Why it’s hard to tell
From the outside, both problems look the same: a website that isn’t doing much. The difference is underneath.
Dated looks are a paint problem. The rest are building problems.
What getting it wrong costs you
Choose a redesign when the problem runs deeper, and you’ll pay for a new look and keep the old results. Choose a rebuild when a redesign would do, and you’ll spend more than you needed to.
How to check: three questions
- How was it built? If it was assembled from ready-made parts, the deeper problems usually stay through a redesign.
- Is it doing its job? A dated website that brings enquiries needs far less than a modern-looking one that brings none.
- Have the fixes already been tried? If careful work hasn’t made it fast or findable, the limit is in how it was built.
Redesign vs rebuild, side by side
| Redesign | Rebuild | |
|---|---|---|
| What changes | The look: colours, type, images and layout. | The look, the structure, the words and the code underneath. |
| What stays | The pages, the words and how it was built. | Your domain, your page addresses or redirects to them, and what Google already knows. |
| Speed on phones | Rarely changes much, because the build stays the same. | Can change completely, because the build is new. |
| Risk to Google rankings | Low, if the page addresses stay the same. | Low too, if every old address redirects to its new page. High if nobody plans the move. |
| When it’s right | It works and brings enquiries, but looks dated. | It’s slow, hard to find on Google, or its words were never written for your business. |
What a partial rebuild is
Sometimes the honest answer is in between: keep the pages that work, and rebuild the ones where visitors decide. That’s usually the home page, the main service pages and the way to get in touch. It costs less than a full rebuild and fixes the part that matters most.
Can I redesign without the original files?
Yes. Owners often ask how to revamp a website when the old developer has gone and nobody has the files. A redesign or rebuild doesn’t need them: the words and images can be taken from the live website, and the new one is built fresh.
What you do need is access to your domain, so the new website goes live at the same address. If you don’t have it, start there: Who owns your website?
When it needs more: the step that matters most is the move
Whichever you choose, every old page address must point to its new one, and Google should be watched after the move. That’s how you keep what your website has earned.
Cost
Most of the work is understanding your business and writing the pages either way, so a rebuild often costs little more than a thorough redesign. We’ll tell you which one your website needs in the first conversation, which is free.
How we solve it
- The free first conversation, with an honest answer: redesign, rebuild, or neither.
- A free scope, listing every page, every old address and the price, before anything starts.
- Sprints paid after each demo, all 44 checks before launch with the results given to you, and Google watched closely after the move.
- Six months with us, counted from the first sprint, and everything in your name.