How much does a website redesign cost?

From $3,500. The price covers the audit, a new structure, design, content migration and redirects. New copy, extra templates, integrations and the redesign of a store with a large catalog are estimated separately.

How is a redesign different from a refresh and a rebrand?

A refresh can be cosmetic: colors and fonts. A redesign changes the structure, templates and copy. A rebrand changes the brand as a whole (the name, the logo, the positioning), and the site only follows it.

Will I lose Google rankings after a redesign?

There is always a risk, and nobody can guarantee the opposite. We lower it: we keep the URLs that bring visitors, carry over meta tags, set 301 redirects and check indexing before and after launch.

What do we change: the design, the structure or the copy?

It depends on the cause. When a site has simply aged, a new look is enough. When visitors don't reach a request, you need structure. When pages don't explain the offer, you need copy. After the audit we show you which level you need.

Do you migrate the content and page URLs?

Yes. We move pages, articles, products and images. URLs that work stay as they are, and changed ones are routed through 301 redirects.

Can we keep the CMS and change only the look?

Yes, if the system is supported and updated. Then a redesign is cheaper and faster. If the platform is outdated or limits the site, we suggest a move, but the decision is yours.

How do I know it's time for a redesign?

The site is awkward on a phone, slow, brings no requests, is hard to change or describes old services. If none of these applies, spot fixes may be enough.

What do you check before the start?

Speed by Core Web Vitals, the mobile version, analytics, the list of URLs, indexing and the pages that bring visitors. The audit result sets the scope of work. A separate detailed audit can be ordered as an SEO audit.

Can a redesign be done with AI?

AI helps with draft layouts and ideas, but it doesn't replace the audit, the redirect map and the testing. We use it as a tool, and responsibility for the result stays with people.

Do I need maintenance after a redesign?

It's advisable. A new version needs updates, backups and monitoring, especially in the first months. Website maintenance starts at $400 a month and includes up to 5 hours of edits.

Web development updating a live site

Website redesign

Q: How long does a website redesign take?

From three to six weeks. A small site with no new copy is done sooner, while several templates and a lot of content take longer.

A website redesign is what you need when the site still works but already gets in the way of selling: it looks dated, it's awkward on a phone, and it brings fewer inquiries every month. We update the structure, the design and the build so that the new version doesn't lose what the old one earned: its page URLs, the copy people find on Google and the path to an inquiry your customers already know.

Price and a sample estimate

A laptop and a tablet showing a redesigned website layout on a desk

301redirect for every URL that had to change

01 Definition

What a website redesign is

A website redesign is a rework of a site that already runs: a new page structure, a new look, a new build for phones. The domain, the content you've accumulated and the search history stay. That is what separates a redesign from building a site from scratch, where there is nothing to lose yet.

The word "design" is a little misleading. Colors and fonts come last in this work. First we find out which pages bring people and inquiries, and decide what happens to each of them on the new site.

We change: the structure, navigation, layouts, the build, speed
We keep: the domain, page URLs, copy that works, analytics
After handover, the site, the mockups and the access belong to you

02 No wasted spend

When you need a redesign, and when the money is better spent elsewhere

A redesign costs real money, so in the first conversation we check whether something cheaper would solve your problem: one new page, new copy or ads.

You need one

When the site itself is the problem

The site isn't built for phones. Tiny text, buttons a finger can't hit, tables that run off the screen. Google indexes the mobile version of your pages, so this is a search problem too.
The structure has outgrown the menu. You have more services and no room for the new ones: a two-row menu, important pages three levels deep, two pages about the same thing.
The theme or page builder can't be updated. Every edit breaks the neighboring block, and the developer who built it stopped answering long ago.
The site is slow because of the build. Heavy sliders, dozens of scripts, photos several megabytes each. A caching plugin won't cure that.
The company has changed. A new brand, different services, a different buyer, and the site still describes what you were five years ago.

You don't need one

When the problem is something else

Almost nobody visits the site. A new design won't bring visitors. That is a job for SEO or ads.
One page is weak. If only the home page or a single landing page fails to bring inquiries, reworking it is cheaper than redoing the whole site.
The copy is unclear. If the first screen doesn't show what you sell and what it costs, start with homepage copy and your service pages.
The owner is tired of the site. You see it every day, and a customer sees it once or twice. While inquiries aren't falling, that's not a reason.
You can't tell what isn't working. Then you need a website audit first. It starts at $750 and shows where the real problem is.

03 The main risk

What we keep during a redesign: URLs, redirects, search positions

Search doesn't see that the site got prettier. It sees that familiar URLs and copy are gone.

That is why sites lose Google traffic after a redesign. The causes are the same every time: URLs changed without redirects, copy was cut to fit the layout, meta tags weren't carried over, and the block on indexing that sat on the test copy was never removed from the new site. Each of these can be closed off before launch.

Page URLs

Before any work begins, we list every URL of the old site, from the sitemap, from a crawl of the pages and from Search Console reports. Next to each we note how many people it brings and whether other sites link to it. We try not to touch the URLs of pages that bring visitors: the new layout goes onto the old address.

301 redirects

Sometimes a URL has to change: it contains technical parameters, a date or the name of a service that no longer exists. Then we set a 301 redirect, a permanent redirect, from the old URL to the new one. A person arriving from a bookmark or another site lands on the right page, and Google carries over to the new URL what it knew about the old one.

Each old page points to its own matching new page, not everything to the home page. Google advises keeping such redirects for at least a year. We advise never removing them.

Copy and meta tags

We carry over the copy of pages that already rank, without cutting it. If the layout calls for three lines where there are six, we change the layout. The title, description and H1 move with the copy: they aren't visible on a mockup, so they are the easiest thing to lose in a migration.

Search positions

No one can guarantee positions after a redesign. Google crawls the site afresh, and in the first weeks the numbers may swing. We answer for what depends on us: no old URL returns a 404 error, the test copy hasn't got into the index, and analytics and goals work from day one. After launch we watch Search Console reports for two weeks and fix whatever turns up.

04 Example

A redirect map: an excerpt

You get the redirect map as a table at the structure stage, before design. It lists every URL of the old site and the decision for each. This example is for illustration, and the company is made up: a workshop that repairs coffee machines.

A real map has as many rows as the site has URLs: from a few dozen to a few thousand.
Old URL	New URL	What we do and why
/coffee-machine-repair/	no change	We keep the URL and the copy. The page brings the most people from search, so we change only the layout.
/index.php?page=prices	→ /prices/	A 301 redirect. The old URL has a technical parameter, and business directories link to the price page.
/delonghi.html and /repair-delonghi/	→ /coffee-machine-repair/delonghi/	Two pages about the same thing, merged. Both old URLs lead to the new one.
/news/spring-sale-2021/	remove	The promotion ended long ago, with no visits and no links. The page returns a 410 code: "gone permanently."
/contacts.html	→ /contact/	A 301 redirect. The old URL is printed on business cards and listed in the company's Google Maps profile.
/blog/how-to-clean-a-coffee-machine/	no change	The article brings readers from search. We move it in full, with the photos and the table.

05 Launch rule

We switch the new site on once every old URL has been checked

Before the switch, we run the list of old URLs against the new site. Each one must either open as it is or lead to its new page. The exceptions are the few we agreed with you to remove.

If even one URL returns an error, we postpone the launch. A day's delay costs less than the months it takes a site to win back lost visitors.

06 Stages

Website redesign stages and timelines

A redesign takes three to six weeks. In three we manage a site of ten to fifteen pages where the copy stays. Six are needed when there are several dozen pages, a blog and a second language. Each stage has its own price and ends with your approval.

01
Audit of the old site
We collect all the URLs and look at analytics and Search Console: which pages bring people, which produce inquiries, what breaks on a phone. We ask you and your managers what about the site gets in the way.
→ 3–5 days: a table of pages with decisions
02
Structure and wireframe
We draw up the new page tree and wireframes of the main templates: home page, service, article, contact. The redirect map appears here too. Moving a block on a wireframe takes five minutes; after the build it takes days.
→ up to a week: a wireframe and a URL map
03
Design
First we show the home page and one inner page, for desktop and for phone. Once the style is approved, we draw the other templates. The mockups carry your real copy, no placeholder text.
→ 1–2 weeks: mockups of all templates
04
Build and migration
We build the site on WordPress at a test address closed to search engines. We move the copy, photos, meta tags and forms, connect analytics and send test requests from every form.
→ 1–2 weeks: the site at a test address
05
Launch and monitoring
We switch the site over during the hours with the fewest visitors. The same day we check the redirects and forms and submit the new sitemap to Search Console. We keep a copy of the old site in case we need to go back.
→ launch day and 2 weeks of monitoring

07 Options

Updating a website: a cosmetic refresh, a redesign or a new site

You can "update a site" in three ways, and they cost different amounts. The choice depends on what exactly has aged: the look, the structure or the platform itself.

Look

A cosmetic refresh

New photos, a different first screen, fonts, button colors, blocks fixed on the phone. The structure and URLs stay as they were, so there's almost no risk to search.

We do this on a short separate estimate or within the hours of website maintenance. It's enough when the site is easy to use but looks its age.

Look and structure

A redesign

A new structure, new mockups and a new build on the same domain. We move the content over and keep the URLs or cover them with redirects. From $3,500, three to six weeks.

You need it when the problem goes deeper than looks: people can't find what they need, the site is awkward on a phone, and there is nowhere to put the new services.

Platform

A new site

If the site sits on a builder that won't let you add what you need, or on a custom system with no developer, patching it often costs more than building anew on WordPress. The same goes when the business has changed so much that there is nothing to carry over from the old site.

Then it's development: a landing page (from $2,500), a corporate website (from $5,500) or an online store (from $8,500). The old site's URLs are covered with redirects here too. All site types are collected in the web development section.

08 Pricing

Website redesign: price and what it depends on

A redesign starts at $3,500. Example: a 15-page service site stays on WordPress, and five service pages need rewriting along the way. The redesign itself starts at $3,500, and five texts of about 600 words each at the SEO copy rate add from $540 (5 × $108). That makes from $4,040, split into stages.

Prices are "from." We fix the sum and the timeline of each stage in writing before the work starts, and they stay the same until the job changes.
Service	What's included	Turnaround	Price
Website redesign	Audit, new structure, design, content migration, redirects	3–6 weeks	from $3,500 / website
Corporate website	Structure, key page copy, design, build, content management system	4–8 weeks	from $5,500 / website
Landing page development	Wireframe, copy, design, responsive build, form and analytics	2–3 weeks	from $2,500 / landing page
Website maintenance	Updates, backups, monitoring, up to 5 hours of edits	monthly	from $400 / month
SEO audit	Technical audit, content and link review, fix plan	5–7 days	from $750 / audit

What affects the sum

The number of templates, not pages. Twenty service pages built the same way need one layout. Ten pages built differently need ten.
The amount of content. Moving thirty pages and moving three hundred blog articles with photos are very different amounts of work.
The platform. If the old site is on WordPress, we change the theme and keep the database. From a builder or a custom system, the content has to be moved by hand or by script.
Features. A calculator, online booking, a customer account and data exchange with a CRM are separate lines in the estimate.
Languages. Each language version adds another set of pages to move and check.
Copy. Moving the existing copy is in the price. New copy is written separately: website copy is priced per page.

09 Questions

Questions about website redesign

Will our Google rankings drop after a redesign?

In the first weeks they can swing while Google crawls the pages again, and that can't be avoided. A site loses positions for long when three things go wrong: changed URLs without redirects, cut copy and lost meta tags. We check all of this against a list before launch. We won't promise that no position will change, because no one can.

How long does a website redesign take?

Three to six weeks. For a service site of ten to fifteen pages we plan three to four weeks, and for a site with a blog and two languages closer to six. The biggest influence on the timeline is how fast you approve things: a mockup that waits a week for an answer pushes everything back a week.

Will the site be unavailable during the work?

No. We build the new version at a separate test address while the old site keeps running as before. The switch itself takes up to an hour, and we schedule it for the time when you have the fewest visitors.

Can the design be updated without changing page URLs?

Yes, and that is the best option. If the old structure is logical, the new layout goes onto the same URLs and no redirects are needed at all. We change a URL only where the old one gets in the way: duplicates, technical parameters, pages that should be merged.

Our site isn't on WordPress. Will you take it on?

We will, but it will be a redesign with a move to WordPress: that's what we build sites on, and stores on WooCommerce. We move the content and cover the old URLs with redirects. If you must stay on your own platform, tell us which one, and we'll look and say whether we can take it.

Do we have to rewrite the copy?

No. Better not to touch the copy of pages that rank and bring inquiries. What's worth rewriting is what has gone out of date or never worked: the home page, the About page, descriptions of new services. That is separate work, and prices are on the pages for website copy and SEO copywriting.

What do you need from us?

Access to the admin, the hosting, Search Console and analytics. One person who approves the structure and mockups and responds within a day or two. Your logo and brand colors as source files, if you have them. And a list of what annoys you and your managers about the old site.

Who owns the site and the mockups after handover?

You do. The site sits on your hosting, the domain is registered to you, and we hand over the mockups as source files. If you later want to develop the site without us, there is nothing to buy back.

How does payment work?

We fix the price and timeline of each stage in writing before the work begins. You pay 50% by bank transfer against an invoice before a stage starts, and the rest after we deliver it. As long as the job doesn't change, neither does the sum.

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