Your website looks dated. The design is stale, the content is wrong, and your competitor's new site makes yours look embarrassing. You need to do something — but should you redesign what you have or rebuild from scratch?
When to Redesign
A redesign keeps your current platform and structure but updates the visual design, content, and functionality. Choose a redesign when:
- The platform is solid. Your hosting is fast, the CMS works, and the underlying technology is current.
- Most content is still accurate. Services, team, locations haven't changed dramatically.
- You just need a visual refresh. New colors, fonts, images, and layout — but the bones are good.
- Budget is limited. Redesigns are typically 30-50% cheaper than full rebuilds.
When to Rebuild
A rebuild throws everything away and starts from zero on a new platform. Choose a rebuild when:
- The platform is the problem. WordPress is slow, buggy, hacked, or held together with 30 plugins. No amount of redesigning fixes a broken foundation.
- You're locked into a platform you want to leave. Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy — if you can't export your content, a rebuild is the only way out.
- Your business has fundamentally changed. New services, new market, new positioning. The old site can't be repurposed.
- The site was built by someone who disappeared. No documentation, no access, no way to modify safely.
- Mobile doesn't work. If the site wasn't built responsive, retrofitting is often harder than rebuilding.
The Questions to Ask
- What's my PageSpeed score? If it's below 50, the platform is likely the problem — redesigning won't fix it.
- Can I easily update content? If updating your phone number requires a developer, the system isn't working.
- Is it mobile-responsive? If you have to pinch and zoom on your phone, it needs a rebuild.
- Am I getting hacked or spammed? Security problems usually indicate a platform problem, not a design problem.
- Does it generate leads? If the answer is no, start fresh with a conversion-focused architecture.
The Third Option
At Bindingstone, we eliminate this decision entirely. Start fresh with a custom site that's built right from day one. No legacy platform to wrestle with, no design debt to carry forward, no plugins to manage. $149/month, built in days, maintained forever. Start your free trial.
Ready for a Floor That Lasts?
We Build, Host, and Run the Website. You Run the Business.