1. Record the starting point
If measurement is missing, say so. A redesign can still improve clarity, but it cannot honestly claim a measured improvement without a baseline.
- Write down the business problem in observable terms: customers miss a service, struggle to contact you or cannot finish a task.
- Export the current URL list and available search/analytics information.
- List calls, forms, bookings, purchases and other important actions.
- Identify the pages customers use before an enquiry, not just the busiest page.
- Record the accounts and people responsible for the domain, hosting, CMS and integrations.
2. Keep, improve, merge or remove
| Field | Example of what to record |
|---|---|
| Existing URL | The exact live address, including downloadable resources. |
| Customer purpose | Explain a service, show evidence or collect an enquiry. |
| Decision | Keep; improve content; merge with a relevant page; remove if no longer needed. |
| Destination | Keep the URL where useful, otherwise choose the closest replacement. |
| Owner | Who supplies, approves and checks the migrated content. |
3. Agree the build and acceptance checks
- Confirm the page list, navigation and reusable layouts before filling them.
- Test the actual forms, booking steps or checkout requirements against the agreed scope.
- Review mobile layouts with real-length content and images.
- Check keyboard access, visible focus, readable contrast and reduced motion.
- Confirm image rights, download links and the editing workflow.
4. Prepare the cutover
- Back up the existing site and agree responsibility for the launch.
- Check titles, descriptions, production canonicals and the sitemap.
- Test direct visits to nested URLs and the redirect map.
- Check that unknown URLs return a genuine 404.
- Keep staging out of search, while making sure production is crawlable and indexable.
5. Watch what happens after launch
Review search crawling and indexing, broken destinations and whether important enquiry paths still work. Compare equivalent periods and allow for demand changes; a design change is not the only influence on enquiries.
SM Recovery’s existing case study is a useful example of service/coverage organisation and mobile contact priorities. Use its decisions as a discussion point, not a guarantee of the same results for another business.