Website Redesign Checklist (2026)

Before: goals and audit

1. Write down what the redesign must improve, in numbers.
2. Export current analytics and Search Console data as a baseline.
3. List every URL that gets traffic or links.
4. Audit content: keep, rewrite, merge, or remove.
5. Decide what stays exactly the same.
6. Confirm who owns domain, hosting and every account.

During: design and build

1. Map every old URL to a new one or a redirect.
2. Design mobile first with real content, not placeholders.
3. Build to accessibility standards from the start.
4. Set performance budgets and test on real phones.
5. Keep titles, descriptions and headings for pages that rank.
6. Rebuild forms and test every submission path.
7. Move analytics and tracking to the new build.
8. Stage the full site and test on a private URL.

Launch day

1. Deploy redirects before or with the new site.
2. Verify robots.txt allows crawling and the sitemap is live.
3. Submit the sitemap in Search Console.
4. Crawl the live site for broken links and missing tags.
5. Test forms, payments and logins in production.

The 30 days after

1. Watch Search Console for 404s and coverage errors daily.
2. Compare traffic and conversions against the baseline weekly.
3. Fix redirect gaps as they appear.
4. Collect user feedback and ship small fixes.
5. Review performance scores again after caching settles.
6. Write down what changed and why for the next redesign.