GUIDE
Redesigning your website: a relaunch checklist
A new design alone will not solve every problem. Before commissioning a website redesign, identify what visitors cannot find or do on your current site. This checklist helps you define the work and prepare the transition.
1. Set a specific goal
Write down what should improve: should customers understand your services faster, find suitable products or send an enquiry more easily? “Look more modern” is a design preference. “Our maintenance service is hard to find” describes a specific problem you can address.
Review the most important pages on a phone. Can a new visitor find your offering, a contact person and the next step? Collect specific problems and prioritise them according to their importance to your customers.
A relaunch illustrated with RAUM
Move the slider or select “Before” and “After” to compare the two designs.
Use the arrow keys to move the image comparison. Pos1 shows the previous design, end the new one.
RAUM is our own design concept. Both views are illustrative and do not represent an actual client commission.
- The opening: The new version states the architecture studio’s focus directly. A generic welcome tells visitors less about the services on offer.
- The projects: Larger images and a project overview show the studio’s work earlier on the page.
- The structure: Navigation, heading and content are more clearly separated. For your own relaunch, check whether these changes make the key tasks easier.
2. Distinguish a redesign from a rebuild
If the current system can still be maintained and important features work reliably, targeted improvements may be enough. Copy, navigation and individual service pages can often be improved without rebuilding everything.
Consider switching systems if essential features are missing or the existing technology is no longer practical to maintain. Ask which problem a switch will solve and which content will be retained. A rebuild should be a reasoned decision.
3. Gather content and access information
List your existing pages. Mark content to keep, update or merge. Decide who will supply and approve new copy and images. For images, this includes checking usage rights.
For planning, you need an overview of your domain, hosting, email and website system. Share login details through a suitable secure channel. A new design does not automatically require a change of domain.
4. Compare quotes by scope
A useful quote specifies pages, features, content migration and review rounds. Ask whether copy, image editing, redirects, functional checks and a handover session are included. “Complete website” is hard to compare without these details.
For example, a clearer scope would be: migrate five existing pages, revise two service descriptions, set up and test the contact form, and allow one review round. This is not a recommended package, but an example of how to describe the work clearly.
Separate the initial work from ongoing hosting, licence and support costs. Record who will maintain the site and which accounts you will receive. The schedule should also allow for when you can provide content and feedback.
5. Account for existing page addresses
If URLs change, each important old address needs a suitable new destination. Redirect an existing service page to its corresponding new service page instead of sending every old address to the homepage. Update internal links and the sitemap.
A simple planning example: the old page /wartung becomes /leistungen/wartung. Record both addresses side by side and, after the switch, check that the old link actually reaches the new maintenance page. This also lets an existing bookmark continue to lead to the relevant content.
For permanent URL changes, Google recommends permanent redirects and monitoring in Search Console. Search positions may fluctuate during a move. A new design or a submitted sitemap does not guarantee better rankings.
6. Check before publishing
Ask to see the new website in a preview. Test the tasks visitors need to complete, rather than looking only at individual pages. A sample enquiry should work from filling in the form through to receiving the actual message.
- Are the services, contact details and next steps clear?
- Do navigation, forms and links work on phones and computers?
- Is the agreed content complete and approved?
- Do changed page addresses lead to the correct new destination?
- Can search engines access and index the public pages?
- Have the domain, email and switch date been coordinated with the provider?
- Is there a backup and a plan in case the switch fails?
7. Keep checking after launch
Test the main journeys on the published domain too. Then check indexing in Search Console and, later, changes in search queries, impressions and clicks. Compare periods of the same length where possible and account for seasonal differences.
Also note whether relevant enquiries arrive and what questions customers still ask. This feedback helps guide the next improvement. One good or bad day is not enough to assess the success of a relaunch.