Start from the complaints, not the feeling
“The site looks dated” is a feeling. Underneath it there are usually three or four specific complaints: it is slow, we cannot edit it, the enquiry form does not work properly, it looks wrong on phones.
Write them down. Each maps to a different scope, and frequently the list is satisfied by the cheapest tier.
The three tiers
| Tier | What changes | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refresh | Colours, type, imagery, spacing | £3,000–£10,000 | 3–6 weeks |
| Rebuild | Structure, templates, content model | £10,000–£30,000 | 8–14 weeks |
| Replatform | The underlying system as well | £20,000–£60,000+ | 12–20 weeks |
A refresh does more than people expect
Modern typography, sensible spacing, a restrained palette and better photography transform how a site feels without touching its structure. It is the highest ratio of visible improvement to cost available.
If the site would be fine were it not for how it looks, a refresh is the answer. Spending three times as much to rebuild the same structure in a new skin is a common and avoidable mistake.
When you genuinely need a rebuild
- The structure obstructs the message — important things are three clicks deep
- Content types cannot be modelled properly, so everything is a page
- Templates are so rigid that every new page needs a developer
- Mobile is an afterthought in the underlying markup rather than a styling problem
When replatforming is justified
The platform is unsupported, the editing experience blocks your team, or you cannot integrate with systems you now depend on. Those are structural reasons.
“We want to be on something modern” is not, on its own. Ask what specifically becomes possible that is not possible now.
Whatever the tier, protect what works
Keep the URLs, keep the content that ranks, keep the conversion paths that convert. The most expensive redesign is the one that looks better and converts worse.
Take a baseline of traffic and enquiries before the work starts, so you can tell which of those happened.