Business Website Redesign: What to Prepare Before Requesting a Quote

A useful website redesign brief explains what the business needs to change, what should be retained and who will make decisions. It helps a provider quote a defined project rather than guess from a request to make the site look better.

Start with the current website and a short account of the problem. An outdated appearance, unclear services, difficult editing and missed inquiries are different issues. Record which matters most and what evidence you already have.

1. Define the audience and the next step

Identify who the website should help and what that person needs before making contact. A buyer comparing service providers may need examples, a clear explanation of the work and a way to describe the project. An existing client may need support information instead.

• Audience: who needs to use the website?
• Business goal: which problem should the redesign address?
• Visitor action: what should someone do after reading?
• Measure: how will your team judge whether the change is useful?

Choose measures you can observe, such as qualified inquiries and whether staff can maintain agreed content. More traffic alone does not establish business value.

2. Inventory the site before replacing it

List existing pages, important downloads, forms and integrations. Note which URLs already receive useful search traffic or outside links. Mark content to retain, revise, combine or retire. A redesign does not require every useful page to have a new address.

If URLs change, include an old-to-new mapping and redirect checks in the scope. Webflow’s website migration checklist describes why the existing page inventory and migration plan matter. A redirect plan reduces avoidable mistakes; it does not guarantee unchanged rankings.

3. Describe the work behind the website

Identify what happens after a visitor sends an inquiry, books a meeting or follows a payment link. Record the destination system, the responsible person and any required confirmation. A form that looks finished still needs its delivery route checked.

Include content editing, account access, notification routing, consent-aware measurement and third-party dependencies. Keep a required feature separate from a possible later improvement so the initial proposal stays clear.

4. Agree responsibilities and review stages

Name the people who will provide copy, approve images, review layouts and authorize launch. Identify who controls the domain, hosting and existing accounts. Decide whether content writing, photography, asset licensing and ongoing care are part of the engagement or separately supplied.

Agree how feedback will be collected and how many review rounds are included. One consolidated response from an authorized decision maker is easier to act on than conflicting comments from several channels.

5. Define launch checks and handover

The brief should identify the pages and functions that must be checked before release. Examples include mobile navigation, key links, agreed form delivery, page titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, redirects and relevant sitemap entries.

Document what the team receives after launch: editing instructions, asset ownership, account responsibilities and the route for future changes. Hosting, subscriptions and ongoing support should be identified in the proposal.

A short redesign brief to bring to a conversation

• Your current website and the main problem to solve.
• The intended audience and the action each audience needs.
• Pages and content to keep, change or add.
• Required forms, integrations and delivery owners.
• Available branding, copy and approved images.
• The decision maker, budget range and preferred timing.
• Launch checks, handover and ongoing-care expectations.

See a website journey in practice

In FortLyn’s Search185 website example, a visitor can start with an introduction, browse topics and open an episode. These are observable design features, not claims about audience growth or conversion gains.

Explore business website design and redesign, or discuss your website redesign. FortLyn reviews the starting point before confirming the scope, responsibilities, fee and schedule.