Short answer: when you are choosing between a website redesign or rebuild, pick a redesign when the site still works and you can log in, but it looks dated or explains your services badly. Pick a rebuild when you have lost access, the site breaks on a phone, or every update causes new problems. If only details are wrong, a few fixes may be all you need.
If your website looks dated, loads slowly or brings in fewer enquiries than it should, you have those three options. They cost different amounts and take different amounts of time, so it helps to know which one you are asking for before you request a quote.
This guide is for owners of small and local service businesses in South Africa who already have a website and are unsure what to do with it.
The three options in plain terms
Fixes are small changes on the site you already have: new prices, a corrected phone number, a fresh photo, a broken form repaired. If the site works and only the details are wrong, this is usually all you need. On a Shift Local Hosting + Maintenance plan, content changes are quoted separately.
A redesign keeps the same platform and most of the content, and changes how the site looks and reads: the layout, the order of sections, the buttons, the text on key pages. It makes sense when the site works technically but is hard to use or does not explain your services clearly.
A rebuild starts again on a new foundation. The useful content moves across, but the site itself is new. It makes sense when the current site cannot be fixed at a sensible cost.
Website redesign or rebuild: signs a redesign is enough
- The site loads and works on a phone, but the call and WhatsApp buttons are hard to find.
- Your services have changed and the pages no longer match what you do.
- The text is long and vague, and visitors cannot tell where you work or how to contact you.
- You can still log in, edit pages and update the site without help.
- The domain, hosting and email are in your name and working.
Signs you probably need a rebuild
- You cannot log in, or the person who built the site has disappeared with the access.
- The site breaks on a phone and fixing it means changing most pages anyway. Google mostly looks at the phone version of a site when it decides where to show it, as its mobile-first indexing guide explains.
- Plugins or themes are years out of date and updating them breaks the site.
- Every small change costs money or takes weeks because the setup is complicated.
- The site was built for a different business model, such as an online shop you no longer run.
If two or three of these apply, a rebuild is often cheaper over a year than repeated repairs. It also gives you a chance to drop pages nobody visits.
How do you check your own site in 10 minutes?
You do not need technical knowledge for a first check. Open the site on your own phone and try to do what a customer would do:
- Find your phone number and tap it. Does it start a call?
- Tap the WhatsApp button, if there is one. Does it open a chat with the right number?
- Send yourself a message through the contact form. Does it arrive?
- Read the first screen of the homepage. Does it say what you do and where you work?
- Run the homepage through Google’s free PageSpeed Insights and look at the mobile result.
Write down what failed. A list like this makes the website redesign or rebuild question much easier to answer, and it is useful to send with a quote request.
Questions to answer before you ask for a quote
You will get a clearer answer, and a more accurate quote, if you can say:
- What is the website address, and who controls the domain and hosting?
- Can you log in, and on which platform is the site built?
- Which pages bring in calls or enquiries today, if you know?
- What do you want changed: the look, the content, the features, or all three?
- Which services and areas should the new version show?
- Do you have current photos of your work, team or vehicles?
Do not worry if you cannot answer all of them. Missing details can be checked before the quote is prepared.
How Shift Local quotes this work
A new website build starts from R5,950 once-off. Redesign and improvement work on an existing site is scoped and quoted separately, because it depends on what the current site is built on and what you want changed. Ongoing hosting and maintenance is from R750 a month.
If you are comparing options, the website cost guide explains what changes a quote, and how to choose a web designer in Cape Town covers what to check in each quote.
Send us your website address and what you want changed, and we will tell you whether fixes, a redesign or a rebuild makes more sense before you commit to anything.
Website redesign or rebuild: common questions
How much does a website redesign cost?
It depends on what the current site is built on and what you want changed, so Shift Local scopes and quotes redesign work separately. A new website build starts from R5,950 once-off, and quotes are free.
Is a rebuild always more expensive than a redesign?
Not always. If a redesign would mean changing most pages on a site that is hard to edit or out of date, starting again on a new foundation can cost less over a year than patching the old one.
How long does a rebuild take?
Typical turnaround is about seven working days, depending on project requirements and how quickly the required information and feedback are provided. Some projects are completed sooner.
What should I send to get a redesign or rebuild quote?
Send your website address, what you want changed, and whether you can still log in. If you know which pages bring in calls or enquiries, add that too.
