PLAN YOUR WEBSITE
How to decide whether to redesign or rebuild your website
A dated website does not automatically need a rebuild. First find out whether the problem is the presentation, the content or the system underneath it. Those three problems can lead to very different quotes.
Separate the symptoms
Write down what actually goes wrong. “It looks old” is a design observation. “Nobody can find our installation service” may be a content or navigation problem. “Our staff cannot update prices without breaking the layout” points to an editing problem. Include the page address and a screenshot for each issue.
Check what can stay
Open the site on a phone, follow its main enquiry route and ask the person who maintains it to make a small content change. Record whether the current platform still supports the features you need. Keep a list of useful URLs, working integrations and content you own. Replacing those without a reason adds migration work.
Ask for two scopes
Request a repair or redesign option and a rebuild option against the same needs. Have the developer explain what each option retains, replaces and leaves unresolved. Compare the effort to maintain the result, rather than comparing screenshots alone.
| Situation | Useful next question |
|---|---|
| A service page is hard to read | Can its content and layout be corrected within the existing site? |
| The business has changed its offer | Which pages and customer journeys need rewriting? |
| The platform cannot support required editing | What would moving content and integrations involve? |
Make the decision testable
For an illustrative five-page business site, a sensible goal might be: a visitor can understand the service, find its coverage and send an enquiry from a phone. Ask both proposals how they will meet that goal. If the smaller change meets it and leaves a maintainable site, a full rebuild needs another clear justification.
Before agreeing, confirm ownership, ongoing costs and a fallback plan. Search performance may change during a migration; a promise to preserve every ranking is not a substitute for a URL plan. Keep the chosen scope in your website brief.
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