The fastest way to ruin a rebuild is to skip the inventory. Before you change templates, migrate pages, or rewrite anything, do a quick review of what the old site already has and what it still needs. This checklist helps you decide what to keep, what to rewrite, and what to retire—without losing the useful bits or copying the broken ones.
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Start with an inventory (not a vibe)
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Make a list of the pages and sections you actually have. For most sites, that means more than “top navigation + homepage.” Include key landing pages, blog posts, resource pages, and any forms or account-related entry points.
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- Collect the URL list: export from your analytics/crawl, or pull a sitemap.
- Group by intent: “learn,” “compare,” “download,” “contact,” “support,” “sell,” etc.
- Mark your role for each page: primary entry, supporting detail, seasonal, or internal/legacy.
- Note what’s in the page: copy, images, downloads, embedded videos, tables, FAQs, and any gated content.
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Output goal: a single worksheet you can sort and filter. No heroics—just visibility.
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Identify the pages that still serve a purpose
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Not every URL deserves to be rebuilt. Some pages are still valuable because people find them, share them, or rely on them to decide.
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- Check real traffic and engagement: identify pages that users visit and interact with.
- Look at inbound links: if other sites still link to a URL, that page likely matters (even if the content is old).
- Review lead/support paths: pages that drive contact, bookings, or support tickets deserve extra care.
- Assess “information accuracy”: if the page answers a current question correctly, keep it.
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Output goal: a “keep” list with a confidence rating (high/medium/low) and a short reason.
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Separate evergreen content from outdated references
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Old sites tend to age in predictable ways: dates become wrong, policies change, product/feature lists shrink, and links rot. You want to isolate what can be updated cheaply from what needs a rewrite or retirement.
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- Flag time-bound details: pricing, availability, deadlines, “last updated” dates, and version numbers.
- Spot outdated screenshots: if the UI changed, keep the concept but refresh the visuals.
- Mark internal references: “see the next page,” “as described above,” or embedded links that break elsewhere.
- Look for duplicated answers: if multiple pages cover the same topic, consolidation may be better than rebuilding everything.
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If a page is “almost right,” consider rewriting only the stale parts and preserving the structure readers already understand.
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Check navigation and broken links (before migration)
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During rebuilds, link issues usually show up at the worst time—right when you’re migrating content. Catch them earlier.
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- Verify internal navigation: does every important page have a clear path from the main menus?
- Find broken links: both internal and external. Decide whether to fix, replace, or remove.
- Audit anchor text: links should describe the destination, not “click here.”
- Handle redirects deliberately: when you change URLs, keep user intent intact with 301 redirects where appropriate.
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For URL and crawl basics, it helps to review Google guidance on redirects. (Add your own logging so you can validate outcomes after launch.)
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Decide what to rewrite versus remove
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Once you know what matters and what’s stale, the final decision is straightforward: keep, update, or retire. The trick is being explicit.
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| Page status | What you do | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Keep as-is | Rebuild with minimal changes | Only if the content is still accurate and navigable |
| Rewrite/refresh | Update claims, sections, visuals, and links | Watch for missing context or broken references |
| Consolidate | Merge overlapping content into one stronger page | Preserve key inbound URLs via redirects |
| Retire | Remove content that no longer serves users | Use redirects to a close alternative when possible |
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Output goal: a final worksheet with an action for each URL and a note about the redirect/placement plan.
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Turn the checklist into a tiny workflow
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If you want this to be repeatable, shrink it into a loop your team can run whenever the site changes:
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- Inventory URLs → group by intent
- Score “still useful” pages
- Mark stale parts (dates, policies, screenshots, links)
- Audit navigation + link health
- Pick keep/update/consolidate/retire and document redirects
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Next, connect this to your broader site plan: start with the Home page, then check About and Contact to ensure your rebuilt content supports the same paths for visitors.
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Sources
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- Google Search Central: redirects 301 vs 302
- web.dev: redirect basics
- W3C: URI/URL identification fundamentals
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