Website redesign

Improve an existing website

An older website may still contain valuable pages, reliable copy, photographs, links and search visibility. We begin by identifying what should be retained before changing the structure or technology. The review covers navigation, mobile display, forms, important URLs, content quality, performance and the ability of the team to update information. The intervention may focus on a few priority pages or lead to a more complete migration when the existing foundation is no longer safe or maintainable. Each proposed change must solve an identified problem, protect continuity where possible and leave the client with a website that is easier to understand, operate and improve.

The goal is to make the website clearer for visitors, easier to maintain and better organised for search engines, local discovery and AI-assisted answers.

Discuss this need

Photo illustrating the service Improve an existing website

Your situation

Improve the site without discarding what still works.

A redesign is relevant when the current site no longer explains the activity, is difficult to use or cannot be maintained safely. It does not mean every URL, paragraph and feature must be replaced. Start by separating valuable assets from genuine obstacles so the project has a reason for each change.

Inventory the existing public footprint

List important pages, incoming links, search landing pages, forms, downloads, photographs and integrations. Record the question each page answers and whether its information remains accurate. Ask the people who use the site which steps cause confusion; analytics alone does not explain every failed task.

Map changes before moving URLs

For every retained, merged or removed page, decide the new destination. Redirect an old address to a genuinely relevant replacement rather than sending everything to the home page. Keep a copy of the current content and document the new page map, language equivalents and responsibilities for rewritten material.

Compare before and after on the same tasks

Test enquiry, navigation, search and editing tasks on the old and new versions. Check that redirects resolve, internal links use final addresses, metadata reflects the new page and the sitemap lists only canonical URLs. Continue monitoring after launch because a staging check cannot prove production behaves identically. When a page changes address, map its old URL to a relevant destination. Sending every old link to the home page loses the visitor’s context. After launch, sample old addresses, internal links, important pages and form delivery. Keep a baseline to distinguish migration faults from seasonal changes.

What to prepare

Useful old URLs, features to retain and examples of observed failures.
Account owners and technical contacts, without sending passwords in the enquiry.
Approved content, published languages and periods when migration can happen.
A decision maker for pages that will be merged or retired

How to verify the result

Priority old addresses reach useful content without loops or unrelated destinations.
Sample enquiries and searches succeed on the final domain in the relevant languages.
Links, media and indexing instructions match the version actually launched.

Continue with the practical guide: Plan a content-safe migration.

Decision points

Keep what already helps visitors

Situation to examine

A redesign starts with URLs, content, forms, media and journeys that still work. Pages visited or linked from elsewhere deserve inspection before removal. Outdated material may be corrected or retired, but the choice should be recorded.

Choice to make

Build an old-content to new-destination map with three decisions: keep, merge or retire. Record what changes and who approves each kept page. A merged page needs a destination that genuinely answers the old question.

Evidence of success

After launch, check priority old URLs, redirects, forms, internal links and published language versions. Repeat a few identical tasks on the old and new site to assess use, not appearance alone.

Migrate a website without losing useful content →

Steps

A simple, readable and followed progression.

Listen

Understand your need, audience and current difficulties.

Clarify

Choose the pages, messages and priorities that are truly useful.

Build

Produce the required elements and validate progressively.

Support

Help you follow, correct and enrich the website over time.

Read the evidence

A redirect must preserve the visitor’s question

Fictional teaching example · no client result or live site measurement

Three old addresses have been recorded for this fictional redesign. A favourable technical status is insufficient: the destination still needs to answer the original need.

Old address
Actual destination
Useful content and action

On a small screen, scroll the table horizontally to read all three columns.

Fictional observations to interpret
Old page	Observed result	Interpretation
/workshop/	301 → /services/workshop/ → 200	The service and its contact route are available
/repairs/	301 → / → 200	The home page does not answer the repair need
/old-offer/	404, with no equivalent offer	Explicit removal to check against the approved inventory

What can we conclude?

The first redirect is coherent in this test. The second needs review: reaching a responding page does not establish content relevance. The third may reflect an intentional removal if no equivalent page exists and the decision is documented.

What should be checked next?

For each priority address, compare destination content, internal links and the expected action. Also test the language versions actually published.

What makes this check reusable?

Context to specify : Approved inventory, language, old URL and expected destination for each page.

Evidence to retain : Complete status chain, final URL, title and available action at the destination.

Decision to prepare : Review /repairs/ without a useful equivalent; also check affected internal links.

Explore the check further : Prepare and test a URL redirect plan

Scope and limits : These paths are invented. This check guarantees neither retained traffic nor a reindexing timeline.

Method reference : Google Search Central · Site moves. Source consulted 2026-10-22. This reference explains the method; the observations presented are invented.

Frequently asked questions

Detailed answers about scope, decisions and delivery.

No. A page may be obsolete, duplicated or misleading. Its value should be assessed through the information it provides, links it receives, searches it answers and the needs it still serves. When it is removed, the replacement or removal decision should be explicit and tested.

If the platform is maintainable and the main problems concern a few pages, forms or navigation choices, focused corrections may solve them with less disruption. A deeper migration is justified when the underlying system, content structure or operational process can no longer support the required work.

Compare content usefulness, available visits, incoming links, received enquiries and team constraints. Assign each useful URL a decision: retain, improve, merge into an equivalent or retire. Plan recovery before deletion.

Test priority old addresses, destinations and contact journeys. Check migrated languages, documents and media. Retain a usable copy and rollback procedure, then observe access errors and indexing without treating an isolated fluctuation as a verdict.

When the existing platform remains maintainable, content can be revised and the main problems affect identifiable journeys. Compare the cost and limits of repair with rebuilding. An ageing appearance alone does not justify replacing the entire technical platform.

Let us be concrete

Where is the main blockage today?

Present the project

Practical checks to prepare

Prioritise website repairs using evidence
Separate failures, journey barriers and editorial improvements. Order repairs, assign an owner and verify the result with a practical work plan.
Change DNS without breaking your website or email
Prepare DNS changes: distinguish domain registration, hosting and email, retain useful records and plan recovery.
Diagnose a page missing from Google
Separate discovery, crawling, indexing and ranking, check blockers and choose an evidence-based correction.

Related topics

Documented reference points for this topic

Documented reference points for this topic
Reference	Value or syntax	Scope
HTTP · 308	`308 · Location`	Permanent relocation: the request method and body are preserved.
Google Search · Canonical	`rel="canonical"`	A preference signal for Google; neither a redirect nor a selection guarantee.
Google Search · Sitemap	`50 000 URL · 50 MB`	Limits per uncompressed file; larger sets require several sitemaps.
WordPress · Tools Export	`WXR / XML`	A WordPress content export can include posts, pages, post types, comments, custom fields and taxonomies. Its scope depends on selected filters. Check media files, theme, plugins and configuration separately before treating it as a complete migration.
Shopify · Exporting products	`CSV UTF-8 · Image Src`	Product images are not embedded in the CSV. During import into another store, their URLs must still be accessible. Retain the original store until product, variant and image associations have been checked; inventory has a separate export.

Sources consulted on 22 October 2026. These points are neither a website audit nor an overall conformance statement.