Website redesign for Australian businesses

When a redesign is the right call, and when it is not

A redesign makes sense when the site looks dated, loads slowly on phones, cannot be edited without a developer, or no longer matches what you sell. It is the wrong answer when the real problem is thin content or a poor offer. A new coat of paint will not fix either.

Many Australian sites were built five or more years ago, before mobile-first indexing and Core Web Vitals became ordinary expectations. Others have grown by adding pages one at a time, so navigation no longer makes sense. We start by measuring what works today, so we know what to keep. Our website redesign checklist shows the questions we ask first.

Protecting the traffic you already have

The biggest risk in any redesign is losing rankings. A new site with new URLs and no redirects can drop out of Google within weeks. We keep a full inventory of existing URLs, note which ones earn clicks in Search Console, and decide for each one whether to keep it, merge it or retire it. Every changed address gets a permanent 301 redirect to the closest new page.

If the new site will move to a different platform or domain, read our website migration checklist as well. A domain change adds more risk than a design change and needs extra care.

Australian details we check during a redesign

• Accessibility: the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 covers discrimination in access to goods and services, and WCAG 2.2 AA is the standard most Australian organizations aim for. We build to it and test with a keyboard and a screen reader. Check with your lawyer about your own exposure.
• Pricing display: consumer prices in Australia are expected to include GST, so we make sure product and service prices are shown GST-inclusive, with GST noted on invoices and quotes for business buyers.
• Consumer law: claims about price, savings, reviews and refunds fall under the Australian Consumer Law. We review old copy for statements you can no longer support, such as expired offers or unverified testimonials.
• Privacy: update the privacy policy to match what the new site collects, in line with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles, if your business is covered by them.
• Email consent: forms and newsletters should capture consent and include unsubscribe, as the Spam Act 2003 requires.
• Domain and identity: if you hold a .com.au name, auDA rules require an Australian presence, and many firms show their ABN in the footer. We keep both visible.

Our Australia web design page explains the general approach for Australian builds.

Working across time zones

We work remotely from India, so the working day overlaps with Australia's morning and early afternoon. Sydney and Melbourne are 4.5 to 5.5 hours ahead of Pune depending on daylight saving, Brisbane is 4.5 hours ahead all year, and Perth is 2.5 hours ahead. We book weekly demos in that overlap, you get one named lead, and feedback you leave at the end of your day is usually worked on while you sleep.

Launch timing matters. We avoid the weeks around EOFY on 30 June, the Christmas to Boxing Day trading period, and Click Frenzy if you sell online, unless there is a reason to launch then. A calm launch window means any fault can be fixed without lost sales.

Pricing

Projects start at $1,500 and our rate is $30 an hour. A small brochure site with a handful of pages sits near the start. Price rises with page count, number of templates, custom features, content migration, ecommerce, and the number of review rounds. We quote a fixed price after a short call and a look at your current site, within one working day. See the website redesign cost guide for typical ranges and the website redesign service page for scope.

Prices are in US dollars. Your quote will state the amount clearly, so you can convert at the rate on the day you pay and budget for any bank fees.