The Complete Website Redesign Checklist for Marketing Leaders and Project Managers

Congratulations on kicking off your website redesign. If you’re like most organizations, your website is one of your most important marketing tools—and expectations for the new version are high. That pressure can make the process feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

Over the past 12+ years and hundreds of website projects, we’ve learned that preparation is the difference between a smooth, high-impact redesign and one that drags on, goes over budget, or underperforms. This checklist is designed to make your process strategic, efficient, and aligned with your goals.

Read the overview below or download the complete, actionable Google Sheets checklist.

Outline

  1. Strategy & Goals
  2. Budget Planning
  3. Timeline & Internal Commitment
  4. Stakeholders
  5. Content Strategy
  6. Minimum Viable Redesign (MVR)
  7. UX Design
  8. SEO & Analytics
  9. Accessibility, Compatibility & Performance Standards
  10. Launch & Iteration Plan

Let’s go through each section one by one and discuss each item:

1. Strategy & Goals

Most teams start with vague, binary, or subjective goals. Things like “add eCommerce,” “increase leads,” or “modernize the design.” The problem? These goals lack clarity, measurement, and business relevance.

For example: “We want to modernize the design.” Great—but what does that mean? Who decides if it’s modern? How do you know users will perceive it that way? And more importantly—does modernizing actually improve your bottom line?

Strong goals are measurable, time-bound, and aligned with business impact. Instead of “increase leads,” try: “Increase qualified lead submissions by 25% within 6 months.”

Ask yourself:

  • What specific business outcomes do we want this redesign to improve?
  • How will we measure and track each one?

Checklist:

  • What are our top 1–3 measurable goals for the new site?
  • Goals are prioritized by business impact
  • Define how to track and measure success post-launch
  • Current site performance baselines are documented
  • Identify closest competitors and alternative solutions

2. Budget Planning

Many clients begin the redesign process without a clear budget, expecting their agency to define one for them. But redesigns are like building a house; you could build a four-bedroom home with a basic layout or a luxury smart-home version. Without a budget, it’s impossible to scope accurately.

Another common oversight: budgeting only for design and development. Costs such as content writing, photography, imagery, CMS configuration, and post-launch improvements are often overlooked. These add up quickly, and can delay or derail a launch when not accounted for.

The best budgets don’t just cover the launch; they plan for continued growth and iteration.

Checklist:

  • Annual marketing budget and 3-year forecast are documented
  • Initial website budget is established
  • Budget includes content, imagery, photography, CMS setup, and post-launch improvements
  • Redesign scope is aligned with ROI expectations

3. Timeline & Internal Commitment

You are one of the biggest influencers of how long your website redesign will take. Most redesign projects stall not because of the agency, but because they’re waiting on the client for feedback, approvals, or content.

Plan for this project to take more of your time than you expect. You’ll need to review wireframes, provide design feedback, approve content, and coordinate internal decisions. If you don’t proactively make time for the project, delays are almost guaranteed.

Also, be careful tying the launch date to a fixed event like a product launch or annual conference. We’ve seen more than one site fail to launch on time due to unexpected roadblocks, remember Healthcare.gov?

Pro Tip: It’s better to launch early and iterate than to promise a date you can’t walk back.

Checklist:

  • Critical go-live dates are identified
  • Weekly approval/review time is reserved on calendars
  • MVP vs. full build decision is finalized

4. Stakeholders

Involving the right people is critical, but so is drawing clear boundaries. Internal stakeholders often have competing priorities, and trying to balance them all equally leads to design-by-committee. The result? A bloated site that tries to serve everyone and ends up serving no one.

You need a strong project lead with decision-making authority, someone who can filter feedback, prioritize conflicting requests, and maintain alignment with the overall goals.

Don’t assume every leader needs to be at the table. The most helpful stakeholders are those who understand the business deeply and have the time and context to contribute meaningfully.

Checklist:

  • Stakeholder steering committee is formed
  • Single project lead with decision authority is assigned
  • Key user groups are identified and interviewed

5. Content Strategy

Content is almost always the bottleneck in a redesign, and often the least appreciated part of the process. It’s more than just text. Content includes copy, photography, illustrations, videos, icons, and even charts. And it all needs to be written, sourced, edited, and approved.

One of the biggest mistakes we see is a lack of ownership. Content becomes “everyone’s job,” which means no one owns it. Without a clear process, deadlines slip.

The second issue? Underestimating effort. Most people are not professional writers, and even fewer are persuasive UX copywriters. ChatGPT won’t fix this. It might speed up drafts, but it won’t capture your brand voice or drive conversions without serious editing.

Finally, many teams don’t define a strategy for their voice, tone, or messaging. Without that clarity, you end up rewriting content late in the game, or worse, publishing something that doesn’t connect.

Checklist:

  • Have we audited existing content for performance and relevance?
  • Do we know which content drives conversions and SEO traffic?
  • Is there a content gap analysis to support business goals?
  • Have we defined voice, tone, and messaging guidelines?
  • Do we have a plan to rewrite or create new content?
  • Who is responsible for content review and approvals?
  • Are non-text content needs (photos, icons, charts, video) are documented?

6. Minimum Viable Redesign (MVR)

Most teams aim to include everything in the first release, encompassing every case study, feature idea, and piece of future functionality. But here’s the reality: the longer you spend building a “perfect” site, the longer you’re stuck with an underperforming site.

You don’t have to give up anything forever—you need to decide what’s truly essential for launch. We always tell clients: when your new site in progress is better than your current live site, it’s time to launch. All the time spent perfecting low-priority features is time your best version isn’t live.

A great MVR answers the most important questions your audience needs in order to move forward. It puts your core message, core paths, and core proof points front and center—and leaves the rest for iteration.

Think about:

  • What content and features are mission-critical to meet our goals?
  • What could be added 30, 60, or 90 days after launch without hurting results?

Checklist:

  • Must-have features are identified
  • Nice-to-have features are separated
  • Launch priorities are finalized
  • Deferred features are added to the iteration plan

7. UX Design

Before anyone starts pushing pixels, it’s important to lay the groundwork. That means making sure your agency understands who the site is for, how they think, and what the brand should communicate visually and experientially.

Start by identifying your target audiences and ideal users. Gather any brand standards you already have, logos, colors, fonts, messaging, and any previous design work worth preserving or building on.

It’s also helpful to pull together examples of websites that feel directionally aligned with what you want, whether it’s competitors, inspiration from other industries, or examples of desired functionality (like modals, faceted search, sticky CTAs, etc.). This helps your agency align early and avoid wasting time with misaligned concepts.

Checklist:

  • Target audiences and user needs are documented
  • Brand standards, logos, and assets are collected
  • Design preferences and inspirations are documented
  • Competitor/reference sites are gathered
  • Key functionality requirements are listed
  • Have we identified pages with high bounce rates or exits?

8. SEO & Analytics

SEO is one of the most overlooked and most costly areas to neglect during a redesign. We’ve seen teams remove high-traffic pages, fail to redirect important URLs, or completely ignore metadata migration, all of which lead to major traffic losses.

Start with a pre-launch audit: what are your highest-ranking pages? What keywords are driving organic traffic? What content must be preserved to maintain visibility?

Set up monitoring ahead of launch using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs. After launch, these tools help you keep an eye on ranking fluctuations and address drops early.

This is also the perfect time to identify new keyword opportunities. If you’re shifting strategy or targeting new audiences, involve your agency early so they can design with SEO in mind from the start.

This is also the perfect time to identify new keyword opportunities. If you’re shifting strategy or targeting new audiences, involve your agency early so they can design with SEO in mind from the start.

Equally important: decide what actions you want to track on the new site. What events actually indicate engagement or conversion? A redesign is a great opportunity to rethink and improve your tracking strategy, so you’re not just launching a new site, you’re also leveling up your ability to measure its impact.. If you’re shifting strategy or targeting new audiences, involve your agency early so they can design with SEO in mind from the start.

Checklist:

  • Do we have a redirect map to preserve SEO?
  • Have we installed and configured GA4 & GSC?
  • Current rankings and top-performing content are audited
  • Keywords to preserve are identified
  • Conversion events (forms, downloads, clicks) are defined
  • SEO monitoring tools (SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc.) are set up

9. Accessibility, Compatibility & Performance Standards

Your website needs to work for everyone, everywhere—and fast. That means planning for accessibility, cross-device compatibility, and speed from day one. These are not just technical details—they’re critical to usability, trust, and conversion.

Start by identifying whether your organization must meet specific accessibility requirements (e.g., WCAG 2.1 compliance). Clarify which browsers, devices, and operating systems your site should support. And set performance benchmarks—like load times or Core Web Vitals targets, to help your agency design and build with those goals in mind.

Checklist:

  • Accessibility compliance requirements are defined (e.g., WCAG 2.1 AA)
  • Supported browsers, devices, and screen sizes are documented
  • Performance benchmarks (<2s load time, Core Web Vitals) are set
  • International, mobile, and low-bandwidth scenarios are considered

10. Launch & Iteration Plan

Launching your website isn’t the finish line—it’s just the start of the next phase. A successful launch should include a clear plan for promoting the new site and drawing attention to it. Silent launches are a missed opportunity. Your website is a major asset—let people know it’s live.

Post-launch, be ready to iterate. Your site will naturally grow dated over time, and key pages will need to be refreshed. Set a cadence for updates (monthly, quarterly, etc.), and plan out future features or content you didn’t include in the initial launch.

And don’t forget the human side of site ownership: who’s keeping an eye on analytics? Who’s making sure content stays current? Who’s responsible for improvements over time? If no one owns it, it will slip.

You should also have a broader marketing plan in place for the website overall. How will you drive traffic post-launch? What campaigns or strategies will you use to leverage your new asset?

Launch Planning Checklist:

  • Launch promotion plan is documented (email, social, press, partners)
  • Roles and responsibilities for launch day are assigned
  • Go-live checklist is created (QA, redirects, tracking, hosting, SSL, security)
  • Risk mitigation plan is documented (rollback, fixes, support contacts)

Iteration Planning Checklist:

  • Post-launch analytics owner is assigned
  • Content update cadence (monthly/quarterly) is defined
  • Ongoing SEO, performance, and accessibility audits are scheduled
  • Backlog of deferred features/content is documented
  • 30/60/90-day review checkpoints are scheduled
  • Responsibility for ongoing improvements is assigned
  • Post-launch marketing plan for traffic growth is documented

Moving Forward

Get the full, editable Google Sheet version of this checklist to track your progress and assign tasks:

Need help planning or executing your redesign? Get in touch — this is what we do best.