Do I need a redesign or a new website?

A redesign keeps the same platform and structure, and updates the visuals: new colours, fonts, layouts and photos. A rebuild replaces what the site is built on, usually because the old foundation is slow, hard to edit or tied to a platform you don’t want to keep paying for.

In practice, most small-business sites that “need a redesign” actually need a rebuild, because the problems people notice (slow on phones, awkward to update, not showing on Google) live underneath the design.

A visual refresh on the same foundation can be the right call if:

• The site loads quickly on a phone already.
• You can update it yourself without breaking anything.
• It shows up on Google for your business name and main services.
• You own it, and you’re happy with where it’s hosted.
• It just looks dated: old photos, old colours, cramped layout.

A rebuild is usually the better investment if:

• It takes more than a few seconds to load on a phone.
• Every change means emailing someone and waiting.
• It’s built on a page builder or a pile of plugins you’re afraid to update.
• You can’t find it on Google, even for your own business name.
• You don’t own it, or you’re paying a monthly fee to a platform you’d like to leave.
• Your business has changed, and the site no longer describes what you do.

A rebuild doesn’t mean starting from nothing. Your domain, your content and, importantly, your Google rankings can all carry across. The key is redirecting every old page address to its new equivalent, so links people have shared and pages Google knows about still lead somewhere.

Your photos and copy come across too. Often this is the moment to tidy them up: replace stock photos with real ones, cut pages nobody visits and rewrite the homepage around what customers actually ask.

For the sites I build, a redesign and a rebuild cost the same, because I build every site by hand either way: from $1,000 for up to three pages (the founding-client rate until 31 December 2026), plus $150 for each extra page. The full breakdown is on the pricing page.

The bigger difference is long-term cost. A rebuild that removes a monthly platform fee or ends paying someone for every small change usually pays for itself.

You don’t have to decide in the abstract. Send me your current site and I’ll build a working preview of the new homepage in about 7 business days. Put it next to your current site and the answer is usually obvious. If it isn’t better, you haven’t paid anything.