Website redesign checklist for Perth businesses

A website redesign is worth doing when the current site fails as a sales conversation: people cannot tell what you do, cannot find proof, or cannot enquire on a phone. It is not automatically the right job because the colours feel dated.

Use this checklist to prepare a website redesign — or to brief another team — so you do not buy a new skin for the same confused structure. This is not a timeline or cost article. It covers what to decide and gather.

1. Confirm you actually need a redesign

Tick the problems that are true. If none of the conversion or clarity items apply, you may need maintenance, content, or SEO — not a visual overhaul.

Likely redesign

• Homepage does not state the offer in plain language
• Service pages are missing, merged, or written for you rather than the buyer
• Mobile path hides contact, hours or forms
• Visual system is inconsistent or accidental
• You have outgrown a builder’s layout limits and the information architecture is wrong

Maybe not a redesign (yet)

• The site is clear but plugins are rotting → maintenance
• The site is clear but hard to find → SEO and the local SEO checklist
• You like the experience but hate the platform → migration
• You need campaign-specific offers → landing pages, not a whole-site rebuild

Write a one-line success measure: more qualified form fills, more calls, more bookings, fewer “what do you actually do?” emails. If you cannot name it, pause.

2. Separate four jobs that get bundled in quotes

Keep these labels honest in the brief. Mixing them hides risk.

• Refresh — colours, type, imagery, minor layout. Structure, URLs and CMS stay.
• Redesign — information architecture, UX, visuals, conversion paths. Often the same CMS.
• Migration — platform or host. Experience stays largely intact.
• New build — almost everything. Brand and knowledge remain; old templates do not.

Many Perth SME projects are redesign-plus-migration. That is fine if both are scoped. It is not fine if a “redesign” quote silently includes a platform change with no redirect plan.

3. Audit what already works

Do not start in a blank Figma file. Collect evidence.

• Analytics: top landing pages, top exit pages, device split, form starts vs completions (if you track them)
• Search: queries and pages that already bring organic visits — even modest ones
• Sales: what customers say they could not find; what sales staff still send as PDFs
• Support: repeated “are you open?”, “do you service [suburb]?”, “how do we pay?”
• Competitors: two or three sites you respect, with notes on why (clarity, not decoration)

Keep pages that convert or rank unless you have a replacement with a URL plan. Redesign should clarify, not wipe equity for novelty.

4. Content and proof inventory

Late content is the usual stall. Inventory before design, not after.

Pages

• List every URL you intend to keep, merge, retire or add
• Mark thin pages (no unique purpose) for cut or rewrite
• Note legal pages: privacy, terms, complaints, healthcare disclaimers if relevant

Proof

• Testimonials you have permission to use
• Project photos that are actually yours
• Accreditations, licences, association memberships
• Team photos and bios if the buying journey is people-led (professional services especially)

Assets

• Logo files (vector), fonts you are licensed to use, brand colours
• Image rights: do not rebuild on photos you cannot keep

If copy will be written during the project, say so in the brief and allow time. “We will send copy next week” is how redesigns slip. See the timeline guide for why.

5. Conversion and mobile paths

Walk the site on a phone as if you were in a car park, not at a desktop.

Checklist:

• Primary action is obvious (call, form, book, buy) without hunting
• Forms are short, labelled, and state what happens after submit
• Click-to-call works; the number is the number you actually answer
• Hours, service area and parking or visit instructions are findable if you have a physical location
• Trust sits next to the ask (reviews, associations, relevant proof) without a wall of badges
• Error states exist (required fields, failed submit)

UX/UI work earns its keep here. Visual polish on a broken path is still a broken path.

For trades, check quote friction — see the tradies guide. For retailers, merchandising and checkout are part of redesign; see Shopify or WooCommerce if the store is the product.

6. SEO and URL decisions (named workstream)

Redesign is a ranking risk when URLs change casually.

Before templates are locked:

• Decide which URLs stay identical
• Map every retired or renamed URL to a destination (one-to-one where possible)
• Keep or improve titles and H1s that already match search intent
• Do not manufacture a unique page per Perth suburb with the same paragraph
• Plan metadata, canonicals and indexation for new templates
• Confirm analytics and conversion events will be re-implemented, not “we will add later”

If the platform is changing as well, treat redirects as part of migration, not a launch-day surprise.

7. Stakeholders, brand and approvals

Redesigns stall when “the website” has five owners and no decision rule.

Decide now:

• Who signs off IA (page list and nav)
• Who signs off visual direction (one person, not a committee of taste)
• Who supplies or approves copy
• How many revision rounds are in scope
• Whether partners, franchise or head office must approve claims

Write the decision owners in the brief. Unlimited stakeholder opinion is not a design process.

8. Technical, hosting and handover

Ask these even if you are staying on the same CMS:

• Who owns the domain, DNS, hosting and CMS accounts today?
• Is there a staging site, or will work happen on production? (Avoid production-only.)
• What integrations must survive (booking, CRM, chat, newsletter, payments)?
• Who will edit after launch, and do they need training?
• What happens to email if DNS changes?

Handover should include credentials you control. If a vendor keeps the keys, you do not own the site.

9. Brief and success measures

A usable redesign brief can fit on two pages:

1. Business offer and audiences
2. Success measure (enquiries, not “looks premium”)
3. What to keep vs fix (from the audit)
4. Page inventory and nav draft
5. Content status (ready / needs writing / needs tightening)
6. Platform stay-or-go, with reason
7. Integrations list
8. Decision owners and constraints (brand, legal, timeline windows)

That is enough for a comparable quote. If you are still choosing a vendor, use how to choose a web developer in Perth.

10. Launch checklist (do not skip)

Before cutover:

• Forms tested on mobile and desktop, including the confirmation path
• Redirects verified for high-traffic and high-value URLs
• Title tags, H1s and key internal links checked on new templates
• 404 page points people somewhere useful
• Analytics and events firing
• Privacy policy and enquiry consent still accurate
• CMS training or a short editor note for the people who will publish
• A watch window for broken links, missing images and form failures

After launch, put the site on a maintenance cadence so the new design does not quietly rot.

Ready to redesign with a clear brief?

If you want us to run this as a project, send the current URL and what you want more of — calls, form fills or bookings — via contact. We will say if you need a redesign, a migration, both, or a smaller intervention. Scan work first if you want examples.