Review existing content, search visits and essential journeys before turning a website redesign into a clear project.
Start a relaunch with the existing site: preserve useful content and plan addresses, functions and measurement.
When a website no longer feels like the business, starting again is tempting. First, check what already works. An unassuming page may bring relevant enquiries and deserve a place in the new structure.
Understand the existing site
List the pages and the job each performs. Use Search Console to review search queries and pages receiving visits. Add findings from analytics and customer conversations. A click does not prove a sale, while missing data does not prove that a page has no value.
Give each piece of content a decision
- Keep content that remains accurate and useful.
- Improve a worthwhile subject with outdated copy or an unclear structure.
- Combine overlapping content on an appropriate page.
- Remove obsolete material deliberately.
When an address changes, record the new page that meaningfully replaces the old content. Appropriate redirects help existing links remain useful. Sending every old page to the home page is not a substitute for that mapping.
Plan functions and measurement together
List the journeys that must work after launch: enquiries, bookings, newsletter subscriptions, purchases or downloads. Test them on a phone and with a keyboard. Measurement should distinguish a confirmed subscription from a click on a submit button. Include existing consent and privacy settings in the plan.
Keep checking after launch
Check important old links, the new sitemap and whether pages can be indexed. Then monitor search visits, errors and actual enquiries. Address changes can produce fluctuations, and a redesign cannot guarantee better rankings. At wild & co., we plan design, content and the agreed functions together so that a relaunch has a practical purpose.