Summary: Before replacing a website, record what already works, who controls the accounts and where every important URL will go. Test the handover as carefully as the design.
A tradie website redesign checklist should protect the enquiries you already receive before it celebrates the new homepage. A site can look better on launch day while old service links break, forms stop reaching the office or the business loses access to an essential account.
Treat the project as a handover of working assets. Design matters, but so do ownership, continuity and a clear plan if something fails.
Inventory the existing website
List the main service pages, contact pages, forms, phone numbers and booking links. Include important landing pages that are not in the main menu. Check which URLs receive traffic, links or enquiries where that information is available.
Save the current page list and approved content. Record anything that must change because it is inaccurate, but do not delete useful material simply because the layout is being refreshed.
Ask your provider to distinguish visual changes from URL changes. If the same page can keep a sensible existing URL, there may be no reason to rename it.
Agree on account ownership
| Asset | Question to settle before launch |
|---|---|
| Domain | Can the business access registration and renewal settings? |
| Website platform | Who owns the account and who can edit? |
| Forms and CRM | Where do submissions go and who receives alerts? |
| Analytics and Search Console | Does the business retain appropriate access? |
| Images and copy | What can the business keep and reuse? |
| Ongoing support | Who fixes failures after handover? |
Use individual access permissions where supported rather than casually sharing passwords. Enable multi-factor authentication for important accounts. Keep recovery arrangements accessible to an authorised business owner.
Map URLs deliberately
For each changed or removed page, decide the most relevant destination. An old service page should normally lead to its equivalent replacement rather than sending every visitor to the homepage.
Google's site-move guidance covers URL mapping and redirects. Ask your provider to implement appropriate permanent redirects where URLs change and update internal links to the final destinations.
Avoid long redirect chains created by repeated renaming. Check external links you control, including business listings and advertising destinations. A redirect can preserve a route, but updating the original link makes the journey cleaner.
Run a rehearsal with real actions
Test the new site using a clearly labelled enquiry. Verify the message reaches the correct inbox or CRM, the notification arrives and the confirmation is accurate.
Check a mobile phone call link, a long form entry and any booking integration. Review image crops and important tables on a narrow screen. Test the published configuration as well as the preview because forms and tracking may behave differently.
Use a simple launch sheet with columns for task, owner, result and outstanding issue. “Looks good” is not a useful result for a form-delivery test. “Test enquiry received in the correct inbox at 10:15” is.
Keep a rollback decision clear
Agree in advance which failures would delay launch or trigger a rollback. Broken enquiry delivery is more serious than a minor spacing issue. The person making that decision should be available when the change happens.
Retain the old configuration or a recoverable backup where the platform allows it. Do not cancel the previous hosting or service before confirming that the new setup is stable and any dependencies have moved.
Schedule the launch when someone can monitor it. Late on a Friday, immediately before a holiday or while the owner is on a difficult job may be an inconvenient time to discover an account problem.
Check again after launch
Review key pages, redirects, forms and indexability. Confirm the intended live pages are not accidentally left with staging restrictions. Monitor reported errors and customer feedback over the following days.
Traffic can fluctuate during a move; avoid claiming success or failure from one day's numbers. Keep the old-to-new page map and support contacts with the business records. A complete handover leaves you able to maintain the website without reconstructing the project from emails.
For help improving the customer journey on your website, see Tradie Local’s functional websites.
Sources & further reading
- Google Search Central: Site Moves with URL Changes
- Australian Cyber Security Centre: Multi-factor Authentication
Frequently asked questions
Should I change every URL during a redesign?
No. Keep useful existing URLs when practical. Where a change is needed, map it to a relevant destination and implement the appropriate redirect.
Can all old pages redirect to the homepage?
That often creates a poor match. Use the closest relevant replacement where one exists and review genuinely removed content individually.
Who should own the domain account?
The business should retain appropriate control and recovery access. Agree on provider permissions and ongoing responsibilities before launch.
When should I cancel the old website service?
After checking that the new site and all dependencies work, and that required backups or records are retained. Confirm any contractual notice requirements separately.
What is the most important launch test?
There is no single complete test, but enquiry delivery is critical. Verify forms, phone links, booking steps and the routes to important service pages.
