4 Things to Check Before You Redesign Your Website
Redesigning your website can feel like booking a full-day spa retreat—new colors, fresh fonts, and a whole new vibe. But here’s the thing: sometimes, you don’t need a full day of treatments.
You might just need a little massage, a facial, or a polish to bring things back to life. Before you dive into a full website redesign (and the time and budget that comes with it), pause.
Let’s check in on a few essentials that might reveal whether you’re due for a glow-up or just need a clean up.
1. What do you want your website to do?
➡️ Check Your Website Goals ⬅️
Creating your website was an investment; an investment of your time, money, or both. Don’t let your website become your most expensive salesperson! It should be working for your business, not just sitting there looking cute.
Or not cute… whatever you’ve got going on right now.
Before you redesign, do a quick check-in of your goals. Ask yourself:
1. What’s the main job of my website?
2. Do I want visitors to book a call, shop, sign up, or simply learn more?
3. Is that goal crystal clear within the first few seconds of landing?
If your site is trying to do too many things at once (or worse, none at all), it might feel like a cluttered to-do list & no one knows where to start. Clarifying your website goals is a key step in any website redesign checklist and the first thing I ask people on a Website R&R vibe check,
PRO TIP: The #1 thing that you would want EVERY visitor to do (that is the fastest to your growth) should always be visible on the top of every page. Think call to action button in the top corner or banner across the top. And it should be twice on the home page. above the fold.
2. How well is your site running?
➡️ Check the Backend Basics ⬅️
A shiny new theme or fresh colors won’t help if your site loads like it’s stuck in a 2012 time loop. Think about it. Do YOU stick around if it takes forever to load?
Working on the backend of your website is Technical SEO, a foundation of behind-the-scenes visibility. Before you click “add to cart” on that new theme, let’s check a few things:
1. Site speed and Core Web Vitals
2. Mobile responsiveness
3. Plugin/theme health
4. SSL/security settings
5. Look for broken links
Many “redesign-worthy” issues actually stem from technical hiccups. A slow or glitchy site can make your content invisible and your services seem untrustworthy. Sometimes a simple performance audit is all you need to uncover what’s really going on.
PRO TIP: Use a free tool like Page Speed Insights or GTmetrix to start your website performance check. If you have no idea where to start, or just are overwhelmed by it, let’s do it together!
3. would you spend time on your site?
➡️ Check the User Experience (UX) ⬅️
When you visit your own website, do you want to poke around? Or do you run away crying?
Design isn’t just about how your site looks (the colors, fonts, images); it’s about how people feel when they use it.
Do a quick UX check and ask yourself:
1. Can a new visitor find what they need without thinking?
2. Are your services or products easy to understand and access?
3. Is your navigation simple and straightforward and your layout clean?
If your visitors feel like they’re wandering a maze instead of strolling through a calming spa lobby, they’ll click away before you can say “homepage.”
Ask a friend to test-drive your site with fresh eyes. Where do they click? What confuses them? Embarrassed to ask someone to do it? I’ll do it =)
4. Is your content answering questions or creating more?
➡️ Check YOUR COPY ⬅️
Now let’s talk content.
Even with the “perfect” layout and latest/greatest design, outdated, unclear, or heavily AI generated content can make your site feel stale, impersonal, and fake.
Take a look at your core pages. Ask yourself:
1. Do your service descriptions match what you currently offer?
2. Are your CTAs engaging and specific?
3. Do you sound like you now or like you from five to ten years ago?
4. Are you making it all about you?
This step is often skipped in a pre-redesign website audit, but it’s powerful. Your content shapes your visitor’s journey. Refreshing it might make your whole site feel brand new, no design changes needed.
Still Thinking About a Redesign? Let’s Make It Worth It.
Redesigning your website can absolutely be the right move – if you’ve done the prep work first. These four checks help you decide if it’s time for a full transformation or just a deep cleanse.
If you’re unsure where to start, I’d love to help you figure it out.
My Vibe Check session is like a spa day consult for your site. We not only see if WE vibe, we check what’s working, what’s not, and what kind of care it really needs.
Let’s check in before you redesign.
Hey, you made it down to the bottom! Thanks, I appreciate you.
If you’re looking for an explanation about the Lego images… I’ve got nothing, but I think it’s going to be a thing.
