| name | website-audit |
| description | Systematic website analysis, relaunch planning, SEO migration, content audit, and post-launch monitoring for data-driven relaunches. |
Website Audit and Relaunch
No relaunch without thorough analysis. Blind redevelopment repeats old mistakes. Analysis before action, data before opinions.
Scope
Use this skill when you:
- Systematically analyze an existing website
- Plan and structure a relaunch
- Conduct a content audit
- Prepare an SEO migration
- Set up post-launch monitoring
- Create a quick initial assessment (quick audit)
Principles
1. Analysis Before Action
No relaunch without thorough analysis of the existing website.
2. Relaunch Is Not Redesign
A redesign polishes the surface. A relaunch reworks content, technology, structure, AND design holistically.
3. Data Over Opinions
Decisions are based on analytics, user feedback, and technical measurements.
4. Visitor Needs Meet Business Goals
A successful relaunch serves visitors better AND supports business objectives more effectively.
5. Nothing Works Without a Content Strategy
The best layouts are useless with outdated, irrelevant content.
6. Preserve SEO Continuity
A relaunch that destroys rankings is an expensive setback. Redirects and SEO migration are mandatory.
7. A Relaunch Is Not an End in Itself
"We need something new" is not a goal. Concrete, measurable objectives come before the first wireframe.
Rules
DO: Systematically Work Through the 5 Analysis Dimensions
1. Technical Analysis: Load times (PageSpeed, GTmetrix), mobile usability, broken links, HTTPS, CMS currency.
2. Usability Analysis: Navigation paths, forms on all devices, CTA visibility, search functionality, Nielsen heuristics.
3. Content Analysis: Currency, user relevance, structure (subheadings, paragraphs), duplicates, content gaps.
4. SEO Analysis: Keyword rankings, meta titles/descriptions, internal linking, crawling errors, backlink profile.
5. Conversion Analysis: Conversion goals and current rates, user flow, drop-off rates, heatmaps, and session recordings.
See references/audit-checklisten.md for details and templates for each dimension.
DO: Clarify Internally Before the Relaunch
- Timeline: When should the new website go live?
- Budget: What is realistically available?
- Points of Contact: Who decides, who delivers content?
- Hosting and Access: Where is the website hosted, who has credentials?
- Internal Capacity: Can the team contribute?
DO: Conduct a Content Audit Before the Relaunch
- INVENTORY all content (text, images, downloads, videos).
- CATEGORIZE: Keep / Revise / Delete / Create new.
- CRITERIA: Currency, relevance, SEO performance, quality.
DO: Conduct a Competitive Analysis
- ANALYZE at least 3–5 direct competitors.
- EVALUATE: Design, content, features, site structure, SEO visibility.
- DOCUMENT: What are others doing better? Where are the gaps?
DO: Plan the SEO Migration
- DOCUMENT all existing URLs.
- CREATE 301 redirects for every URL that changes.
- PROTECT existing rankings and backlinks.
- MONITOR Google Search Console after launch.
- UPDATE sitemap and robots.txt.
DO: Define Measurable Relaunch Goals
Examples: Load time under 3 seconds, 20% more organic traffic within 6 months, doubling newsletter sign-ups, reducing bounce rate by 15%.
DON'T: Try to Redo Everything
- Identify what works and carry it over.
- Migrate pages with strong rankings with particular care.
DON'T: Launch Without a Testing Phase
- Test before go-live: Functional, visual, across devices, SEO-related.
DON'T: Forget SEO Redirects
- Every old URL needs a 301 redirect. Forgotten redirects = lost rankings.
DON'T: Stop After Launch
- The relaunch is the beginning. Monitoring, optimization, and content maintenance are ongoing responsibilities.
Patterns
Relaunch Process (7 Phases)
- Analysis (5 dimensions), 2. Strategy (goals, positioning, content), 3. Concept (IA, wireframes), 4. Design, 5. Implementation (development, content, SEO), 6. Testing (QA, cross-browser, performance), 7. Launch and monitoring. See
references/relaunch-phasen.md for details.
Quick Audit (2 Hours)
For an initial assessment: 1. PageSpeed test (15 min), 2. Mobile check on 3 devices (15 min), 3. Navigation and key pages (30 min), 4. Quick SEO check (30 min), 5. Test conversion path (15 min), 6. 5-point summary (15 min).
Content Migration Matrix
For large volumes: Table with old URL, new URL, redirect, status, responsible person, deadline.
Post-Launch Monitoring (30-60-90 Days)
- Days 1–7: Daily: 404 errors, crawling, redirects, uptime.
- Days 8–30: Weekly: Rankings, traffic, conversions, user feedback.
- Days 31–60: Bi-weekly: Comparison with pre-launch baseline.
- Days 61–90: Monthly: ROI assessment, prioritize optimizations.
Stakeholder Relaunch Briefing
At kickoff: One-pager with current state, reasons, goals (measurable), budget, timeline, responsibilities, decision-making process.
Anti-Patterns
The "We Need Something New" Relaunch
Relaunch without concrete goals. Significant effort, no measurable progress. Solution: At least 3 measurable goals before the first wireframe.
The Tech-First Relaunch
New CMS adopted, everything else "will work itself out." New technology, same old problems. Solution: Content strategy and concept first, then technology selection.
The Forgotten SEO Migration
New URLs without redirects. Ranking loss, traffic collapse. Recovery takes months. Solution: URL mapping, 301 redirects, post-launch verification.
The Never-Ending Relaunch
Scope grows constantly, no end in sight. Solution: Fixed scope and timeline. MVP approach: core pages first, then iterative expansion.
Analysis Paralysis
Endless analysis without implementation. Solution: Limit the analysis phase to 2–4 weeks. "Good enough" is sufficient for informed decisions.
Checklist
Before the Relaunch
During the Relaunch
After the Relaunch
Cross-References
customer-journey — Journey analysis is a core component of the auditdesign-process — The relaunch follows the design process starting from the concept phaseai-design-workflow — AI tools can accelerate analysis and content migrationlanding-pages — Existing landing pages are part of the audit scopeusability — Usability analysis as one of the 5 audit dimensionswebdesign-review — Review methodology for the analysis phase
