By Creovo Media
Start with a record of what exists
Before changing design or URLs, list the pages, files and forms on the current site. Export available Search Console landing-page data and record which pages bring relevant enquiries. Note the purpose of each page and the action visitors should take. A quiet page may still answer an important customer question; low traffic alone is not a reason to delete it.
Agree the content before estimating the build
Separate what can be reused from what needs rewriting, translation or new media. Count unique templates as well as pages: a service page, article and project page may need different structures. For an Arabic–English site, assign an approver for each language and pair equivalent pages. Confirm who owns the domain, hosting account and existing analytics access without sharing passwords in a public brief.
Keep a decision for every existing URL
Mark each existing URL as keep, update, merge or remove. Preserve useful addresses when possible. When a page moves, map it to the closest relevant replacement instead of redirecting everything to the homepage. Update internal links, canonical tags, language alternates and the sitemap to match the final destinations. Check the redirects on the deployed host; a local preview cannot prove the production domain rules.
Test the enquiry journey on a real phone
Read the site as a prospective customer: can you identify the service, see relevant work and reach the right enquiry form? Test required fields, keyboard access, error messages and the success state. Confirm that the business receives the submission and can reply using the customer’s address. Check Arabic layout separately, including labels, phone numbers and directional controls. Use an agreed test submission so it is not mistaken for a genuine lead.
Check the public version before calling it launched
Check that public pages return the intended status, contain readable HTML and have one clear heading and appropriate metadata. Confirm the production site is not accidentally noindex and the sitemap contains the preferred URLs. Test media loading on a mobile connection without lowering quality unnecessarily. Compare laboratory speed checks with actual user data when available; a single score does not establish the experience for every visitor.
Document handover and watch the right signals
Record the owner of content updates, renewals, backups where applicable and support requests. After launch, monitor indexing, missing pages and successful enquiries alongside search impressions and clicks. Keep an annotation of the launch date and compare equivalent reporting periods. A redesign can improve usability and technical foundations, but search engines still determine rankings. Bring this checklist, your current site URL and your priorities to a website-design conversation.
Illustrative redirect map
These fictional paths illustrate the planning process; they are not live links or a client migration record. Confirm an equivalent replacement exists before adding a redirect.
| Old path | Decision | Equivalent destination |
|---|---|---|
| /video-services/ | Permanent move: 301 | /services/video-production/ |
| /ar/video-services/ | Permanent move: 301 | /ar/services/video-production/ |
Launch check: verify the redirect status and destination on the deployed domain, then check that the new URL returns 200 with the right canonical and language alternate. Update internal links and the sitemap, and test service selection after switching language.