Website redesign checklist for small businesses

A website redesign goes wrong in predictable places: a login nobody can find, a contact form that quietly stops sending, old page addresses that break, email that stops the day the new site goes live. This checklist covers those places in the order you will meet them: before you start, while the new site is being built, on launch day, and in the month after. Print it, tick it off, and you avoid most of the problems owners run into.

Before you start: decide what the redesign is for

Write down, in a few lines, why you are redesigning. Keep it practical:

What is wrong with the current site? (Hard to use on phones, can't edit it, wrong information, looks neglected.)
What should a visitor do on the new site? (Call, fill in a form, book, visit the shop.)
Which pages get used most? Ask your staff what customers mention.
What must not change? (Your phone number, your domain, a booking link customers know.)
Who will make small changes after launch: you, a staff member or the builder?

This page of notes becomes your brief. Hand the same one to anyone you get a quote from, so the quotes are comparable.

Before you start: gather logins

Most redesign delays come from missing access. Find and test each of these:

Domain registrar account (where your web address is registered). If you do not know where, finding where your domain is registered shows you how.
Current website or builder account.
Hosting account, if separate from the builder.
Email provider, if your mailboxes use your domain.
Google Business Profile.
Google Search Console and any analytics, if you have them.
Booking, payment or form tools linked from the site.

Write them in one safe place. Turn on two-step sign-in where you can.

Before you start: save the old site

Even if you dislike the old site, it holds things you will want. Save:

The text of every page you might reuse.
Your photos, at the largest size you have.
A list of every page address (the part after your domain, like /services or /about-us).
Reviews and testimonials, with names as they appear.
Where each form sends its messages.
Your domain's DNS settings, especially the email records (called MX records).

What to save before you replace your old website goes through each of these in detail.

During the build: content

Every service you offer has a section or page, in your customers' words.
Your phone number, address and hours are the same on every page and match your Google Business Profile.
Each page has a clear title that says what the page is about and where.
Photos are your own work, places and people, not stock.
Reviews are real, with the reviewer's permission or as they appear publicly.
Out-of-date items are gone: old staff, old prices, services you dropped.
Legal pages you need, such as a privacy policy, are present. Ask your attorney what your business needs.

During the build: checking on a phone

Ask for a preview link, and check it on your own phone, not just on a computer.

The first screen says what you do and where, without scrolling.
Text is readable without zooming.
The phone number starts a call when tapped.
Buttons are big enough for a thumb.
The menu opens and closes properly, and every link in it works.
Pages load quickly on mobile data, not just Wi-Fi.
Photos are sharp and not stretched or awkwardly cut off.

During the build: the old addresses

Every important old page address has a match on the new site.
Old addresses that will not exist any more are set to forward to the closest new page (a "301 redirect", which tells browsers and Google the page has moved for good).
Pages that bring in visitors keep their address where possible.

The reasons behind this are in how to redesign without losing customers from Google.

Launch day

Agree the launch time with whoever controls the domain, and avoid your busiest day.
Check your email records will not be changed when the domain is pointed at the new site.
After the switch, open the site on your phone and computer, at your normal address, with and without "www".
Send a test message through every form and check it arrives.
Send yourself an email from outside, and reply from your business address, to check email still works.
Tap the phone number, open the booking link, try any payment buttons.
Try five old page addresses and check each lands on the right page.
Check the padlock shows in the browser's address bar.

The month after launch

In Google Search Console, submit the new sitemap if your builder provides one, and check the pages report over the following weeks.
Update your Google Business Profile if your website address or anything else changed.
Update links in your email signature, social media profiles and directory listings.
Watch your enquiries: calls, forms and bookings. If they drop sharply, check the forms first.
Ask a few customers if they have seen the new site and if anything was hard to find.
Fix small issues as you find them.
Cancel the old hosting or builder plan only once you are sure everything works, and after saving a final copy.

What to do this week

Write your one-page brief.
Find and test every login on the list.
Make the list of your current page addresses.
Save your photos and reviews in a folder on your computer.

If your current site's words and photos are mostly right and you want to skip the slow parts, you can see your site rebuilt first and work through the launch-day list with the finished site in front of you.