Should I fix my website or rebuild it?

Signs that a fix is enough

• You can write the problems down as a short list, for example a form that does not send, a layout that breaks on phones, a slow home page, or a checkout error.
• The site runs on a current platform such as Shopify, WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or Webflow, and its theme and add-ons still receive updates.
• The site brings in enquiries or sales when it is working properly.
• The design is a few years old but is clear, readable and works on a phone.

Most problems on small business websites fall into this group. A site that is dated in appearance but sound underneath can often be improved in stages, with new images, tidier pages and faster loading.

Signs that a rebuild is due

• The platform is no longer supported. Magento 1, which stopped receiving security updates in 2020, and Adobe Muse, which was discontinued in the same year, are examples. A site on unsupported software becomes less secure every year and fewer people are able to work on it.
• The site cannot be updated safely. If updating WordPress, the theme or the plugins breaks the site every time, or the theme has been abandoned by its developer, updates get skipped and security problems build up.
• The site was built by hand in a way that only the original developer understands, and that person is no longer available.
• You are paying for the same kind of repair repeatedly. Add up what the last year or two of fixes cost. If the total is approaching the price of a new site and the problems keep returning, the money is better spent on a rebuild.
• The business has outgrown the platform. Common examples are a brochure site that now needs a proper shop, a shop that needs stock kept in step with other systems, trade pricing, or selling in several currencies, and a builder plan that cannot do what you need at any price.

A rough cost comparison in the UK

These figures are broad guides and not quotes. Prices vary with the platform, the size of the site and who does the work.

• A single fix from a fixed price service or a freelancer: typically from a few tens of pounds for something small to a few hundred pounds for something involved, such as a checkout fault or a hacked site clean-up.
• Freelance developers in the UK commonly charge by the hour, often somewhere between £30 and £80, so an open-ended job can cost more than expected unless the price is agreed first.
• A new brochure website for a small business: commonly from around £1,000 to £3,000 from a freelancer, and from around £3,000 to £10,000 or more from an agency.
• A new online shop: usually more than a brochure site, because of products, payments, delivery settings and moving existing data across. Several thousand pounds is common, and larger catalogues cost more.

A rebuild also takes your own time. Expect to spend hours on content, photographs and checking the new site.

How to decide

1. Write down everything that is wrong with the site, however small.
2. Mark each item as either a fault, meaning something that used to work or ought to work, or a limit, meaning something the platform cannot do.
3. Check that the platform, theme and add-ons are still supported and receiving updates.
4. Add up what you have spent on repairs over the last two years.
5. If the list is mostly faults, the platform is supported and the repair costs are modest, fix the site. If the list is mostly limits, or the platform is unsupported, plan a rebuild.
6. If you are between the two, fix the urgent faults now and plan the rebuild for a quieter time of year.

If you do rebuild, protect what you already have

• Take a full backup or export of the old site, including pages, images, products, customers and orders, before anything is switched off.
• Keep page addresses the same where possible. Where they change, set up redirects from each old address to the new one so that links and search rankings are not lost.
• Keep the domain in your own name and your own account, not in the name of a designer or agency.
• Note your email (MX) records before any change to the domain, so that email continues to work.

WebFixed handles fixes on existing sites. Its parent agency, Webgro (webgro.co.uk), builds new Shopify and WordPress websites. Both are part of Webgro Ltd.

Related questions

How often should a small business website be rebuilt?

There is no fixed interval. A site on a supported platform that is kept updated can last many years with occasional design refreshes. Rebuild when the platform or the business changes, not because a certain number of years has passed.

Is it cheaper to fix a website or build a new one?

A single fix is almost always cheaper. A rebuild becomes better value when repairs are frequent, when the platform is unsupported, or when the site cannot do something the business needs.

Will rebuilding my website hurt my Google rankings?

It can for a while, particularly if page addresses change without redirects or content is removed. Keeping addresses the same, redirecting any that change and carrying across your existing content keeps the effect small.