Website redesign checklist for small businesses.

A redesign should bring in more calls, bookings and sales. Too often it does the opposite: traffic drops, old links break, and customers can’t find the page they used to use. Almost always, the cause isn’t the new design. It’s what got missed during the switch.

This checklist covers the steps that matter most for small businesses: knowing what you have, keeping what works, protecting your Google rankings and checking everything before and after launch.

Before you change anything, take stock:

• List every page on your current site, including old offers and blog posts.
• Note your best pages. In Google Search Console, check which pages get the most clicks and impressions. In your analytics, see which pages people land on and which lead to enquiries.
• Collect your content. Save text, images, PDFs and forms you want to keep.
• Write down your logins: domain, hosting, email, analytics, Search Console, booking tools.

If you don’t have Search Console or analytics set up, add them now. A few weeks of data before the switch makes it much easier to see whether the new site is doing better.

Good redesigns start with goals, not colours. Write down the two or three actions that matter most, for example “call us”, “book online” or “order collection”, and make sure every page leads to one of them.

Then look at the site from your customer’s side. What do they need to know to choose you? Prices, location, opening hours, reviews and real photos usually matter more than long paragraphs about your history.

If you’re not sure what’s holding the current site back, a UX audit can show where visitors get stuck before you spend money on a full redesign.

This is the step most redesigns get wrong. Google ranks individual pages, so if a page’s address (URL) changes or disappears, the ranking it built up can be lost.

• Keep URLs the same where you can.
• Set up 301 redirects from every old URL that changes to the closest new page. A 301 tells Google the page has moved permanently.
• Keep the content of strong pages. If a page ranks well, improve it rather than replacing it with something thin.
• Carry over page titles and descriptions, then improve them.
• Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console after launch.

Expect some movement in rankings for a few weeks after any big change. With redirects in place, it usually settles.

Most local customers visit on a phone, often on mobile data. Design and test every page on a phone first:

• Phone number and main button visible without scrolling.
• Text large enough to read without zooming.
• Images resized and compressed so pages load quickly.
• Menus, prices and forms easy to use with a thumb.

You can check speed and mobile issues with Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool. Fix the biggest problems first, usually oversized images and heavy plugins.

Run through this list on the new site before you switch:

• Every page loads and every link works.
• Contact forms send to the right inbox (test them).
• Phone and WhatsApp links work on a phone.
• Booking, ordering or shop features work end to end.
• Page titles, descriptions and headings are in place.
• Analytics and Search Console are connected.
• Your business name, address and phone number match your Google Business Profile.
• The 301 redirect list is ready.

Most of the redesign problems I see come from a few avoidable mistakes:

• Deleting old pages without redirects. Every broken link loses visitors and ranking.
• Removing useful content to look “cleaner”. Short pages can look tidy but give Google and customers less to go on. Keep the substance and present it better.
• Burying contact details. A sleek design that hides the phone number costs enquiries.
• Launching on a Friday. If something breaks, you want time to fix it before a busy weekend.
• Changing everything at once. If you change the domain, design and content together, it’s much harder to tell what helped and what hurt.
• Forgetting the people who use it. Ask a few customers to try the new site before launch. Ten minutes of watching someone use it reveals more than hours of internal debate.

A redesign is also the right moment to review your Google Business Profile, update photos and check that your services, prices and opening hours are the same everywhere.

Redirects sound technical, but the planning is just a spreadsheet with two columns: old URL and new URL.

1. Export your old URLs. Use your sitemap, your website platform’s page list, or the Pages report in Search Console. 2. Add the new address next to each one. Match like with like: the old “Services” page to the new “Services” page, an old offer to the most relevant current page. 3. Don’t send everything to the homepage. Google treats mass redirects to the homepage much like missing pages. Use the closest relevant page instead. 4. Include old variations you know are linked from elsewhere, such as old blog posts, PDF links or addresses printed on flyers and vans. 5. Hand the list to whoever builds the site and ask them to confirm every redirect is a permanent (301) one. 6. Test after launch by pasting a sample of old URLs into your browser.

For example, if your old site had separate pages at /mens-haircuts and /ladies-haircuts and the new site combines them at /services/haircuts, both old addresses should point there.

• Redirect map complete and tested.
• New sitemap ready to submit.
• Analytics and Search Console connected.
• Forms, phone links and bookings tested on a real phone.
• Page titles and descriptions written for every page.
• Business name, address and phone number match Google Business Profile.
• Old site backed up in case you need anything from it later.
• Someone available on launch day and the day after to fix issues.

The first month matters:

• Test the redirects by visiting a few old URLs.
• Watch Search Console for errors and pages that drop out.
• Compare enquiries with the weeks before the switch.
• Ask a few customers to use the site and tell you what confused them.
• Keep improving. Small fixes after launch often make the biggest difference.

If you’d like help, my website redesign service (from £695) includes the redirects, Search Console setup and checks above, and local SEO support can help you climb further once the new site is live.