A website redesign is worth considering when several measurable signs add up: speed outside the thresholds Google recommends at the 75th percentile, pages that are hard to read on a phone, form enquiries that never arrive, services or recent work missing from the site, and a CMS that is no longer updated. A single sign can often be fixed without a redesign. You can run the seven checks below without technical skills.
What are the signs it’s time to redesign your website?
Start with the homepage and with the page for the service that brings you the most enquiries.
| Sign | Check you can run | Threshold | When a fix is enough |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slow website | Run PageSpeed Insights on the homepage and on a service page, mobile tab. | LCP (loading) ≤ 2.5 s, INP (interactivity) ≤ 200 ms and CLS (visual stability) ≤ 0.1, measured at the 75th percentile of page loads (web.dev). | Only one metric fails and the tool points to a specific element, such as an image or a script. |
| Pages rated Poor in Search Console | Open the Core Web Vitals report, first for mobile, then for desktop. | No URL group rated Poor. URLs are grouped as Poor, Need improvement or Good, based on real-world usage data. A "No data available" screen means the property is new or there is not enough Chrome user data. | Only one URL group is affected. Once fixed, validation tracks the issue over 28 days. |
| Hard to read on mobile | On your phone, read one service page in full, then look for a way to contact you. | You can read the service and find the contact details. The mobile site contains the same content as the desktop site: Google uses the mobile version for indexing and ranking (Google Search Central). | The problem is limited to one block or to the menu. |
| Enquiries that never arrive | Send a test enquiry through the form using fictional details, then check that it arrives and read the message shown to the visitor. | The enquiry arrives and the visitor sees a confirmation. | Only the sending of messages is at fault. |
| A current service missing from the site | Compare the services you sell today with the pages on the site. | Each service says who it is for, what it includes and how to start. | The site structure lets you add a page. |
| Out-of-date portfolio | Compare the latest project shown with the latest project you delivered. | Your recent projects appear on the site, with the location and the work carried out. | The CMS lets you add them yourself. |
| CMS or plugins not updated | Look for pending updates in the site admin area, or ask your provider. | No pending security updates: the NCSC says software updates must be installed as soon as they are released, and WordPress recommends you always update to the latest version. | Updates apply without breaking the site. |
Several rows failing at once, or successive fixes that do not solve the problem, are a reason to consider a redesign.
Slow website: what does PageSpeed Insights measure?
PageSpeed Insights shows two kinds of data (Google for Developers). Field data comes from real Chrome users (the CrUX dataset) and covers the previous 28 days. Lab data comes from Lighthouse, which analyses the page in a simulated environment: it helps you find the cause of a problem.
In PageSpeed Insights, a recently published or little-visited page may not have enough field data. The tool then falls back to data for the whole site, and sometimes shows no real-user data at all (Google for Developers). Lab data remains available for diagnosis. The LCP, INP and CLS thresholds apply to the 75th percentile of real visits (web.dev).
When is a redesign not needed?
A redesign replaces the structure, the pages and often the technology of the site. It is not needed in the following cases:
- A single sign, with a cause the check identifies. An oversized image, a script or a misconfigured form can each be fixed on their own. Run the check again afterwards.
- A copy or offer problem on a technically sound site. Rewriting the pages concerned, or adding a service page, is enough.
- An up-to-date CMS you are comfortable using. Keep it. Since WordPress 3.7, most sites apply minor and security updates automatically (WordPress).
If the technology itself is the question, the article on keeping WordPress or moving to a custom site compares both options for a Swiss SME.
Why redo a site that was already migrated? The Ahmed Ghattour & Co case
Ahmed Ghattour & Co had a WordPress site. Ahmed Ghattour contacted me to bring it up to date. Early in my career, I migrated it to a React site (HTML, CSS) in English and Arabic, with Lighthouse scores above 90. That first version, delivered in 2026, is still online.
Measurements from the Lighthouse audit I captured when that first version was delivered:
- main content load (LCP): from 13.4 s to 3.0 s;
- desktop SEO score: from 100 to 91.
Both values come from a lab audit; they do not measure the real visits counted at the 75th percentile. The lower SEO score is deliberate: it comes from the canonical tag chosen between the site’s versions.
I am now rebuilding the site free of charge. My skills have progressed since that first version, and I do not want a client who trusted me to keep a site below my current standard. The new version is in preparation; the Ahmed Ghattour & Co case study presents the project.
What does a redesign with Eljadi WORKS cover?
The package covers a complete redesign for the same price as a new site: up to 7 pages in one language, copy rewritten from your information and 3 rounds of feedback. The website redesign in Geneva page sets out this scope.
Before every launch, I run the following checks:
- the site works, with no bugs or inconsistencies;
- local penetration tests, proportionate to how sensitive the site is;
- FADP/GDPR leak tests: no data or requests sent to an unauthorised server, and consent respected;
- a Lighthouse audit;
- a search for known vulnerabilities in the site’s dependencies and their own dependencies.
The site goes live only when everything passes. These checks are neither a certified security audit nor a guarantee of legal compliance.
How do you keep your old site’s addresses?
A complete redesign often changes the pages and their addresses. Before the switch, list the domain name, the existing addresses and the contact details used on the site.
Each useful address stays in place or leads, through a redirect, to the page that replaces it. The domain and contact details stay the ones your clients know.
The method, from listing the addresses to setting up redirects, is covered in the article on keeping your addresses and search rankings during a redesign.
Sources
- Web Vitals, web.dev (Google), last updated 31 October 2024, accessed 5 October 2026.
- About PageSpeed Insights, Google for Developers, last updated 21 October 2024, accessed 5 October 2026.
- Core Web Vitals report, Search Console Help, no date shown, accessed 5 October 2026.
- Mobile site and mobile-first indexing best practices, Google Search Central, last updated 10 December 2025, accessed 5 October 2026.
- Measures to secure content management systems (CMS), National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), no date shown, accessed 5 October 2026.
- Updating WordPress, WordPress documentation, last updated 15 September 2024, accessed 5 October 2026.
