How to Redesign a Website: Your Complete 3-Step Project Plan (2025 Guide)

Thinking about redesigning your website - but not sure where to start? A successful website redesign is more than just a visual update. It’s a strategic process that can boost your visibility, improve user experience, and help convert more visitors into real customers. Here’s our 3-step project plan for anyone looking to understand how a redesign really works

What is a website redesign?

A website redesign is the process of reworking the structure, design, content, and functionality of an existing website. It can range from a visual refresh to a complete overhaul, depending on your goals. Unlike minor updates, a redesign often involves revisiting user experience (UX), branding, navigation, and technical performance.

The goal is to create a site that better aligns with your current business objectives and user expectations. When done right, a redesign can lead to better engagement, improved SEO, and higher conversion rates.

Do I need to redesign my website?

Not every website needs a full redesign - but many do, and often sooner than expected. Intoday’s fast-moving digital world, what worked well two or three years ago may no longer meet user expectations or business goals.

Does any of these points apply to you?

• Your site looks outdated compared to competitors
• The current website is not mobile-friendly
• Users struggle to navigate or find what they’re looking for
• Your bounce rate is high and conversions are low
• SEO performance has dropped and you're not ranking well anymore
• Updating content or features feels complicated or slow
• The design no longer reflects your brand or your business has evolved

A website is more than just a digital brochure. It's a living part of your business strategy. If your current site is holding you back instead of driving results, a thoughtful redesign can be agame changer.

How to redesign a website and what to consider: Your 3-step project plan

Redesigning a website without a clear plan is like renovating a house without a blueprint: not only time-consuming, but also expensive and full of unexpected surprises.

To avoid common pitfalls you need a structured, step-by-step approach. Our plan will guideyou through the entire process - from initial strategy to post-launch optimization - helping you make smart decisions every step of the way.

Step 1: Preparation

Before you dive into design tools or wireframes, take a step back. The success of your website redesign is decided long before the first pixel is placed. A strong strategy in the beginning saves time, money, and frustration down the line and helps you stay focused on what really matters: results.

Set goals and KPIs

Start by asking the right questions. Your answers will define the direction, scope, and success metrics of the entire project. Your redesign isn’t just about visuals and color schemes. It’s about driving better results. It's for getting better results and creating auser-friendly website that helps you reach out to your desired customers.

So ask yourself:

• What are your core business goals and how can your website support achieving them?
• What is the main goal of this redesign? Is it more leads, better UX, stronger SEO or all together?
• Are we only redesigning the layout, or are we also adding new features, migrating toa new CMS, or changing the site structure? This impacts the size of the whole website redesign process.
• Who will be involved in the project, and what’s the timeline?

Key KPIs might include:

• Average session time
• Conversion rate
• Bounce rate
• Scroll depth
• Organic traffic, keyword rankings, and domain rating (DR)
• note: each business has its own KPIs, so align those with what really matters for you

Know your market

Your redesign should never happen in a vacuum. Understanding your market and your place in it is essential. Before starting the redesign process you should know:

• Target audience: What are their goals, pain points, devices, and behaviors?
• Competitors: What are top-ranking competitors doing better than you?
• Your brand: Does your current site still reflect your positioning and personality?

Run a UX audit of your current website and take a look at the structure, user journey, and messaging of your competitors. You’ll quickly see what needs to improve and what you should avoid copying.

What about SEO?

Redesigning your site without a clear SEO strategy can do more harm than good. It’s not just about keeping rankings - it’s about building on them.

Things to consider:

• Will the URL structure change? (Doing so means you’ll need to plan for 301 redirects)
• Are you keeping, updating, or replacing content? (often required due to new structures)
• Are there technical issues (like crawl errors or slow load times) that need fixing?

And now? Put it all together.

By now, you’ve gathered a lot: goals, metrics, audience insights, competitor research, and SEO considerations. It’s time to translate all of that into a redesign brief.

Your brief should include:

• Business and redesign goals
• Target KPIs
• Scope of the project (design, dev, migration, etc.)
• Technical needs and SEO must-haves
• Style preferences and branding guidelines
• Budget, roles, and timeline

This becomes the foundation for the entire process and helps your design and developmentteam deliver the results you actually need. This is even more important if you are workingwith an agency so that they can align their process with your goals

Some extra questions

Before you move on to execution, take a moment to reflect:

• Selfmade, freelancer or agency: This will have a strong impact on the budget you have to invest for the redesign
• Who is responsible: Is there any experts you can outsource the task within your team, to review results and coordinate with an agency for example
• Post-launch: Can you do all the adjustments on your own or do you need a professional service for maintenance and A/B-Testing?

Step 2: Executing your Redesign

Everything planned? Great! Let's follow along. With all the insights and strategy from Step 1 in place, it’s time to turn your ideas into reality. This is where your new website takes shape: from fresh design concepts and layout templates to development within your chosen CMS. It’s the most hands-on phase of the project and the one where good planning really pays off.

Crafting your new design (UX-Optimized)

Designing your new website can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re working with dozens or even hundreds of pages. That’s why we recommend a template-based approach. Instead of designing each page individually, group similar pages into content types. For example:

• Product or service pages should follow the same layout.
• Blog articles should use consistent structures and elements.
• Collection or overview pages should be designed uniformly.

This consistency doesn’t just save time and budget. It significantly improves user experience. When visitors move from one page to another, familiar design patterns help them navigate faster and with more confidence. Whether they’re viewing Product A or B, they’ll intuitively know where to find the information they need.

We call this approach dynamic content: once the layout is in place, you can easily generate new pages just by filling in the content. It’s efficient, scalable, and user-friendly.

Of course, there’s always room for exceptions. Some pages may need special design elements or interactions. But in most cases, consistency beats complexity. Especially when time, resources, and maintainability matter.

How to improve UX

• Mobile-first design: Start with the smallest screen, unless your analytics show a desktop-heavy audience
• Clear navigation: Menus should be simple, structured, and accessible
• Effective CTAs: Use consistent button styles and a clear hierarchy to guide users toward conversion goals
• Visual hierarchy: Headings, spacing, and colors should lead the eye and support scannability
• Accessibility: Make sure your design works for all users, including those with visual or motor impairments

Tools to Design Your Redesign

• Figma: powerful design and prototyping tool with real-time collaboration
• Adobe XD: great for wireframes, flows, and high-fidelity designs
• Sketch: widely used for UI/UX design, especially in Mac-based teams
• Maze: helpful for user testing early prototypes

Development - Make your website great again

Your design is ready - Now it’s time to bring it to life. In most projects, development is the most time-intensive phase. This is where your static layouts become a functioning website. To keep things smooth and avoid delays, it’s essential to work in a structured and systematic way. One simple but powerful tip: create a detailed development checklist before you begin. It helps ensure nothing gets missed along the way.

Thinking About a Migration?

If your redesign includes moving to a new CMS (like switching from WordPress to Webflow), it requires some extra preparation. Migrations can impact everything from your URL structure to third-party integrations and if not handled properly, they can hurt performance or SEO.

Things to consider:

• New URL-Structure? → Mind 301-Redirections
• New Tools/CMS/Plugins? → Mind updating your Compliance
• New Pages → Mind checking internal link structure

Step 3: Post-Launch

Your new website is live? Congratulations! That’s a big step. But the work doesn’t stop here. Now it’s time to track performance and optimize based on real data. Go back to the KPIs you defined in Step 1 and compare them to your post-launch metrics. Are you seeing improvements in bounce rate, session duration, conversions, or organic traffic?

Many businesses treat a redesign as a one-time project. But in reality, your website is a dynamic asset. One that should evolve alongside your users, your market, and your business goals.

Keep Optimizing

If you have the resources, this is the perfect time to start A/B testing. Try different versions of headlines, calls to action, layouts, or page flows and see what actually performs better. Even small UX improvements can lead to significant growth over time.

Post-Launch To-Do List

• Check site speed again using tools like PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix
• Re-submit your sitemap to Google via Search Console
• Review indexing and crawl errors in Google Search Console
• Track user behavior with tools like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity
• Monitor conversions and other KPIs in Google Analytics
• Test forms, search functions, and navigation regularly

7 Pro-Tips for better results

1. Involve real users in early testing - Not just your team
   Internal teams are often too close to the product. Run quick usability tests with external testers or existing customers on early prototypes. Even 5–7 real users can reveal blind spots you’d never catch internally.
2. Optimize for content manageability - Not just front-end beauty
   Many redesigns launch with stunning visuals but are a nightmare to update later. Ask yourself: Can your non-tech team easily update key content without breaking the layout?
3. Rebuild your internal search
   If your site has a search function, redesign that too. It’s often forgotten, yet a powerful tool for UX and conversions
4. Use behavioral segmentation in your tracking setup
   Go beyond pageviews and bounce rate. Track behavior by user segment (e.g. new vs. returning, mobile vs. desktop, by campaign source). This gives you richer insights to tailor experiences and prioritize improvements.
5. Re-evaluate your information architecture
   Don’t just shift things around visually. Use card sorting or tree testing tools (like Optimal Workshop) to validate navigation logic and menu labels with real users. Better structure = lower bounce + higher engagement.
6. Watch for "design debt"
   Avoid building beautiful components that don’t serve your long-term strategy. Every fancy element you add = future maintenance. Ask: Will this still work and make sense in 2 years?
7. Set launch triggers based on quality, not just deadlines
   It’s tempting to launch on a specific date but if your site isn’t fully tested, optimized, or legally compliant, you risk more harm than good. Only go live when your site is truly ready, even if that means adjusting your timeline.

What are the costs for a redesign?

The cost of a website redesign depends heavily on your project’s scope, complexity, and the team behind it. A simple redesign for a small business site might start around $3,000, while a full-scale revamp for an enterprise platform can easily exceed $50,000. Add-ons like SEO strategy, content migration, or third-party integrations can quickly influence the overall budget. That’s why it’s crucial to plan carefully and understand where the real cost drivers lie.

Final Thoughts

A website redesign isn’t just about the look and feel - it’s a chance to realign your online presence with where your business is headed. With a clear plan and the right priorities, you can turn your site into a powerful tool that not only reflects your brand but actively drives growth.