Tidy it up if the site still does its job but looks dated, loads slowly or breaks on phones.
- Redesign it when the structure no longer fits your business or you can’t edit it yourself.
- Your Google rankings can survive either, if every old page address redirects to its new one.
Signs an update is enough
- Customers still find you and get in touch through the site.
- The pages are the right ones, but the look has aged.
- It’s slow, or parts of it don’t fit a phone screen.
- Details are out of date: prices, hours, photos or staff.
- A browser shows a security warning, or a form has stopped arriving.
Signs you need a redesign
- What you sell has changed, and the pages no longer match it.
- You can’t update it yourself, or the platform it’s built on is no longer supported.
- It was built for desktop screens only, with a fixed width that can’t reshape for a phone.
- So many things need fixing at once that patching would cost more than starting again.
- Usability researchers at Nielsen Norman Group advise evolving a familiar design gradually, because users dislike change.
- They make an exception when years of patches have left a design muddled.
- That advice was written about software in 2009, and the idea carries over to websites.
Keeping your Google rankings
- Keep your domain name. Nothing about a redesign requires a new one.
- Keep page addresses the same where you can. That’s the simplest case for Google.
- Where an address changes, set up a permanent (301) redirect from the old address to the new one. Google says these redirects don’t lose ranking value.
- Expect some movement for a few weeks. Google warns of temporary ranking changes after a move.
Before you decide
- Write down what the site must do for you: take calls, bookings, orders or enquiries. Then check how well it does each one today.
- Our ten-point website checklist takes fifteen minutes from a phone.
Common questions
Will a redesign hurt my Google rankings?
It doesn’t have to. Keep the same domain, keep page addresses where you can, and redirect every old address that changes.
Google says permanent redirects don’t lose ranking value, but rankings can move for a few weeks.
How often should a small business redesign its website?
There’s no fixed age. Judge it by what the site does. Can customers use it on a phone? Is it secure, and can you keep it up to date?
Will I lose my email if I change my website?
Not if the email settings on your domain are left alone. Your email and your website use separate records.
Ask whoever makes the change to copy the email records across before anything moves.
What we charge
A new website is €499, with 12 months of hosting and Care included. After that, Care is €20 a month. See prices.