Redesign, refresh or rebuild?
- Refresh: same platform and page structure, new colours, fonts, imagery and updated copy. The cheapest option and a good fit when the site works but looks dated.
- Redesign: new design and layout, the same or a new platform, content rewritten and reorganized. This is what most people mean, and it costs roughly what a new site costs.
- Rebuild or migration: moving from Wix, Squarespace or an old theme to WordPress or a custom build. Add the cost of moving content and setting up redirects so Google rankings carry over; see what a 301 redirect is.
What adds to the price
The number of pages, whether anyone is rewriting the text, photography, the number of integrations (booking, CRM, payments), and how much of the old content must be preserved and redirected. A 40-page site with a blog costs more to redesign than a 6-page site, even when the new design is simpler, because every page has to be moved and checked.
One cost people forget: SEO. A redesign that changes URLs without redirects, drops page text or slows the site down can lose the rankings the old site had built. Budget for the redirect map and a pre- and post-launch check; the website redesign page describes how we protect rankings during a redesign.
When a redesign is worth it
Redesign when the site is costing you business: it looks untrustworthy next to competitors, it is slow or broken on phones, it cannot do something you now need (bookings, a store, a client login), or it is on a platform you have outgrown. Do not redesign because it is 'three years old'. A well-built site with fresh content lasts five years or more; see how often you should update your website.