A website redesign should make your business easier to understand and your site easier to use. Before choosing colours or layouts, check what already works, what customers struggle with and what needs to survive the move. Use this checklist to give your designer a practical brief.
By Lauren Veling · Website design, Aspley
Decide what success looks like
Choose a primary goal, such as qualified enquiries, appointment requests or product purchases. Record your current enquiry numbers if you have them, and note how you will measure the same outcome after launch. A beautiful homepage is useful when it helps visitors take the next step.
Keep a record of the existing website
List the current page addresses, page purposes and important downloads. Check which pages receive visitors or enquiries using analytics and Search Console if these are available. Save a backup and identify who can restore it. Include forms, booking tools and email integrations in the inventory so they are not forgotten during design.
Review the content before the layout
For each service, explain who it is for, what is included and how to enquire. Remove expired offers, check prices you choose to publish and update contact details. Collect permission for testimonials and portfolio work. Your designer should know which copy is ready, which needs editing and who approves the final wording.
Make the navigation easy to follow
Group pages around the questions customers ask. A small service business may need Home, Services, About and Contact, with separate service pages where there is enough useful detail. Test the labels with someone unfamiliar with the business. They should be able to find the right service without guessing what a creative menu name means.
Plan page addresses and redirects
Keep useful existing URLs where possible. If a page moves, map the old address to the most relevant replacement and arrange a permanent redirect. Do not send every removed page to the homepage. Google’s site move guidance explains URL mapping, redirects and monitoring. Search visibility can fluctuate during a move, so keep a record of the launch date and changes.
Check the mobile experience
Review the site on a real phone. Open the menu, read a service page and follow the main enquiry route. Check that text is comfortable to read, buttons are easy to tap and essential information is not trapped in a large image. Ask your designer to investigate slow-loading pages and oversized images.
Test every enquiry route
Before launch, send an agreed test through each form and confirm it reaches the intended inbox. Check confirmation messages, required fields, phone links and booking connections. Test an incomplete submission too: visitors should understand what needs correcting. Remove test entries when finished and confirm who monitors enquiries.
Agree on the handover
Confirm account access, domain and hosting ownership, software renewals, backups and maintenance responsibilities. Request a demonstration of everyday edits. Keep launch support and future feature work clear in the scope, including who to contact if something stops working.
A simple redesign brief to prepare
Bring your website address, three goals, the pages or features you need, examples of a style you like, your budget range and preferred timing. Add any dates that affect the launch, such as a new service or campaign. This gives your designer a much stronger starting point than “make it modern”.
Planning a refresh in Aspley? Explore my website design services, read the questions to ask a website designer, or tell me about your redesign.
