Redesigning a WordPress website is about more than choosing new colors, updating a logo, or making the homepage look more modern.
Before I start changing the design, I want to understand what is already working, what is causing problems, and what the website a/ctually needs to accomplish for the business.
That means I start every redesign by reviewing the existing website from several different angles. I look at the design, content, mobile experience, navigation, performance, WordPress setup, and the overall user experience before deciding what should stay and what needs to change.
Here are the main things I look at before beginning a WordPress website redesign.
I Start With the Business Goals
Before looking at fonts, colors, plugins, or page layouts, I want to understand what the website is supposed to do.
For one business, the main goal might be generating phone calls or contact-form submissions. Another may need to promote services, accept donations, sell products, provide information to the community, or simply create a more professional online presence.
The design should support those goals.
I ask questions such as:
- Who is the website trying to reach?
- What action should visitors take?
- Which services or information matter most?
- Has the business changed since the current website was built?
- What problems does the owner have with the existing site?
Knowing those answers makes it much easier to determine what needs to change.
I Review the Site on Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile
A website can look perfectly acceptable on a desktop computer and still provide a poor experience on a tablet or phone.
I review the site at multiple screen sizes and look for issues such as:
- navigation items overlapping
- text becoming too small
- buttons that are difficult to tap
- images cropping incorrectly
- columns becoming too narrow
- excessive empty space
- sections appearing in the wrong order
- forms that are difficult to complete on a phone
Tablet layouts deserve special attention. They often fall between traditional desktop and mobile breakpoints, which can reveal problems that aren’t obvious when only checking a laptop and phone.
Responsive design isn’t simply about making everything smaller. Each screen size needs to remain easy to read, navigate, and use.
Visitors should be able to understand where to go without having to think about it.
I review the main navigation and ask:
- Are the most important pages easy to find?
- Are there too many menu items?
- Are page names clear to someone unfamiliar with the business?
- Does the menu work properly on tablets and phones?
- Is there an obvious path to contact the business or take the next step?
Sometimes a redesign needs fewer navigation items rather than more.
Clear organization usually makes a website feel more professional before any visual changes are made.
I Review Every Important Page
I don’t evaluate only the homepage.
The homepage may receive the most attention, but visitors often enter a website through a service page, blog post, contact page, or another internal page.
I review the site’s important pages and look for inconsistencies in:
- headings
- spacing
- typography
- button styles
- colors
- image sizes
- content widths
- calls to action
One goal of a redesign is to create a consistent design system so visitors feel like they are using one cohesive website rather than a collection of unrelated pages.
I Evaluate the Existing Content
A redesign does not automatically mean all of the existing content should be replaced.
Some information may still be useful and simply needs to be reorganized or rewritten for clarity.
I look for:
- outdated information
- overly long paragraphs
- duplicate content
- unclear headings
- missing calls to action
- services that are no longer offered
- important information buried too far down the page
- content that could answer common customer questions more directly
Good design and good content need to work together.
A beautiful website will still struggle if visitors cannot quickly understand what the business does and why they should contact it.
I Check the WordPress Installation
The front end of the website is only part of the review.
I also look at what’s happening inside WordPress.
Depending on the site, that may include checking:
- WordPress version
- theme and child theme
- active and inactive plugins
- plugin update status
- PHP compatibility
- page builder
- unused themes or plugins
- backup setup
- security configuration
Older websites sometimes contain plugins or themes that have not been maintained for years. In those situations, immediately updating everything without first understanding the site can create problems.
I want to know what I’m working with before making major changes.
I Review Website Performance
Visitors expect websites to load quickly.
During a redesign review, I look for obvious performance problems such as:
- oversized images
- unnecessary plugins
- poorly optimized backgrounds
- excessive scripts
- slow hosting
- caching problems
- outdated components
Not every performance issue requires rebuilding the entire website, but a redesign is an excellent opportunity to clean up problems that have accumulated over time.
The goal is not to chase a perfect performance score. The goal is to create a site that loads quickly and provides a good experience for real visitors.
I Check Forms and Important Website Functions
I also test the parts of the website that visitors actually interact with.
That can include:
- contact forms
- quote-request forms
- email links
- phone links
- donation forms
- payment forms
- appointment links
- newsletter signup forms
- downloadable files
A form that looks good but doesn’t deliver messages correctly is still a broken form.
I want to understand these functions before rebuilding the pages around them.
I Look for Security and Maintenance Concerns
Older WordPress websites can accumulate security and maintenance problems over time.
That does not automatically mean a site has been compromised, but outdated software deserves attention.
I look for things such as:
- outdated WordPress versions
- abandoned plugins
- plugins that are no longer needed
- unused administrator accounts
- spam comments
- missing backups
- outdated PHP versions
- questionable or unnecessary software
If I find something concerning, I want it addressed as part of the redesign process rather than simply covering the old problems with a new visual design.
I Decide What Should Stay
A redesign does not mean throwing everything away.
If the existing website has strong content, useful functionality, recognizable branding, good photography, or a page structure that already works well, there may be no reason to replace it.
I separate the website into three categories:
Keep: Elements that still work well.
Improve: Elements that are useful but need better design, organization, or functionality.
Replace: Elements that are outdated, unnecessary, or creating problems.
That approach keeps the redesign focused on solving real problems instead of changing things simply for the sake of change.
Then I Build the Redesign Around What I Learned
Once the review is complete, I have a much clearer picture of what the new website needs.
That may include:
- simplifying the navigation
- reorganizing important content
- improving the mobile and tablet layouts
- creating more consistent page designs
- replacing outdated WordPress components
- improving forms and calls to action
- optimizing images and performance
- making the site easier for the business owner to maintain
The final design decisions are based on what I learned during the review.
That is why I prefer to evaluate an existing website before immediately jumping into a redesign.
Thinking About Redesigning Your WordPress Website?
If your website feels outdated, is difficult to use on mobile devices, has become hard to maintain, or simply no longer represents your business, it may be time to take a closer look at what is working and what isn’t.
A good redesign should do more than make the site look newer. It should make the website easier to use, easier to manage, and better aligned with the goals of your business.
If you’d like help reviewing your current website and determining what should come next, start your project or learn more about my website design services.
