Wail Saidani
Founder of DevDream
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A contractor website redesign starts with a review of what you already have: useful pages, links you have shared, photos you can recover and ways to get in touch. Keep what still serves your business, update outdated information and plan a destination for every page whose address changes. Before launch, check existing links, the experience on a phone and whether messages actually arrive.
A fresh look can make you want to throw everything out. I would start with this question: what should a customer still be able to find once the work is done?
What should you list before redesigning a contractor website?
List the pages on your current website, their addresses and what they offer visitors. Record any available visit data, known links and inquiries you can actually trace to a page. Then decide whether to keep, update, merge or remove each page. The situations below are illustrative: they help you make decisions and do not describe a DevDream customer.
Four possible decisions for an existing page
| Decision | Illustrative situation | Instructions to share |
|---|---|---|
| Keep | A detailed page about a service you still offer. | Keep its subject, useful information and address where possible. |
| Update | You still offer the service, but the service area or terms have changed. | Update the relevant passages and check any supporting documents shown. |
| Merge | Several pages repeat the same offer without adding distinct details. | Combine the useful material and choose where the old addresses should lead. |
| Remove | A service you no longer offer, with no content to reuse elsewhere. | Record the removal and check separately how the old address will be handled. |
Include pages that are missing from the menu: an old article shared on social media or a project page sent by email. People may still be sharing their addresses.
A lack of measured visits does not prove that a page is useless. It may help during a quote discussion. If you have no figures, write 'data unavailable' rather than concluding that the page has no value.
What happens to the old page addresses?
A page that keeps its address does not need a redirect just because its appearance changes. If it moves, plan a permanent redirect: automatic forwarding to its new address. Your provider should be able to show you, for each old page, where visitors will arrive. The destination's content should match what they were looking for.
Google recommends permanent server-side redirects, including codes 301 and 308. Your provider handles the setup; you approve how the old and new page topics match.
- Same service, new address: the old link leads to that service.
- Pages combined: the old links lead to the page containing their useful information.
- Service removed with no equivalent: do not ask for an unrelated redirect to a different service.
Sending everything to the homepage is no substitute for a plan that matches old pages to new ones. The Google site migration guide advises against redirecting many pages to an unrelated destination. It also recommends keeping redirects for as long as possible, generally for at least a year. Ask who will maintain them after handover.
Good to know. Google says visibility can fluctuate during a site migration. A redirect list and testing reduce avoidable mistakes; they do not guarantee unchanged rankings. The official guide therefore calls for monitoring after the switch. A promise of 'no loss of search visibility' should be replaced with commitments you can verify.
Which worksheet helps you keep the useful material?
Prepare one worksheet per page, recording your decision, the material to reuse, where it is stored and who will check it. Also keep a usable copy of the old website before work begins. The worksheet organizes the rebuild; the backup lets you recover files and settings. A screenshot helps you compare versions, but does not replace this copy.
Find the original text, photos and related documents. Check what needs updating: hours, service area, qualifications and equipment shown. Reusing an old certification logo does not magically bring it up to date.
Blank worksheet for material to keep, to copy for each page
| Item to complete | Your answer | Expected check |
|---|---|---|
| Current address and purpose | ____ | Page identified and its purpose explained. |
| Decision and destination | ____ | Keep, update, merge or remove; planned address. |
| Text and files to reuse | ____ | Originals found and permission to reuse them checked. |
| Information to update | ____ | Updates reviewed by the business. |
| Person responsible and final test | ____ | Name, expected result and date of the check. |
Ask where the backup is stored and how it will be restored. Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr recommends testing backups and keeping what is needed to use the data. Have the person handling the rebuild confirm this point.
Your business email account needs its own line in the project plan. Afnic, the organization that manages France's .fr domain extension, outlines precautions to take when a domain transfer accompanies a change of hosting, with an active website or email service. Ask explicitly what will change for your email and who will check it.
If your previous provider still holds the login details, the guide to checking who controls your website covers this issue. For new text and photos to supply, use the project preparation checklist. This worksheet focuses on reusing what you already have.
I start with your current website, the pages to keep and the inquiries you want to make easier.
5.0/5 on Google · 16 reviewsWhich tests should you request before approving the new website?
Test complete journeys: find a service through an old link, read the page on a phone, get in touch and receive the message. Ask for each result to be recorded, along with any outstanding fix and who is responsible for it. Some checks happen on the preview version; public page addresses and email need checking again after the switch.
Handover test scenarios to adapt to the features actually planned
| Scenario | Test to carry out | Result to record |
|---|---|---|
| Old link | Open a retained or moved address from the inventory. | The expected page opens and its content remains relevant. |
| Getting in touch on a phone | Read a service page, then use the call or email option provided. | The button is easy to reach and shows the correct number or recipient. |
| Message or form | Send an agreed test message, if this feature exists. | The intended recipient receives the message and can reply. |
| Business email | Send and receive an email using the business account. | Messages can be sent and received after the planned change. |
| Tracking contact actions | Have an action checked in the tracking system, under the agreed consent conditions. | The expected action is recorded; the test is identified as a test. |
A 'message sent' screen does not prove that the business received the message. The check must go all the way through to receipt. For calls, first check the number displayed by the phone; agree a test call with the person who will receive it.
Keep a dated record of the figures available before the switch, including the period they cover: visits, contact clicks and inquiries received. A click on a phone number proves neither a connected call nor an agreed job.
After launch, have old addresses, pages accessible to Google and contact methods checked again. Agree how problems will be followed up and how to return to the old version if necessary. Handover should include a list of successful checks and outstanding issues. Use the website quote comparison checklist to include these commitments in the project.
What else should you ask before starting the redesign?
Redesigning your website does not require you to change its address, rewrite every text or delete every old page. Each decision should address an identified problem. These questions help distinguish a targeted improvement, a change in appearance and a more extensive rebuild of your current website.
What should you decide before redesigning the website?
Approve the inventory, the destinations of old pages and the expected tests before choosing the new layout. Identify the files recovered, the information to correct and the person who will monitor the switch. You can then assess a redesign proposal against specific tasks and results you know how to check.
Decisions to include in the redesign project
| Question | Key point | Pitfall to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| What should you reuse? | Useful, checked material, page by page. | Deleting everything because the design looks dated. |
| Where should old links lead? | To a relevant destination agreed in advance. | Sending them all to the homepage. |
| When should you approve the website? | After the agreed tests and a record of outstanding issues. | Judging only by the homepage's appearance. |
To plan a redesign of your business website, start with this worksheet for material to keep. You can then show me your current website and what needs attention : that gives the project a practical starting point.
Founder of DevDream, a web and AI workshop for contractors and small businesses in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, near Paris, France (92). I build websites and set up automation around the tools small businesses use.
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Plan the redesign of your existing website.
Useful pages, existing links and ways to get in touch: I start with your current website to work out what to keep, update and check.
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