When a website is not bringing in enough enquiries, the instinct is to start again: new design, new pages, new everything. Sometimes that is exactly right. But a redesign is expensive, takes months and carries real risks, and quite often the problem could have been fixed with a handful of targeted changes.
Here is how to work out which one your website actually needs.
Why redesigns are so tempting
A new website feels like progress. It is visible, it is exciting, and it promises to fix everything at once. You have probably also been looking at your current site for years, so it feels more dated to you than it does to a first-time visitor.
The risk is that a redesign treats the symptoms you can see, such as an old-fashioned look, and misses the causes you cannot, such as a slow mobile page, a confusing contact form or a service nobody can find.
What a redesign can cost you
- Search visibility. If page addresses change without proper redirects, the rankings and links your old pages earned can disappear overnight.
- Time. Most redesigns take longer than planned, and while the new site is being built, the old one usually stops getting attention.
- Things that were quietly working. An old page that brings in steady enquiries from a specific search can be lost simply because nobody knew it mattered.
When improving is the better choice
Steady improvements usually win when:
- the site is technically sound and reasonably fast;
- some pages already bring in enquiries;
- the problems are specific: a weak call to action, a hard-to-find phone number, a slow page, outdated text.
In those cases, a few focused changes often make more difference than a new design. Make the contact button visible on every page. Rewrite the home page so it says clearly what you do and where. Compress the photos that slow the page down. Each change can be measured, and nothing that works is thrown away.
When starting again is the right call
A rebuild makes sense when:
- the technology is holding you back, for example an old system that can no longer be updated safely, or a builder that cannot do what your business now needs;
- your business has changed, with new services, a new market or a new way of selling that the old structure cannot express;
- the problems are everywhere, so fixing them one by one would cost more than building properly.
If you do redesign, do it carefully
- Start with what works. Check which pages bring visitors and enquiries today, and make sure the new site keeps them.
- Keep or redirect every address. Every old page address should either stay the same or send visitors permanently to its new equivalent, so nobody lands on a dead end.
- Fix the real problems. Write down what is wrong with the current site and check the new design actually solves each one.
- Measure before and after. Note your enquiries, page speed and search traffic before the switch so you can see the difference.
When we moved our own website to a new address without "www" recently, every old address was set to forward to its new one, and we told Google about the change the same day. That kind of care is what keeps a redesign from undoing years of work.
Questions to ask before you decide
- What exactly is not working, and how do I know?
- Which pages bring in enquiries now?
- Could three or four specific changes fix the main problems?
- Is the technology itself the obstacle?
- What will I measure to know whether the change worked?
If you are unsure, ask for an honest review before committing to either, or start with our free website check. Sometimes the best advice is "do not redesign yet", and a good web designer should be willing to say so.