What to prepare before you start a website redesign
Website redesigns rarely run late because of the design. They run late waiting for a logo file, a password or a decision about who writes the About page. Prepare these six things before you start and the project moves at the speed of the work, not the speed of the inbox.
Your website redesign checklist
| What to prepare | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| A written goal for the site | It is what the design is judged against |
| A list of pages, and who writes each one | So nobody waits on text when the design is ready |
| Brand files in one folder | Design starts from your brand, not from guesses |
| Access to your domain, website, analytics and CRM | Waiting on access is a common delay |
| An export of the pages that bring in traffic | Those are the pages the redesign must protect |
| One person who approves the design, and a launch date | Five people approving is how a project stalls |
1. What does the site have to do?
Write one or two sentences on what the website is for, in business terms. "Get more demo bookings from mid-sized companies" is useful. "Look more modern" is a starting point, not a goal. Add who the main visitors are and the one thing you want each of them to do. Every design decision gets easier when this is written down.
2. What content do you need, and who writes it?
List the pages you need and, for each one, whether the text already exists, needs updating or has to be written. Don't forget the legal pages, such as the privacy and cookie policies. Then decide who writes it. You don't need finished copy on day one. You do need the facts: what you offer, who it's for, proof that it works (case studies, testimonials, numbers you can stand behind) and answers to the questions customers ask most.
3. Which brand files should you send?
Send these in one folder before design starts:
- Your logo as a vector file (SVG, AI or EPS), not a screenshot.
- Brand colours, ideally as hex codes.
- Font names, and the licence if a font is paid. Many desktop licences don't cover use on a website, so check before launch. If you use Adobe Fonts, the site needs to run from your own Adobe account.
- Photos you own or have the rights to use, at full resolution.
4. Which accounts does your designer need?
Sort out access before the project starts: invite your designer as a user wherever the tool allows it, and share logins only where it doesn't. Waiting on access is a common delay, and the domain is usually the hardest one to find.
- The domain registrar and wherever your DNS (the settings that point your domain at your site) is managed.
- The current website platform or CMS. Thinking of switching? Read how to choose a website platform.
- Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
- Your CRM or email tool, and any other tool the site connects to, such as a booking system.
5. Which pages bring in your traffic?
Before the old site changes, export your top pages: the Landing page report in Google Analytics and the Pages tab of the Performance report in Search Console. Search Console only keeps 16 months of data, so save a copy now. Those are the pages a redesign must protect. Their addresses either stay the same or get a redirect, and their content carries over. Skip this step and a redesign can quietly lose the search traffic you built over years. This guide to moving platforms covers the redirects in detail.
6. Who decides, and by when?
Name one person who approves the design. Feedback from five people is useful; five people approving is how a project stalls. Agree how quickly feedback comes back. Say whether there is a fixed launch date, such as a product launch or an event. Share your budget range so the plan fits it from the start.
What can you skip before a redesign?
- A full rebrand. Unless the brand itself is the problem, a redesign can use your current logo and colours and still look new.
- Finished copy for every page. Facts and rough notes are enough to start; the words can be shaped during design.
- A long list of sites you like. Two or three examples, with a note on what you like about each, say more than twenty links.
- Every feature you might want one day. Launch with what the site needs now and add the rest later.
For what a redesign can change, see how Uareai's agency-built site was redesigned to show its product. When you've got these together, send me a note and I'll turn them into a written plan with the pages, what's included and one fixed price. Or see how a project runs, from first email to handover.