Website redesign planning: keep useful pages, fix the customer journey

Inventory the pages before changing the design

List the current service pages, campaign landing pages, forms and important downloads. Add the pages that receive search impressions, enquiries or referrals. A page that looks dated may still serve a useful customer question.

Record which pages will be retained, rewritten, combined or retired. Use a URL map so a redesign does not accidentally replace established destinations with unrelated pages.

Design around the visitor’s next decision

For each major page, write who it is for and what they should understand before taking the next step. A service buyer may need scope, examples, delivery process and a way to discuss requirements.

• Use a specific page title and one clear main heading.
• Explain the offering in ordinary language.
• Make relevant service links visible.
• Keep forms proportionate to the enquiry.
• Check the same journey on a small screen.

Separate visual approval from functional acceptance

Review a working form, validation errors and the receiving CRM record. Test navigation, downloads, missing pages and image loading. A polished home page does not establish that the rest of the customer journey works.

Use representative pages to check loading and layout behaviour. Review real performance data when available and keep test conditions consistent when comparing builds.

Launch with a map and a recovery plan

Confirm redirects, canonical URLs, sitemaps, analytics events and ownership of the content. Keep the previous release available while the new site is verified. Review results after launch instead of assuming every change is an improvement.

Explore website redesign services alongside technical search work. Treat design, content migration, performance and measurement as connected parts of the project.