Website redesign checklist for UX and SEO

A website redesign should begin with a problem list, a record of the existing pages and clear acceptance criteria. The new design needs to explain what changes for visitors. If page addresses change, the project also needs a migration plan.

Suppose a company wants more enquiries from its mobile website. First, follow the journey from a service page to a confirmed submission. The problem could be an unclear offer, unnecessary fields or a failed delivery. Redrawing every page requires a separate reason.

Define what the redesign needs to change

Turn comments about the website into observations and expected outcomes. “It looks dated” becomes more useful when you identify the issue: small text on a phone, services hidden in the menu or a page structure that cannot accommodate a new business line.

Separate the work into its actual responsibilities:

• A visual update changes typography, colours, imagery and component appearance.
• A UX redesign changes the organisation of information and the steps people take.
• A technical migration changes the platform, URLs or content management setup.
• Content work updates service explanations, examples and answers to buyer questions.

A project can include all of these. Each has different deliverables and checks, so define them before comparing estimates. A design handoff and a complete website migration need different budgets.

Record the current position

Save your page inventory and performance data for a period that reflects normal business activity. Account for seasonality where relevant. Mark pages that receive organic visits, generate enquiries or have external links pointing to them.

Your working inventory should include the URL, language, page purpose and a decision about its future. Keep a copy of important text, headings, images and downloadable files. This gives the team something concrete to check against the replacement site.

Check how enquiries are measured too. A button click and a message received by the sales team are different events. If reporting currently counts clicks as leads, agree on a more useful definition before setting a redesign target. You need comparable measurements after launch.

Test the proposed structure in a prototype

Choose tasks a visitor genuinely needs to complete: find the relevant service, check its terms and send an enquiry. Walk through those tasks in the prototype on a phone-sized screen and a larger display.

For a hypothetical company offering three services, a task might be: “I need an online store. I want to understand the work involved and send details of my catalogue.” This exposes menu labels that make sense internally but confuse a prospective customer.

Ask to see form errors, long headings and empty states. An approved main screen leaves many interaction decisions unresolved. In UAVA’s UX/UI design work, structure, user flows and a prototype are defined before the design is handed over for development.

Make a decision for every existing URL

If a page will continue to describe the same service, keeping its address simplifies the move. Where a change serves a clear purpose, document the old address and its destination.

For example, a migration plan might contain these decisions:

• /en/services/shop moves to /en/services/online-stores, which describes the same service.
• /en/about/team stays at its current address because the team page remains part of the website.
• Two overlapping articles become one complete resource, with both previous addresses pointing to that resource.
• A discontinued offer with no relevant replacement returns a removed-page status, while navigation helps visitors find current services.

Google recommends mapping existing URLs to their new destinations and using permanent redirects for moved pages. Redirecting every old page to the homepage is inappropriate. Significant changes can cause visibility fluctuations. Google’s site migration guidance.

For a bilingual website, plan Ukrainian and English URLs separately. An old English service link should take visitors to its corresponding English content. Check language switching from the destination as well.

Review the built website against agreed tasks

Before launch, ask the team to demonstrate the completed site using your agreed page inventory. Acceptance needs to cover the content and working interactions as well as the design.

1. Visitors can open important pages from navigation and from existing links.
2. Headings, text and images match the approved content in each language.
3. A visitor can submit an enquiry, receive confirmation and have the message delivered to the responsible person.
4. Errors explain what needs correcting and retain entered information where appropriate.
5. The mobile layout supports the main task, and controls can be reached with a keyboard.
6. A specialist has reviewed redirects, canonicals, language alternates and the sitemap for the production URLs.
7. Indexing settings have been checked for the public release, including the removal of any temporary development restrictions.
8. Analytics events use the agreed definitions and avoid duplicate submissions after a refresh.

Include these checks in the scope. They also help you compare website development quotes. One proposal might cover design files alone; another might include implementation, migration and launch verification.

Monitor individual pages after release

Record the release date and what changed. Check that enquiries reach your team immediately after publication. Then review page errors, redirects and Search Console data.

If total organic traffic drops, identify the affected pages, queries and languages. A missing page, a removed explanation and a change in search demand require different responses. Compare equivalent reporting periods before deciding that the visual design caused a traffic change.

Frequently asked questions

Can a redesigned website keep its existing URLs?

Yes. A new visual design does not require new addresses. The decision depends on whether page purposes and the overall information structure need to change.

Can a redesign guarantee the same search rankings?

Rankings cannot be guaranteed. Migration planning and acceptance checks reduce the risk of technical mistakes. Visibility also depends on search demand, competitors and search systems.

What should we bring to the first discussion?

Share the current website, known problems, available enquiry data and pages you need to retain. A finished technical specification is optional; requirements can be defined with the project team.

Discuss the redesign scope

Send UAVA your website and explain what creates difficulty for visitors or your team. We can define the design and development work, then estimate it by stage. Discuss your redesign.