1. Gather current access
- Domain registrar login (123-reg, GoDaddy, Google Domains, etc.)
- Current hosting login
- Current CMS login (WordPress, Squarespace, Wix)
- Any DNS or Cloudflare access
- Google Business Profile and, if you have one, Google Analytics
Not every login is needed on day one, but knowing where they are means no frantic hunting later.
2. Write down your five best customers
Not the biggest jobs. The ones you wish every customer was. The new site should be written for those people. Note what they do, where they are, and how they found you.
3. List what the current site does badly
Three to five things, specific. "The homepage does not say what we actually do." "The contact form sends to an inbox nobody checks." "It takes eight seconds to load on my phone." Specific complaints lead to specific fixes.
4. Decide what stays
Is there content worth keeping? Case studies, testimonials, photos of real jobs, team bios. Mark the ones you want carried over. Mark the ones that should quietly die.
5. Book a photo slot
Stock photos age badly. Real photos of real people in the real business make any redesign look 30% more expensive. A local photographer for half a day is usually under £400. Do it in week one, not week six.
6. Agree who signs off
One person. Maybe two. A sign-off by committee is how redesigns run three months long. If it has to be a committee, agree up front how disagreements get resolved.
7. Block time in your own diary
A makeover typically needs four or five short calls over six weeks. Block them now. The ones that slip are the ones that kill momentum.