Canonical: https://1968labs.com/blog/website-redesign-seo-checklist > Plan a small business website redesign with a page decision sheet, redirect checks, launch acceptance criteria and a useful post-launch review. [← All guides](https://1968labs.com/blog) Website planning # Website redesign SEO checklist: what to keep, change and test Plan a small business website redesign with a page decision sheet, redirect checks, launch acceptance criteria and a useful post-launch review. 1968 Labs / 15 September 2026 / 5 min read [Download the redesign checklist ↓](https://1968labs.com/worksheets/website-redesign-checklist.md) A redesign should preserve the useful routes into your business while improving what visitors find there. Before changing a page, decide whether to keep its address, redirect it to a relevant replacement or retire it. Then test search visibility and the customer journey separately: an indexed page can still have a broken inquiry form. ## Decide what needs to change before choosing a design “The website looks old” describes an impression. A better brief identifies the task it makes difficult: buyers cannot find product specifications, the service area is unclear, or the quote form sends incomplete requests. Write down those problems and the pages where they occur. Next, identify what already works. A plain product page with accurate information may attract useful inquiries. A familiar address may appear in customer emails or printed materials. A redesign should have a reason to replace either, even when the visual design changes substantially. Separate the decisions about design, content, addresses and hosting. They are related, but they do not all need to change together. Google advises staging major changes where practical and warns that search rankings can fluctuate during a site move. See its [site-move guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes) . ## Make a page decision sheet Ask for a list of the existing pages before approving a replacement sitemap. For each important page, record the customer question it answers, the action a visitor should take and the proposed destination. Keep the sheet understandable enough that the business owner can review it. A page decision sheet for an original supplier website idea | Existing page | Decision | Reason | | --- | --- | --- | | /products/fittings | Keep the address | The product category still exists and serves the same buyer question. | | /catalog-2024 | Redirect to /catalog | The current catalog replaces the dated edition. | | /temporary-closure | Review for retirement | The notice may no longer be useful; confirm no enduring information belongs elsewhere. | This sheet is a decision record, not a blanket instruction to preserve every page. Merge duplicates when one page can answer the question more completely. Keep distinct pages when the buyer needs different information. Have the person who knows the products or services approve those judgments. ## Use redirects for a real replacement When an address permanently changes, a server-side permanent redirect can send a visitor to the new address and signal the preferred destination to search engines. Google documents both 301 and 308 redirects for this purpose in its [redirect guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/301-redirects) . Test the journey, not just the presence of a redirect. An old fittings link should reach the relevant fittings content. Sending every removed page to the homepage leaves a buyer searching again. Avoid a chain that hops through several old addresses before reaching the current one. If a page has no useful replacement, make a deliberate retirement decision rather than inventing an unrelated destination. Keep your developer responsible for the implementation and give them the approved mapping to test. ## Write launch checks around the business A launch review should include tasks that matter to a customer, not only screenshots of the new homepage. Here is a compact acceptance list you can adapt: - Open links from a recent quote email, brochure and search landing page. Confirm they reach the right content. - Find one important service on a phone without relying on the desktop navigation. - Send an authorized test inquiry and check the actual receiving inbox, including the selected product or service. - Correct a form error and confirm the other entered details remain available. - Download an important specification or document and confirm it is the current version. - Use the keyboard to reach navigation, selections and the submission control. Assign an owner and a pass condition to each check. “Form works” is too vague; “the studio received the test request with the chosen product and reply address” is reviewable. ## Check the search setup independently Ask the developer to confirm that intended public pages are indexable, preferred addresses appear in canonical links, internal links point to the new destinations and the sitemap contains the intended pages. Development restrictions must not accidentally remain on the public site. Google’s [preparation checklist](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes#prepare-the-new-site) covers these migration details. Keep access to the domain, hosting and search reporting accounts throughout the handover. Record who can make a correction after launch. A checklist without anyone able to act on it does not protect the project. ## Compare the right things after launch Record the launch date and compare equivalent periods, allowing for seasonality and small sample sizes. Check important pages individually rather than treating one site-wide number as the whole result. In Search Console, clicks and impressions describe activity in Google Search; they are not records of submitted inquiries. Its [Performance report documentation](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553?hl=en) explains the measurements. Keep a separate inquiry log with the requested service, whether the inquiry was relevant and the outcome. A useful redesign may reduce unsuitable requests while making good ones clearer. Equally, a prettier site with a delivery failure can lose inquiries without an obvious change in search traffic. ## What to include in the redesign proposal Ask for the page decision sheet, redirect responsibilities, content approvals, launch checks, account handover and a defined correction period. Confirm who supplies copy and images. Treat those as deliverables alongside the design. Use our [website quote checklist](https://1968labs.com/blog/website-quote-checklist) when comparing proposals, and the [website service page](https://1968labs.com/services/websites) for our scope and starting price. A good proposal should make the transition understandable before anyone starts replacing pages. Put it into practice ## Redesigning your website? Share your current site and what needs to work better. We’ll help define the pages, migration and launch checks. [Discuss your redesign ↗](https://1968labs.com/contact?need=websites) ## Keep reading. Websites ### What should a small business website quote include? Compare website quotes using a practical checklist of scope, running costs, ownership, testing and handover. Read the guide [View What should a small business website quote include?](https://1968labs.com/blog/website-quote-checklist) Website conversion ### Website visitors but no inquiries? Check these four stages Diagnose a website that attracts visits but few inquiries. Check audience fit, the offer, the form and actual delivery before buying more traffic. Read the guide [View Website visitors but no inquiries? Check these four stages](https://1968labs.com/blog/website-visitors-no-inquiries)