Planning a redesign
Changing website providers? Check the domain and email first.
Before replacing a website, identify domain control, DNS, email, booking links and important URLs. Use a handoff checklist without sharing passwords.
Before replacing a website, identify domain control, DNS, email, booking links and important URLs. Use a handoff checklist without sharing passwords.
Before approving a website move, establish who controls the domain, where DNS is managed and which company runs the business email. These may be different accounts. A redesigned homepage does not answer those questions.
This guide is a planning checklist. It is not a set of instructions to delete DNS records or change a live practice's systems. Have the authorized person review the exact configuration and proposed changes before any cutover.
Separate the moving parts
The domain registrar manages the domain registration. DNS publishes records used to locate services. Website hosting serves the pages. Email hosting handles mail. In DNS, address records and mail-routing records have different purposes; changing website hosting does not itself require choosing a new email provider. A nameserver change can nevertheless affect the wider DNS configuration, so it deserves a complete review. S8
Record the current providers and authorized administrators without copying passwords into an intake form. Confirm recovery contacts and access through supported delegated permissions. Paying a web invoice does not prove you control the domain account.
Create a handoff inventory
Use these rows: domain registration and expiry; DNS provider; website host/platform; email provider; important booking/contact destinations; form delivery; important public page addresses; approved media/content; analytics/search-property access if applicable.
For each row note the current provider, authorized owner, what is intended to change and how it will be checked. “Nothing changes” is a valid plan item. Unknown ownership is a blocker to resolve, not a field an AI should guess.
Use these rows: domain registration and expiry; DNS provider; website host/platform; email provider; important booking/contact destinations; form delivery; important public page addresses; approved media/content; analytics/search-property access if applicable.
For each row note the current provider, authorized owner, what is intended to change and how it will be checked. “Nothing changes” is a valid plan item. Unknown ownership is a blocker to resolve, not a field an AI should guess.
Preserve the useful page addresses
A new design may keep the same URLs, or it may require a documented old-to-new map. Where important pages genuinely move, relevant redirects help visitors and search engines find their replacements. Do not send every old page to the homepage or assume migration can never affect search visibility. Google's site-move guidance treats redirects and ongoing monitoring as part of the process, not an instant ranking guarantee. S9
The migration checklist should include internal navigation, old links, the sitemap and key contact paths. You do not need to erase good content to make the design feel new.
Ask for a plan you can review
A practical transition plan names the approved site version, intended domain/DNS changes, information and tools being preserved, authorized operator, checks before and after launch, and how to recover if verification fails. Keep the earlier working state until the new one has been tested as planned.
Before canceling the former service, understand what that cancellation removes. It might affect hosting, licensed assets, backups or assistance. Contract and export rights vary. Do not assume the right to obtain a whole proprietary platform or transfer every stock image license. Equally, the status of your own supplied material should be stated clearly before purchase.
Three questions worth asking in writing
The answers should refer to your actual setup. “We take care of everything” is not specific enough when account access and different providers are involved.
The goal is not to make a move sound risk-free. It is to make the responsibilities and checks visible before anything changes. A design sample should leave the current site untouched; a real launch needs separate approval.
- Will you need to change the nameservers, or only specific website records?
- What preserves our email and current booking destination?
- What exactly will you verify, and what is the recovery plan?
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