SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE

Website redesign checklist for small businesses.

Work out what to keep, what to change, and how to check it. Tick off each task as you complete it; progress saves in this browser when available.

A working list for business owners and their website team. Use it with the person responsible for your site.

1. Decide what the redesign must solve

Turn the reason for changing the site into a short brief. A visual refresh and a new ordering system are different projects.

Name the problem before choosing a styleRecord the page, where the customer got stuck and what they were trying to do. Separate a broken function from a visual preference.
Choose a customer action to improveChoose a useful outcome, such as a completed quote request. Decide how to measure it. More visits alone do not show whether the redesign helped.
Agree on scope, budget and responsibilitiesList the pages and functions, who supplies the content and who approves it. Agree on revision rounds, recurring costs and work that needs a separate quote.
Save a dated view of the current siteSave dated screenshots and the search clicks, entry pages and completed inquiries you can verify. If tracking is missing, record that gap.

2. Protect the content and connections that work

A redesign should not make customers lose a familiar page or interrupt a working business process.

Make a keep, improve or retire listInventory live pages and downloads. Mark the content that still answers customer questions, pages with useful search traffic, and old offers that need updating. Give each change an owner.
Map every address that must changeKeep useful URLs where possible. If an address changes, record its relevant replacement and test a permanent redirect. Do not redirect unrelated retired pages to the homepage just to hide errors.
List the tools connected to the websiteInclude booking calendars, forms, email delivery, payment providers and customer records. Confirm who owns each account and how you will test it safely without confusing customers or staff.
Confirm account access and a recovery planMake sure the business controls its domain and hosting. Keep a recoverable copy of the current site and relevant data, and agree who can restore it if the launch needs to be reversed.

3. Plan the pages around real customer tasks

Use the business's actual services, approved brand assets and real project examples. A new layout is an opportunity to remove uncertainty.

Sketch the route from arrival to contactChoose a likely entry page, then follow the steps to a quote, booking or purchase. Put the information needed for that decision along the route, including scope and the next step.
Update the facts and keep the useful explanationsConfirm services, hours, service areas, prices if published, and contact details. Give each page a clear topic and descriptive headings. Keep genuine proof; remove claims you cannot support.
Check the identity across the whole journeyReview logos, type, colors, photos and button labels together, including third-party booking screens. If the current identity still works, preserve it rather than changing everything for the redesign.
Plan both languages when customers need themUse natural translations of the same service information. Check that language switches lead to equivalent pages and that contact instructions, confirmations and errors are understandable in each language.

4. Test the redesigned site before launch

Use a review version before replacing the live site. A screenshot review alone cannot tell you whether the customer journey works.

Try real tasks on mobile and desktopRead service details, open menus and reach the main action on different screen sizes. Look for clipped text, sideways scrolling and controls that are awkward to tap. Ask someone unfamiliar with the site to try it.
Check keyboard use and readable contentMove through menus, links and forms with a keyboard and verify visible focus. Review labels, image descriptions, contrast and reduced-motion behavior. These checks are a starting point, not a full accessibility assessment.
Test successful and failed submissionsUse approved test details to check required fields, helpful errors, confirmation messages and delivery to the correct inbox or system. Label test records clearly and remove them when finished. Do not create real charges or bookings for a test.
Compare loading before and afterUse the same representative pages and similar test conditions. Check large images, video and layout movement, especially on mobile. Review available real-user data separately from a single lab score.

5. Verify the live launch

Repeat critical checks on the production address. Settings that were correct in the review version can differ after publishing.

Confirm which pages should be searchableVerify that public pages return normally, have the intended canonical and are not accidentally noindex or blocked. Keep private and internal tools excluded. Include the intended public pages in the sitemap.
Open old links and important destinationsTest bookmarked URLs, navigation, downloads and links from business profiles. Confirm redirects reach the equivalent content and fix broken destinations. Check HTTPS and the preferred version of the domain.
Check the live contact path once moreWith the owner's approval, repeat the key inquiry or booking test after launch. Verify delivery and follow-up details, then clean up the test records. Keep a simple contact alternative available if an integration fails.
Verify measurement without counting tests as leadsConfirm the intended analytics and consent behavior. Check that successful inquiries are recorded once and errors are not counted as successes. Keep a dated launch note so later comparisons have context.

6. Review what happens after the redesign

Publishing is a handover point, not the end of website ownership. Decide who will notice problems and keep the information current.

Review Search Console after recrawlingSubmit the current sitemap if needed and inspect important changed pages. Watch indexing and crawl reports. A submission does not guarantee indexing, and search changes should not be judged from a single day's data.
Compare useful outcomes with your starting pointReview qualified inquiries, completed actions and relevant search visits alongside the original problem. Account for seasonality, campaigns and small samples before attributing a change to the redesign.
Make routine updates possibleConfirm who can update service information, prices and images, and where the instructions are stored. Record renewal ownership and support arrangements so the business is not dependent on an unexplained setup.
Keep a short, prioritized improvement listRecord actual customer confusion and recurring errors. Fix failures that block the main task before adding decoration. Set a review date with the person responsible for maintenance.

Use it with your team.

Assign an owner and a review note to each task: a working URL, a form screenshot or confirmation from the responsible person. Check off what you have verified and record anything outside the scope. Progress is saved in this browser; use the print option to share a copy with your team.

Still deciding whether a redesign is necessary? Read the repair-or-rebuild decision guide before using this execution checklist.

References & next steps

This original FMD checklist uses Marker.io and DreamHost as planning references. For URL changes and accessibility checks, consult the Google and W3C documentation too.

YOUR NEXT STEP

Not sure what needs to change?

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