Maybe your website looks a little … dated. Maybe it’s not delivering enough leads. Maybe there are missing features you need. Should you rebuild the whole site from scratch? Or should you refresh it with a few tweaks here and there instead?
There’s no easy answer to the ‘website rebuild versus fresh’ question. To borrow an SEO truism, it depends – on your CMS, your objectives, your budget, and your timelines. In this article, I’ll share a structured process you can follow to work out which option makes more sense for your business.
(If you have questions, just send me an email at duncan@ionline.com.au. I’m more than happy to chat – and, no, I won’t rope you into a ‘solutions consultation’.)
Definitions: Website Rebuild Versus Refresh
If you bought an old house with a poor layout and a rotting frame, you wouldn’t spend money trying to fix it. You’d knock it down and start again. On the other hand, if the house was mostly fine and just needed some layout changes or interior touch-ups, you’d renovate instead.
Your website is no different. A rebuild is exactly what it sounds like: you create a new site from the ground up, import any content you want to keep, then get rid of the old one. A refresh involves making changes to your existing site – and, just like a home renovation, those changes can range from light copy and design updates to heavy structural remodelling.
A website rebuild means replacing your existing site with a new one.
A website refresh means updating your existing site by modifying the site structure, changing copy, or refreshing the visual design. (‘Website redesign’ is a synonymous term.)
How to Choose Between a Rebuild and a Refresh
Deciding between a rebuild and a refresh isn’t always easy. A visually outdated site, for example, can ‘feel’ like it needs to be rebuilt – but, if the content management system (CMS) and copy are in good condition, it might be faster, cheaper and safer to simply update the design. On the other hand, a new, clean-looking site might seem like the perfect candidate for a refresh, but, if the underlying CMS isn’t fit for purpose, a rebuild might be the only way forward.
Here’s how to tell exactly which option is the right marketing decision for your business. As you read on, keep 2 rules of thumb in mind:
- A rebuild is often more cost-effective.
- But, the larger your site is, the more costly and risk-intensive a rebuild becomes.
Sometimes, a website is obviously not worth saving, or so small that the cost of a rebuild is negligible. If that’s the case for your business, don’t bother finishing this article. Learn how a rebuild works instead, then find an agency to partner with.
Step 1: Create a Business Case
Start by developing a business case. In other words, why do you want to spend time and money changing your website? Ask questions like:
- What’s wrong with the current site?
- What impact do you estimate a refresh/rebuild will have on your revenue?
- Phrased differently: what is the opportunity cost of not updating your site?
- Is this an urgent project (due to a missing or broken functionality) or can it be pushed back?
- What else could you be spending this project’s budget on?
Remember: you won’t necessarily know the scope of the required changes until you complete Step 2 (audits). The main purpose of this step is to justify further exploration in the form of an audit. Once you have that information, your business case will evolve accordingly.
Even if you’re a business owner, this is still worth doing. Many people hold strong emotions about their websites – and, while that isn’t a bad thing, it can skew decision making (in both directions). A business case can help you be clear-eyed about what will and won’t move the revenue needle.
Step 2: Conduct CRO and Technical Audits
Once you’ve built the foundations of your business case, engage a marketing agency to conduct conversion rate optimisation (CRO) and technical audits.
A CRO audit focuses on identifying things that will help your site convert more ICP-fit visitors to leads. It normally involves a combination of data analysis (via GA4 and tools like Microsoft Clarity), heuristic evaluation, and manual exploration.
CRO audits can vary in scope, a lot. Look for an agency that evaluates all aspects of your site:
- The site structure and information architecture
- The user flow
- The UX and UI design
- The copy and visual assets
Because a CRO audit only covers the front end of your site (the part users interact with), you’ll need a technical audit as well. That will involve checking the site for:
- feature capability (can your CMS do everything you want it to?)
- page load speed
- URL-related issues
- security vulnerabilities
- platform support (is your CMS still regularly updated by the developers?).
Both audits should be concluded with detailed reports that include prioritised action lists. Our action lists, for example, have multiple prioritisation criteria, such as a general ‘Priority’ grade, a ‘Readiness’ grade, an ‘Ease’ grade, and a ‘Level of Client Involvement’ grade. We also include explanatory rationales and notes with each action item – any stakeholder can pick up the report, read it, and understand exactly why we’ve recommended something.
Step 3: Estimate Costs
Ideally, whoever undertakes your audits will add an estimated implementation cost to each item. (If they don’t, ask them about pricing.) You’ve now got an idea of how much it will cost to action each one as part of a website refresh.
The next step is to get quotes for a website rebuild. To make sure you’re comparing like for like, put together a spec sheet when you send through your requests for quotes. Send it to at least 3 different website development agencies to get a sense of market rates.
Now, sum the cost of the audit implementations and compare them to the quotes you’ve received. Is it substantially cheaper? Or are they roughly comparable? Price shouldn’t be the only factor in your decision, but many business owners underestimate exactly how much a refresh will cost.
Cash flow will also play a role. A new website is normally billed in progress payments over a few months, whereas changes to an existing website will often be charged at an ad hoc hourly rate or via fixed upfront payments for batch implementation. That means, if your cash flow is constricted, a refresh might be a more viable option.
Step 4: Think About Timelines
Once you’ve received quotes, ask each of the agencies for a delivery schedule. (Assume a start date of 2 weeks later to make things simple for them and you.) A good agency will be able to provide approximate delivery dates for both a refresh and a rebuild.
Keep in mind that delivery dates will always be contingent upon information provision and approvals. Think of information about your business like the raw materials a builder uses for a house – low-quality information or delayed provision will lead to a slower, less-fit website build.
The same principle holds true for approvals. Websites, like physical buildings, follow a linear build sequence. That means, if there’s a delay approving something, work often can’t proceed on the next stage. You should aim to provide clear, actionable feedback within the timelines you agree upon with your chosen agency.
Step 5: Make Your Decision
You’ve reached your first decision gate. You have all the information you need. Now, you need to decide: rebuild, refresh, or wait? Make the call, pick your agency, and get started. Good luck.
