Website Redesign Process: Strategy, Timeline, and Project Plan

A website redesign process keeps your team focused on outcomes, not just visuals. This guide gives you a practical plan you can run: phases, timeline, owners, KPIs, and a copy/paste project plan template.

Need baseline inputs before kickoff? Start with a website audit tool, website design audit, and site performance audit.

Website redesign process overview

A strong process includes:

A clear business goal and conversion KPI
User and content evidence from the current site
A page-level SEO and redirect plan
A phased build, QA, and launch workflow
Post-launch monitoring with weekly checkpoints

Website redesign process in 7 phases

Phase	Main outcome	Primary owner
1) Baseline and audit	Clear list of problems and opportunities	Growth + UX
2) Goals and scope	Approved objectives, KPIs, and boundaries	Marketing lead
3) Information architecture	Final sitemap and navigation logic	UX lead
4) Content and SEO mapping	URL map, metadata plan, redirect sheet	SEO lead
5) Design and build	Working templates with content and tracking	Design + Engineering
6) QA and launch prep	Release-ready site with known risks closed	QA lead
7) Launch and stabilization	Stable rankings, conversion tracking, and fixes	PM + SEO

1) Baseline and audit

Pull conversion, traffic, and speed baselines for the last 90 days
Flag top revenue pages and highest-exit pages
Run a focused UX and content review on key journeys

Useful starting points:

2) Goals and scope

Define primary conversion goal (demo, signup, checkout)
Set one primary KPI plus 2 to 3 support KPIs
Lock in scope: included templates, excluded templates, and constraints

3) Information architecture

Approve core navigation and sitemap
Validate key user paths with quick testing
Decide page priorities for phase-one launch

4) Content and SEO mapping

Build old URL to new URL mapping
Assign target query intent by high-value page
Draft metadata and internal links before development starts

For this step, use:

5) Design and build

Create wireframes and production-ready components
Implement templates and analytics events
Build for mobile-first performance targets

6) QA and launch prep

Test core flows across browsers and devices
Validate redirects, canonicals, and internal links
Confirm event tracking and goal definitions

Use:

7) Launch and stabilization

Monitor rankings, errors, and conversion changes daily for 14 days
Fix redirect gaps, indexation issues, and tracking regressions fast
Run weekly performance and UX tuning in weeks 3 to 8

Website redesign timeline (12-week model)

Use this timeline as your default. Compress or expand based on team size and template count.

Weeks	Milestone	Deliverables
1-2	Baseline and scope	KPI sheet, risk register, approved scope
3-4	IA and content plan	Sitemap, key-page outlines, keyword map
5-7	Design and prototype	Wireframes, UI system, stakeholder sign-off
8-10	Development	Implemented templates, tracking, redirects
11	QA and pre-launch checks	Test logs, SEO sign-off, release checklist
12	Launch and monitoring	Live release, issue triage, 14-day dashboard

If your scope includes major URL changes, pair this timeline with the website migration service guide.

Website redesign project plan template (copy/paste)

Use this template in Sheets, Notion, or your PM tool.

Workstream	Task	Owner	Start	End	Dependency	KPI
Strategy	Approve goals and target metrics	Marketing lead	W1	W1	Stakeholder interviews	KPI sheet signed
UX	Finalize sitemap and key journeys	UX lead	W2	W3	Analytics baseline	Journey map approved
SEO	Complete URL map and redirect plan	SEO lead	W3	W5	Final sitemap	100% mapped URLs
Design	Approve homepage + money-page designs	Design lead	W4	W7	IA sign-off	Design approval
Dev	Build templates and integrate analytics	Engineering	W7	W10	Approved designs	Tracking QA pass
QA	Cross-device and SEO preflight	QA + SEO	W10	W11	Feature complete	Critical issues = 0
Launch	Release + 14-day stabilization	PM	W12	W14	QA sign-off	No severe regressions

Keep a single source of truth and update owners every week. Most redesign delays come from unclear dependencies, not engineering effort.

Redesign metrics to track for 60 days

Conversion rate on top 3 money pages
Organic sessions and query coverage on migrated URLs
Core Web Vitals on mobile templates
Form completion, CTA click-through, and bounce rate

Need a fast benchmark baseline? Run website analysis online and compare it to your website audit checklist findings.

Related resources

Final thoughts

A clear website redesign process reduces rework and protects SEO performance. Start with the baseline, run the 12-week timeline, and execute a project plan with named owners and measurable checkpoints.