Rebuilding an Old Website: Keep Useful Pages and Plan the Move
Customers using your old website still need the useful pages and a contact route after the redesign.
Decide what deserves to move
An old design doesn't make every page worthless. Some may still explain a service, answer a question or bring someone to the business.
Other pages may describe work you no longer offer. Copying those into a new layout preserves the wrong information.
Start by sorting the content into pages to keep, update, combine or remove. That gives the rebuild a defined job.
If the problem is confined to a few pages, consider repairs first. A complete rebuild needs a reason beyond age.
What changes the amount of work
Page count matters, but it isn't the whole quote. Seventy pages with five common layouts differ from seventy separately designed pages.
Missing images, broken formatting and confusing navigation also need attention. That work belongs in the scope, rather than appearing as a surprise later.
Adding a store or booking feature is separate from migrating existing content. Describe those needs before agreeing on the build.
The public pricing page gives starting offers. It doesn't establish the price of a large migration.
Keep track of the URLs people use
List the existing addresses before changing the structure. A familiar link should still lead to relevant information where possible.
If an address must change, map the old page to its suitable replacement. Permanent redirects can carry visitors to that destination.
Don't treat that mapping as a promise of unchanged search rankings. Google says a significant move can bring fluctuations during recrawling and reindexing.
Where AI can help, and where review remains
I use AI for drafts and repetitive code or content work. The result still needs review against the original material.
Check that headings, photos and service details survived the conversion correctly. A neat new template doesn't prove that the content is complete.
Review the pages on phone and desktop screens. The contact routes need checking before the replacement goes live.
Also agree on who makes later changes. Semi-static PHP pages don't include the editing dashboard people may expect from WordPress.
Set the boundaries before starting
The quote should name the pages, cleanup, added features and launch work it covers. Hosting and subsequent changes need their own clear arrangement.
Timing depends on that work and your review. A fixed number of weeks isn't a useful promise before the site has been assessed.
If the site has been hacked, read the guide to handling a compromised website before choosing a rebuild.
Find out what is worth keeping
Send the old site address and the problems you want solved. I can help define a repair or rebuild scope.