Website Redesign
Redesign without losing what already works.
Before any website redesign I review what your current site does well; only then does a faster, clearer site relaunch, with the rankings and enquiries intact.
Six signs it is time.
A website rarely fails all at once. These are the symptoms I hear most often.
- It looks dated next to competitorsVisitors judge in seconds. A design from several years ago quietly undermines everything the copy says.
- It is slow, especially on phonesEach second of load time loses a share of the people who were about to call, and Google ranks slower sites lower.
- It does not work on a phoneIf people pinch and zoom, or the menu breaks, most of your visitors are getting the worst version of you.
- The business has moved onNew services, new locations, a different kind of customer, and a site that still describes the old business.
- Nobody can update itThe person who built it has gone, the platform is painful, or every small change costs a call to a developer.
- Enquiries have dried upTraffic is there but conversions are not, or rankings have slipped and nobody knows why.
What you get.
A redesign is a rebuild with a safety net.
- A site review firstWhat ranks, which pages convert, what visitors use, what can go. You see this before anything changes.
- Redirect planEvery old address mapped to its new home with permanent redirects, so links, bookmarks and rankings carry over.
- Content kept or improvedCopy that works is edited, pages that earn traffic are strengthened, and gaps are filled.
- A new design on the right platformMobile-first, built to a performance budget, hand-coded or on WordPress as the brief demands.
- SEO foundations rebuiltTitles, headings, internal links, structured data and the sitemap, all set up for the new structure.
- Launch and monitoringA planned switch-over, then Search Console checked for errors and rankings watched in the weeks after.
How it works.
The order matters: understand, protect, then improve.
Understand what you have.
Before any design, I review the current site: the pages that rank, the ones that bring enquiries, the content people actually read and the technical problems holding it back. Nothing valuable gets thrown away by accident.
- Rankings and traffic by page
- Conversion paths: where enquiries come from
- Technical audit: speed, errors, mobile issues
Redesign around the goal.
With the review done, the redesign works like any project I take on: structure first, then wireframes, then the visual design on real copy. The difference is that the brief is sharper, because we know exactly what the old site got right and wrong.
- Clearer offer and calls to action
- Mobile-first layouts for every page
- Faster by design, not by patching
Launch with the net in place.
The new site goes live in one planned step: redirects tested, sitemap submitted, Search Console watched. If anything moves in the rankings, I see it and deal with it, rather than finding out from you three months later.
- Redirects tested before and after launch
- Search Console monitored for errors
- Care plan available for the months after
Keep what earns. Fix what costs.
A redesign should pay for itself in enquiries, not just look better.
The most expensive redesign is the one that resets your search visibility to zero. I have seen businesses lose years of rankings in a weekend because an agency changed every URL and nobody mapped the old ones. The review and redirect plan exist so that never happens to you.
On the other side, a redesign is the best moment to fix the things that quietly cost you: a slow mobile site, an unclear offer, a form nobody finds. Each one is a small leak, and a redesign closes them all at once.
How SEO continues after the relaunchA redesign in practice.
Rebuilding the Plymouth College website meant keeping years of rankings while changing everything visible. The guide to what a small business website should include is a useful checklist before any redesign.
Often paired with.
Web Design
Bespoke, responsive websites designed around your customers and what you want them to do.
Learn more about web designEcommerce Websites
Online shops built to be found, trusted and bought from.
Learn more about ecommerce websitesBrand & Graphic Design
Logos, visual identity and graphics that look right on screen and in print.
Learn more about brand & graphic designCopywriting
Clear website copy that answers the questions your customers are already asking.
Learn more about copywritingWebsite Care
Updates, backups, monitoring and small changes, so the site keeps performing.
Learn more about website careRedesign questions, answered.
It can, if it is done carelessly: changed URLs without redirects, deleted pages that ranked, thinner content. Done properly it usually helps. I audit what ranks before anything changes, map every old URL to its new home with permanent redirects, keep or improve the content that earns traffic, and check Search Console after launch so nothing slips.
Not every tired site needs rebuilding. If the structure is sound and the problems are speed, content or a dated look, targeted work can be better value. The review at the start tells us which it is, and I will say if a smaller job is the right call.
Yes. Most redesign projects start that way. I work with sites built on WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, Wix and plain code. Where the old platform is holding you back, the redesign is a chance to move to one that fits; where it is fine, we keep it.
Anything that works stays. Good copy is edited rather than replaced, strong photographs are reused at the right sizes, and pages that bring in enquiries are improved rather than reinvented. The redesign focuses effort where it makes a difference.
It depends on the size of the site and how much is being changed. Because the content largely exists, redesigns often move faster than new builds. We agree the stages and schedule before anything starts.
It stays live and untouched until launch day. The new site is built separately, tested, and swapped over in one planned step with the redirects in place, so there is no period with a half-finished site in public.
Start with a site review.
Send me your web address and a line about what is frustrating you. I’ll come back with what I would keep, what I would change and what a website redesign is likely to involve.
- 1You send a few lines.What the business does and what the website needs to do.
- 2I reply, personally.Usually the same day, with questions and a time for a call.
- 3You get a written proposal.Scope, stages and price for exactly that. No obligation, no hard sell.
Monday to Sunday, 9am to 9pm. You talk to me, not an account manager.