Do you need a redesign or targeted improvements?
Start with the problem rather than the age of the site. If visitors can find the right service, your team can edit pages and the structure supports your offer, a focused improvement may be enough. Slow images, a confusing enquiry form or a weak service page can often be addressed individually. Rebuilding every page adds cost without necessarily fixing the reason buyers leave.
A wider redesign makes sense when navigation reflects an old business model, templates break whenever content changes, mobile journeys are difficult or essential integrations no longer fit. We review the current site and agree which elements to retain, improve or replace. For a new site or custom application, explore our website development service alongside this replacement-focused brief.
WordPress, Shopify and custom-site redesigns
For WordPress, the starting questions are whether the editor still works for your team and which themes, plugins and content types the business depends on. A new design may stay on WordPress while replacing a cumbersome theme. Forms, custom fields, media, user roles and any WooCommerce functionality need an explicit migration and testing scope; moving platforms is a separate decision from changing the design.
For Shopify, plan around product and collection pages, theme sections, navigation, app dependencies and the customer journey from product selection to checkout. Identify app subscriptions and integrations you intend to keep before a theme change. Product data, variants, filters and tracking need review even when the store stays on the same platform.
A custom site needs an inventory of its code, CMS, hosting and connected systems before estimating the rebuild. Booking tools, search, account areas and CRM connections can take more work than the visible pages. Agree who maintains each system and whether the replacement must reproduce existing behaviour or change it.
Inventory content and URLs before designing
Build a page inventory from the current site, sitemap and available analytics and search data. Record each URL, page purpose, important content, incoming links and any enquiry or sales role. Include documents, images and campaign landing pages that may be absent from the main navigation. Mark each item to keep, rewrite, combine or retire, with an owner and approval status.
Agree who supplies copy, photography, product information and policy wording before layouts are signed off. Retained content still needs checking for obsolete details and a place in the new structure. Design representative pages with real content so long headings, tables and service descriptions are tested before the remaining pages are populated.
Redirects, search checks and tracking handover
Keep useful existing URLs where the new structure allows. For changed addresses, map permanent redirects to the closest relevant replacement rather than sending every old page to the homepage. Agree how retired pages will be handled. Review internal links, page titles, canonicals, indexability, structured data and the new sitemap as part of technical SEO work. A migration can change search performance; unchanged rankings cannot be guaranteed.
Document analytics and tag-manager ownership, conversion events and any advertising tags before handover. With the required account access and consent settings, check that enquiries and key shopping actions are recorded in the intended accounts after launch. Keep a dated baseline so a tracking gap is distinguishable from a real change in traffic or leads.
Staging review and launch responsibilities
Review the replacement in a staging environment before public release. Check mobile navigation, page content, forms and their delivery destinations, search and relevant shopping journeys. Restrict staging access and indexing, then verify that production has the intended indexability at launch. Collect feedback through one business approver so the launch version is clear.
The launch checklist should name who approves content, supplies domain and hosting access, deploys the site, applies redirects and tests the live version. Agree a change window, backup and rollback approach, plus how edits or orders arriving during the switch will be handled. Keep the existing site available while the replacement is built where the hosting setup permits; plan any unavoidable interruption in advance.
After the switch, recheck important old URLs, forms, analytics events and the live sitemap. Give the business a handover for editing content and reporting faults, with named owners for hosting, renewals and ongoing maintenance. Launch approval and post-launch checks are separate steps, with time assigned to both.
What affects your website redesign quote?
Page count alone is a poor estimate of the work. The number of distinct templates, content rewriting, product or document volume, platform changes, integrations, accessibility requirements and redirect complexity all affect scope. A small site with bespoke booking logic may require more work than a larger site using a few repeatable layouts.
Send your current URL, business goals, must-keep features, preferred launch window and who will supply content. Identify account access or supplier dependencies early. We scope design, development, content transfer, testing and handover so responsibilities are clear. Website builds include three months of post-launch support; agree the covered fixes and any ongoing maintenance or new features in the proposal.
