How to run a content audit before a website redesign
A content audit is a list of everything on your website with a decision against each item. It is the least glamorous part of a redesign and the part that prevents the most problems.
Short answer
List every live address on the site, record what each page is for and how it performs, then mark each one keep, merge, rewrite or retire. Note every form, tool and script that must survive. The finished spreadsheet becomes the basis for the new page list and the redirect map.
Why audit before you design
It is tempting to jump straight to how the new site will look. But design decisions depend on content decisions. You cannot design a menu until you know which pages it needs to hold, and you cannot plan redirects until you know which addresses exist.
An audit also protects you from loss. Older sites accumulate pages that nobody remembers but that still bring in visitors: a blog post from years ago that ranks well, a PDF price list linked from a supplier's site, a landing page from an old campaign. Without an audit, these vanish in the redesign and their traffic goes with them.
What you need
- A spreadsheet. Any spreadsheet app will do.
- Admin access to your website.
- Access to Google Analytics, Search Console or whatever analytics you use, if you have them.
- A few hours for a small site, longer for a large one.
You can also use a crawling tool to list pages automatically. Several offer free versions that cover small sites.
Step 1: List every address
Gather addresses from every source you can find, because each source misses some:
- Your sitemap. Most platforms generate one, often at /sitemap.xml.
- Your content management system. List all pages, posts, products and other content types.
- A crawl of the site. A crawler follows links and finds pages the sitemap may miss.
- Search Console. The Performance report lists pages that have appeared in Google search results. Google's Analytics Help notes that Search Console keeps data for the last 16 months1, so the report can surface old pages that still get occasional traffic.
- Analytics. Landing page reports show where visitors enter the site.
- Files. PDFs, images and documents that are linked directly from other sites or from emails.
Combine everything into one column, remove duplicates and you have your inventory.
Step 2: Record the basics for each page
Add columns for:
- Page title
- What the page is for, in a few words
- Content type (service page, blog post, product, contact, legal and so on)
- Date last updated, if you can find it
- Owner, meaning the person who knows whether the content is accurate
This takes time, but it forces you to look at every page.
Step 3: Add the figures
If you have analytics or Search Console, add columns for:
- Visits or sessions over the last twelve months
- Clicks from Google search over the same period
- Enquiries, bookings or sales that started on the page, if tracked
- Number of other websites linking to the page, if you have a tool that shows this
Do not panic if you have no data. You can still make sensible decisions based on what each page is for and what customers ask about. But if data exists, export it before the redesign starts. Once the old site is gone, so is easy access to its history.
Step 4: Decide what happens to each page
Every page gets one of four labels.
Keep
The page is accurate, useful and performing. It moves to the new site with its content intact, apart from minor updates. If it ranks in search, keep its title and main heading unless they are wrong.
Merge
Two or more pages cover the same topic and would be better as one. Choose the strongest page as the base, fold in anything useful from the others and redirect the others to it.
Rewrite
The topic is worth keeping but the content is out of date, unclear or thin. The page moves to the new site with new or substantially revised content.
Retire
The page serves no purpose: a finished promotion, a discontinued service, a duplicate. It does not move to the new site. Decide whether it should redirect to a relevant page or return a "gone" response. Pages with visits or links should almost always redirect somewhere useful.
| Decision | Typical signs | What happens to the address |
|---|---|---|
| Keep | Accurate, useful, getting visits | Same address if possible, or a permanent redirect |
| Merge | Several pages on one topic | Weaker pages redirect to the merged page |
| Rewrite | Good topic, poor or dated content | Same address if possible, or a permanent redirect |
| Retire | No purpose, no visits, no links | Redirect to a relevant page, or a "gone" response |
Step 5: Record what must not break
Content is not just pages. Add a second sheet listing everything else the site does:
- Contact, quote and booking forms, and where each one sends its email
- Online payment or checkout
- Newsletter sign-up and the email platform it connects to
- Tracking and analytics scripts
- Chat widgets, maps and embedded videos
- Member or customer login areas
- Links printed on vehicles, signs, brochures or business cards
Anything on this list needs a plan for the new site. Printed links in particular are easy to forget and expensive to reprint.
Step 6: Look for gaps
An audit shows what you have. It should also show what is missing. Look at the questions customers ask by phone and email. If the answers are not on the site, note them as new pages or sections. Common gaps include prices or price guidance, service areas, what happens after someone enquires and answers to common objections.
Step 7: Turn the audit into a plan
The finished audit feeds directly into two documents:
- The new page list. Every page marked keep, merge or rewrite, plus any new pages, organised into a structure.
- The redirect map. Every old address that changes, paired with its new destination. Google recommends mapping old addresses to new ones as part of any site move2. Our redirect mapping guide explains how to build it.
Keep the audit spreadsheet after launch. It is the best record you have of what the old site contained.
Common mistakes
- Auditing only the menu. Many valuable pages are not in the menu.
- Deleting old blog posts in bulk. Some will be bringing in visitors. Check the figures first.
- Rewriting pages that rank without a reason. If a page performs well, change it carefully.
- Forgetting files. PDFs and images linked from other sites need redirects too.
- Leaving decisions to the designer. The designer can advise, but you know which content matters to customers.
How long it takes
A five-page brochure site can be audited in an hour. A site with a few hundred pages and a blog might take a couple of days. A store with thousands of products needs a more automated approach, but the same principles apply. Our migration checklist summarises the audit steps alongside the rest of the migration.
Content audit questions
Can I skip the audit for a small site?
For a very small site, the audit might take less than an hour, so it is rarely worth skipping. Even five pages can hide a form that sends to an old email address.
What if I have no analytics?
Make decisions based on what each page is for and what customers ask about. Set up analytics on the new site so you have data next time.
Should every retired page redirect to the home page?
No. Redirecting everything to the home page loses the connection between the old page and a relevant replacement. Redirect to the closest related page, or let a truly obsolete page return a "gone" response.
Sources
Each source was opened and checked against the sentence it supports on 3 November 2026.
- [GA4] Queries report Platform documentation
- Site Moves and Migrations Platform documentation
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