Your website has been online for a few years. Back then it was modern — but today? The design feels somewhat dated. On mobile, it only half works. The copy describes services you don't even offer anymore. And inquiries through the website? Those last came in sometime around 2023.
If this sounds familiar, you're probably asking yourself: Is a small update enough — or does everything need to be redone? In this article, I'll help you figure that out. Honestly, without fear-mongering, and without trying to sell you a relaunch you might not even need.
5 Signs That Your Website Relaunch Is Overdue
Not every old website needs a relaunch right away. But if several of these points apply to you, it's high time.
1. Your Design Looks Like It's from 2015
Web design trends change. What was modern in 2015 — large header sliders, parallax scroll effects, small fonts, cluttered pages — looks outdated today. Visitors register this immediately, even if they can't consciously put it into words.
An outdated design signals: "This company doesn't care about its image." And if you don't care about your web presence — do you care about your customers? That's how visitors think, fair or not.
Signs of an outdated website:
- Sliders with 5 rotating images on the homepage
- Small, tightly packed text without whitespace
- Stock photos of smiling business people giving thumbs up
- Flash elements or visibly old technology
- Cluttered pages with too many elements
2. Not Optimized for Mobile Devices
Over 70% of website visitors come from smartphones. If your website doesn't work flawlessly on mobile — not "kind of works," but flawlessly — you're losing the majority of your potential customers.
And there's a difference between "retrofitted" and "Mobile First." Some old websites were originally built only for desktop and then eventually made somewhat mobile-friendly with CSS hacks. You can tell: elements overlap, text is too small, buttons can barely be tapped. That's no longer good enough.
Google has been using Mobile-First Indexing for years — the mobile version of your website determines your ranking. No mobile optimization means worse Google rankings. It's that simple.
3. Slow Load Times
Does your website take longer than 4 seconds to load? Then you have a problem. Studies show: 53% of mobile users leave a page if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Every additional second measurably costs you conversions.
Slow load times have many causes: outdated technology, bloated plugins, unoptimized images, cheap hosting. Sometimes this can be optimized — but when the technical foundation is outdated, optimization only goes so far. In that case, rebuilding on modern technology is the better path.
Test your website with Google PageSpeed Insights — if your score is below 50, it's serious.
4. Your Content No Longer Matches
Your website describes services you no longer offer. The prices are wrong. The team page shows employees who left long ago. The last blog post is from 2021.
Outdated content is more than just a cosmetic issue. It undermines trust. When a visitor notices your information isn't current, they wonder: Is this company even still active?
5. No Leads or Inquiries Through the Website
This is the ultimate warning sign. Your website should be a business tool — not a digital paperweight. If you're not getting inquiries, no contact form submissions, no calls through the website, then it's not working.
The reasons can be varied: poor Google visibility (missing SEO), no clear call-to-actions, no trust signals, outdated design. Often it's a combination of everything. If you want to learn more about typical conversion killers, read my article on 5 website mistakes that drive visitors away.
Relaunch vs. Redesign vs. Optimization: What Do You Actually Need?
These three terms are often used interchangeably — but they mean different things. And the difference determines the effort, cost, and outcome.
Optimization: Targeted Improvements
You keep your existing website and improve specific areas. For example: optimize load times, revise copy, add CTAs, improve SEO.
When it makes sense: Your website is technically solid, the design is still acceptable, but individual areas are underperforming. The effort is manageable and costs are low.
Cost: €500 – €2,000 (depending on scope)
Redesign: New Look, Same Technology
The visual appearance is completely renewed — new design, new images, new fonts, new layout. The technical foundation (e.g., WordPress with the same setup) stays the same.
When it makes sense: The technology still works well, but the design is outdated. You want to look more modern without rebuilding everything.
Cost: €2,000 – €5,000
Relaunch: Starting from Scratch
A complete rebuild — new design, new technology, often new content and structure. The old website is replaced by an entirely new one.
When it makes sense: When the technical foundation is outdated (e.g., an old WordPress theme with 30 plugins), the design is no longer contemporary, AND the content needs to be revised. Or when you want to switch technologies.
Cost: €3,000 – €10,000+ (comparable to building from scratch)
My honest recommendation: If more than two of the five signs above apply, a relaunch is usually the better path. Half-measures often end up costing more because you'll have to redo everything in 1-2 years anyway.
What You Absolutely Must Keep in Mind During a Relaunch
A relaunch isn't a simple "out with the old, in with the new." There are critical points that many overlook — with expensive consequences.
Preserving SEO Equity: 301 Redirects Are Mandatory
Your old website has (hopefully) built up Google rankings over the years. Backlinks from other websites point to your pages. If you change the URL structure during the relaunch and don't set up redirects, you'll lose all of that. Overnight.
301 redirects permanently forward old URLs to the new ones. So the old address /services/webdesign.html tells Google: "I can now be found at /services." Google then transfers the existing SEO power to the new URL.
SEO checklist for the relaunch:
- Document all old URLs (crawl with Screaming Frog or similar tool)
- Define the new URL structure
- Create a 301 redirect map (old URL -> new URL)
- Create a new XML sitemap and submit it to Google
- Monitor Google Search Console after launch
- Have the old sitemap deindexed
Content Audit: What Stays, What Goes, What's New?
A relaunch is the perfect opportunity to review your content. Not everything on the old website deserves a spot on the new one.
For every page and piece of content, ask:
- Is the content still current and accurate?
- Does it bring traffic or rankings? (Check Google Analytics and Search Console)
- Is it relevant to my current target audience?
- Can it be improved or consolidated?
Three categories:
- Keep and optimize: Content that works but could use an update
- Consolidate: Combine multiple thin pages into one strong page
- Remove: Outdated, irrelevant, or low-quality content (with a 301 redirect to a relevant new page)
Technology Switch: When Does It Make Sense?
Many relaunches also include a technology switch. Typical scenarios:
- From old WordPress to modern WordPress: New theme, cleaned-up plugins, better performance
- From WordPress to headless CMS: More speed, more flexibility, fewer security risks
- From website builder to custom solution: Away from limitations, toward full control
A technology switch makes the relaunch more involved but can pay off in the long run — especially in terms of speed, security, and maintainability.
With my projects, I use modern technologies that are fast, secure, and future-proof. Which technology is right for you is something we'll discuss in the initial consultation.
The Relaunch Process: Step by Step
A website relaunch essentially follows the same process as a new build — with a few additional steps for the migration.
Phase 1: Analysis and Planning (Weeks 1-2)
Before anything new is created, we analyze the old website:
- Traffic analysis: Which pages bring visitors? Which keywords are ranking?
- Content audit: What stays, what gets revised, what gets removed?
- Technical analysis: What are the current weak points?
- Goal definition: What should the new website do better?
- Redirect mapping: Assign old URLs to new URLs
This phase is even more important in a relaunch than in a new build — because you need to protect existing assets (rankings, backlinks, traffic).
Phase 2: Concept and Design (Weeks 2-4)
Just like a new build: create the sitemap, build wireframes, develop design mockups. The difference: You already have a foundation and know what works and what doesn't.
Phase 3: Development and Migration (Weeks 4-7)
The new website is built. In parallel, existing content is migrated, revised, and placed into the new structure. This is often the most labor-intensive part — and the reason why a relaunch costs about as much as a new build.
Phase 4: Testing and Go-Live (Weeks 7-8)
Thorough testing — not just of the new website, but of all redirects as well. Does every old URL redirect correctly? Are all internal links updated? Are the meta tags correct? Only when everything is clean does the new website go live.
For more on the general process of a website project, check out my article How Long Does a Website Take?
Costs and Timeline: Why a Relaunch Often Costs as Much as a New Build
The question always comes up: "Why does the relaunch cost almost exactly the same as a completely new website? The foundation is already there!"
The honest answer: With a relaunch, the foundation is often more of a burden than an advantage. You have:
- Legacy issues that need to be analyzed and cleaned up
- Redirect mappings that need to be carefully planned
- Content migration that's often more time-consuming than creating new content
- SEO risks that need to be managed
- Expectations about the old design that need to be reconciled with the new one
For a typical business website (5-8 pages), you should expect €3,000 – €8,000 net. For more complex websites with a shop, many subpages, or special features, it can be more.
A detailed breakdown of website costs can be found in my article How Much Does a Website Cost?.
The typical timeline is 6-10 weeks — slightly longer than a pure new build, because the analysis and migration phase is added.
Common Relaunch Mistakes: What You Must Avoid
I've seen enough relaunches (and repaired enough of them) that went wrong. Here are the most common mistakes:
1. No Redirect Plan
By far the most common and most expensive mistake. The new website goes live, the old URLs lead nowhere (404 errors), Google deindexes the pages, existing backlinks point to nothing. Ranking loss within days.
Solution: Create and test redirect mapping before the launch. No exceptions.
2. Content Copied One-to-One
"We'll just use the old copy" — I hear this often. But if the old copy was poor (too long, not SEO-optimized, outdated), there's no point in transferring it to the new website. You'll have a new design with old problems.
Solution: Conduct a content audit. Review, revise, or rewrite every piece of text.
3. No Clear Goal Defined
"The website should just look more modern" is not a goal. What should the new website achieve that the old one couldn't? More inquiries? Better Google rankings? Faster load times? Higher time on site?
Without a clear goal, you can't measure the success of the relaunch — and you won't know at the end whether the investment was worth it.
Solution: Define concrete, measurable goals. For example: "30% more contact inquiries within 3 months after the relaunch."
4. Too Many Stakeholders Without Clear Responsibility
When 5 people are debating colors and nobody has the authority to make a decision, the relaunch drags on forever. Every feedback round turns into an endless discussion.
Solution: Designate one person who makes final decisions. Gather feedback, but assign responsibility clearly.
5. Rushing the Launch
The relaunch absolutely has to go live by Friday — so testing, redirects, and SEO checks get skipped. The result: broken links, missing images, lost rankings.
Solution: Better to launch a week later than with errors. The week you save will otherwise cost you weeks of repair work.
Conclusion: Better to Do It Right Once Than Patch Things Up Every 2 Years
A website relaunch is an investment — in time, money, and effort. But if your current website is no longer working, it's the right investment.
Key takeaways:
- Honestly assess whether your website is still up to date — design, technology, content, performance.
- Clearly distinguish between optimization, redesign, and relaunch. Not every old website needs a complete rebuild.
- Plan the relaunch carefully — especially redirects and content audit. This is where it's decided whether you keep your existing rankings or lose them.
- Define clear goals. "Looking more modern" isn't enough. What specifically should the new website do better?
- Invest properly once. A solid website lasts 4-5 years before the next major relaunch is needed. Half-measures cost more in the long run.
If you're unsure whether your website needs a relaunch or whether an optimization would suffice — let's talk about it. I'll take a look at your current website and give you an honest assessment. No sales pressure, no nonsense.
Because sometimes small improvements are enough. And sometimes a clean fresh start is the better investment.