Where Should Companies Start When Planning a Website Redesign?

A website redesign is not simply about changing the visual design. It is an opportunity to reconsider how the brand communicates digitally, how users interact with the website, and how customer inquiries are generated.

Where Should Companies Start When Planning a Website Redesign?
A website redesign is not simply about changing the visual design. It is an opportunity to reconsider how the brand communicates digitally, how users interact with the website, and how customer inquiries are generated.
When Should a Website Redesign Be Considered?
A company rarely decides to redesign its website for just one reason. The site may look outdated, feel difficult to use on mobile, fail to explain services clearly, generate too few quote requests, perform poorly in SEO, or simply no longer reflect how far the brand has evolved.
At this point, a website redesign should not be treated as a purely visual change. A redesigned website also reshapes how the brand is positioned, how services are presented, where users make decisions, and how customer inquiries are collected.
A website redesign is less about updating an old design and more about rebuilding the company’s digital decision journey.
For this reason, companies planning to redesign their website should begin by understanding where the existing site falls short rather than immediately searching for design references.
The Existing Website Should Be Evaluated First
The first step in the redesign process is assessing the current website. Which pages are performing well? Which areas are weaker? Where are users coming from? Which pages do they leave from? How often are forms being submitted?
Without this evaluation, defining a healthy scope for the new website becomes more difficult. If the project begins only with the goal of “looking more modern,” the company’s actual needs may remain in the background.
Key Areas to Review
When evaluating the existing website, questions such as the following can be asked:
Does the homepage explain the company quickly enough?
Are the services clear to users?
Is the mobile experience comfortable?
Do pages load quickly?
Are quote and contact forms working properly?
What action is the user being guided toward?
Is the content up to date?
Is the SEO structure strong?
Does the website admin panel make things easier for the team?
Do references and projects build trust?
These questions evaluate not only the visible design of the website but also its performance from a business perspective.
We also explore how the first screen of a corporate website should welcome users in How Should the Hero Section of a Corporate Website Be Structured?.
Design Should Not Begin Before the Redesign Goal Is Clear
The first thing companies planning a website redesign should clarify is the objective. Not every redesign project serves the same purpose.
Some companies want to create a stronger corporate perception. Others need pages that convert better for Google Ads campaigns. Some want to present their services, industries, or projects more clearly.
What Can the Goals of a Website Redesign Be?
Website redesign goals may include:
Strengthening brand perception
Explaining services more clearly
Generating more quote requests
Improving the mobile experience
Strengthening the SEO foundation
Creating pages suitable for Google Ads campaigns
Making content easier for internal teams to manage
Moving to a multilingual structure
Improving the presentation of references and projects
Solving performance issues
Updating outdated technology
Which of these goals takes priority will influence the project scope.
In a lead-focused redesign, forms, CTAs, landing pages, and measurement become more important. In a brand-focused redesign, visual language, page flow, content tone, and project presentation play a greater role.
You can explore how dedicated landing pages should be structured for advertising campaigns in How Should a Corporate Landing Page for Google Ads Be Structured?.
The Page Structure Should Be Reconsidered
When redesigning a website, carrying the old page structure over exactly as it is will not always produce the best result.
The company’s services, target audience, references, content needs, and sales process may all have changed over time.
For this reason, the sitemap should be reviewed during the redesign process.
What Can Be Included in the New Page Structure?
A basic corporate website structure may include:
Home
About
Services
Individual service pages
Industry pages
Projects or references
Blog or articles
Frequently asked questions
Contact
Quote request form
Legal pages
Every company does not need to use the same page structure.
A manufacturing company may need product groups. A service business may generate stronger inquiries through detailed service pages. A B2B brand may guide users more efficiently through industry-specific pages.
Service Pages Should Be Considered Separately
Service pages are critical areas for customer inquiries. Users often make their decision on these pages before contacting the company.
For this reason, the project should define from the beginning whether services will be presented through short descriptions on a single page or through separate detailed pages for each service.
We explore service-focused website architecture in more detail in How Should a Service-Focused Corporate Website Be Structured?.
Content Should Be at the Center of the Redesign Process
In website redesign projects, content is often considered after the design.
However, users pay attention not only to the design but also to the text, headings, descriptions, and guidance throughout the website.
A strong design cannot perform at its best with weak content. Likewise, strong content can lose its impact within a disorganized page structure.
Which Content Should Be Reviewed?
During a redesign, the following content areas can be reconsidered:
Homepage headline
Brand description
Service copy
About text
Project descriptions
Frequently asked questions
CTA copy
Form helper text
Blog transitions
SEO titles and descriptions
Especially on service pages, a balance should be created between the company’s internal language and the language customers use when searching.
Users are usually looking for answers to their own needs rather than internal technical terminology.
For example, “software development services” can be a broad expression. More specific headings such as “corporate website,” “e-commerce infrastructure,” “customer portal,” or “admin panel” may connect more quickly with what the user actually needs.
The New Design Should Reflect the Brand
A modern appearance is important during a website redesign, but it is not enough on its own.
The design should reflect the company’s industry, target audience, quality of service, and communication style.
A law firm, manufacturing company, healthcare brand, software company, and hotel group should not all be presented through the same visual language.
Color, typography, photography, whitespace, animation level, and page rhythm should change according to the brand.
What Should Design Decisions Be Based On?
The following areas should be considered during the design process:
Brand character
Target audience expectations
Industry perception
Content density
Available visual assets
Mobile usage
CTA placement
Page speed
Ease of management
Long-term content requirements
The redesigned website should not simply look “better.”
It should represent the brand more accurately to the user.
Design, content, and the user journey should all work toward the same objective.
Codezone’s project examples across different industries provide useful references for understanding how visual language, industry alignment, and page architecture can change from one corporate website redesign project to another.
Technical Infrastructure and CMS Requirements Should Be Defined Early
Technical infrastructure is an important decision in a website redesign.
Which technology will be used to build the website? How will content be managed? Will there be a blog? How will forms work? How will performance be maintained? How will the SEO foundation be structured?
These questions should be considered together with the design process.
Where Is a CMS Needed?
If the company team wants to update the website after launch, CMS requirements should be defined from the beginning.
Areas that may be managed through the CMS include:
Blog articles
Service content
Projects or references
Team members
Frequently asked questions
Images
SEO fields
Form submissions
Announcements
Multilingual content
Not every area needs to be editable.
The important point is identifying which areas the internal team will genuinely need to update.
You can explore CMS selection in more detail in How Should a CMS Be Selected for a Corporate Website?.
An SEO Migration Plan Should Be Prepared to Protect Existing Visibility
SEO should be planned separately during a website redesign.
If the existing website already has pages receiving organic traffic, the project should determine how those pages will be preserved within the new structure.
The URL structure may change, old pages may be removed, content may be rewritten, or new page groups may be created.
If these changes are made without proper planning, existing search visibility may be affected.
What Should Be Considered During an SEO Migration?
Listing existing pages
Identifying URLs that receive traffic
Preparing the new sitemap
Mapping old URLs to new URLs
Creating a 301 redirect plan
Updating meta titles and descriptions
Reviewing heading structure
Reviewing image alt text
Planning internal links
Checking sitemap and robots settings
Monitoring Search Console
A website redesign can create an SEO opportunity as well as a migration risk.
Old, disorganized, or insufficient content can be improved. Service pages can be strengthened. The blog and article structure can become more strategic.
We explain the broader structure in How to Develop an SEO-Friendly Corporate Website.
Forms and the Customer Inquiry Journey Should Be Redesigned
Forms and CTA structures are among the areas that can create the most value during a website redesign.
The old website may already have a contact form, but whether that form actually generates qualified inquiries should be evaluated separately.
Which Decisions Should Be Made Around Forms?
The new website may include:
General contact form
Quote request form
Service selection
Budget range
Project description
File upload
Thank-you page
Form conversion tracking
Email notifications
CRM integration
WhatsApp or phone CTAs
The form structure should be designed according to the company’s sales process.
Fewer fields may generate more submissions, while a more detailed form may generate more qualified inquiries.
We cover this topic separately in How Should a Quote Request Form Be Structured on a Corporate Website?.
Performance and Mobile Experience Should Be Core Parts of the Redesign
Performance should be considered from the beginning of a website redesign.
If the new website looks visually impressive but loads slowly, both the user experience and customer inquiry performance may suffer.
Mobile experience is equally important.
Users often explore websites from their phones, read service pages on mobile, and may want to complete a form directly from their device.
What Should Be Planned for Performance During a Redesign?
Image optimization
Fast-loading page structure
Mobile compatibility
Clean code structure
Avoiding unnecessary scripts
CMS image standards
Form performance
Core Web Vitals checks
Post-launch measurement
We explore how corporate website performance influences customer inquiries in more detail in How Does Corporate Website Performance Affect Customer Inquiries?.
The Launch Process Should Not Be Rushed
The final stage of a website redesign is not simply uploading files and making the website live.
Before launch, content, forms, redirects, mobile layouts, speed, SEO fields, and measurement tools should all be checked.
Areas to Check Before Launch
Page content
Menu structure
Mobile layouts
Form submissions
Thank-you page
Email notifications
Internal links
301 redirects
Sitemap
Analytics
Search Console
Favicon and social sharing images
404 page
Speed and performance
When the launch process is handled carefully, the new website can go live on a stronger foundation.
Teams know where each page is located, how forms work, and which data should be monitored after launch.
The Website Should Be Monitored After Launch
The process does not end once the redesigned website is live.
The performance of the new site should be monitored regularly.
Areas That Can Be Tracked
Page views
Service page visits
CTA clicks
Form submissions
Organic traffic
Advertising traffic
Mobile behavior
Page speed
Blog performance
Most visited pages
Pages where users leave
This data shows which parts of the new website are performing strongly and which areas can be improved.
The website then becomes more than a one-time project.
It continues to evolve as a digital communication and customer acquisition channel for the company.
Codezone’s Approach
In website redesign projects, we begin by understanding why the existing website needs to be renewed.
Alongside visual design, we treat brand messaging, page architecture, service communication, form flows, SEO, performance, and post-launch measurement as parts of the same process.
At Codezone, we approach redesign projects through the company’s current goals, the user’s decision journey, and the long-term manageability of the technical infrastructure.
Content, design, development, CMS, and measurement are structured within the same overall flow.
With this approach, the redesigned website becomes a digital touchpoint that communicates the brand more clearly, guides users toward the right pages, collects customer inquiries more systematically, and can continue to improve after launch.
Conclusion
For companies planning to redesign their website, the first step is understanding where the current website is falling short.
From there, goals, page structure, content, visual language, technical infrastructure, CMS, SEO, forms, performance, and the launch process should be planned together.
A successful redesign project provides more than a modern visual appearance.
It improves how the brand is perceived digitally, how users move through the website, and how customer inquiries are collected.
When the website redesign process is structured correctly, the company gains not only a new look but also a stronger, more manageable, and more measurable digital channel.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Should a Website Redesign Be Considered?
A redesign may become relevant when the website looks outdated, is difficult to use on mobile, does not explain services clearly enough, generates few form inquiries, performs poorly in SEO, or no longer reflects the current strength of the brand.
Can Existing Content Be Reused During a Website Redesign?
Yes, but existing content should be reviewed before it is transferred directly.
Headings, service descriptions, CTA copy, SEO fields, and page flow can be updated according to the new objectives.
Does a Website Redesign Affect SEO?
Yes.
If URL structure, content, redirects, site speed, and technical architecture are not planned correctly, SEO performance can be affected.
For this reason, an SEO migration plan should be prepared during the redesign process.
Is a CMS Necessary for the New Website?
A CMS can be useful if the company team regularly updates content, blog articles, services, projects, or images.
The CMS scope should be defined according to the areas that genuinely need to be managed internally.
Why Are Forms Important During a Website Redesign?
Forms are one of the main components of the customer inquiry process.
When the quote form, service selection, budget range, project description, and conversion tracking are structured correctly, the website can generate more qualified inquiries.
