scope.
- Confirm that essential text and links remain readable when animations are disabled.
Inspect the live release and keep watching
After deployment, repeat the important link and page checks on the public website. Submit the current sitemap in the correct Search Console property and inspect representative URLs.
Review indexing, impressions and clicks as new data arrives. An indexing request or successful sitemap fetch does not guarantee ranking, and a redesigned site may take time to be recrawled.
Check before you continue
- Confirm the public pages return the intended status codes.
- Check sitemap processing and Google-selected canonical URLs.
- Review search performance after enough new data is available.