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Why website redesigns go wrong

Protect useful content, existing URLs and customer workflows while improving the design.

Updated 2 min readueb.al Strategy #Business #SEO
Why website redesigns go wrong
Photo by Alvaro Reyes

Part of the series: Smart Decisions

Part 3 / 4

Previous in series Choosing the right technology for your project Next in series How to prepare a website brief
Contents

A redesign can look better and still make a site harder to use. Important pages may disappear, familiar navigation may change, or an old link may lead to a 404. Those are avoidable problems when the existing site is reviewed before the new one is built.

Find what is worth keeping

List the pages that bring relevant visitors, enquiries and sales. Review search queries, incoming links and customer feedback. Identify content that is accurate, useful and worth carrying forward.

Set a concrete goal for the redesign: make booking easier, explain services more clearly or improve mobile reading. Design judgment matters, but it should respond to a real need.

Account for old URLs

Create a list of existing addresses and decide what happens to each. Keep a working URL when there is no reason to change it. Where content moves, redirect to the closest equivalent. Where it is removed without a replacement, a proper 404 or 410 can be appropriate.

Do not redirect every deleted page to the homepage. Visitors following a specific link need a relevant destination.

For Hugo, aliases in a page’s front matter generate HTML redirect pages. They are not HTTP 301 responses. Permanent HTTP redirects belong in the hosting or server configuration, if supported. The Hugo URL documentation explains the distinction; [[redirects]] in hugo.toml is not a general Hugo redirect feature.

Agree the content and scope early

Prepare the page structure and main copy before finalising layouts. Name the person who supplies missing material and the person who approves it.

Separate the launch requirements from later ideas. A client portal or shop may be a useful second project rather than a last-minute addition to a visual refresh. Our briefing guide helps organise those decisions.

Test complete tasks

  • Open important old links and check the final destination.
  • Complete forms, bookings and purchases on representative devices.
  • Use menus and dialogs with a keyboard.
  • Check headings, image descriptions and translated pages.
  • Review performance, canonical URLs, the sitemap and indexing settings.

After launch, compare errors, search traffic and enquiries with the earlier baseline. Allow for reporting delays and seasonal changes. Keep a recovery plan if a serious problem appears.

Sometimes a targeted repair is enough: better content, faster images or a clearer contact form. Contact us if you want to assess that before committing to a full redesign.