Many firms decide they need a website redesign because the current site feels tired. The type looks old, the photographs belong to another office, or a competitor has just launched something sharper. A tired look is not always the real problem. A business website can be hard to follow, slow to update, or quiet about what the company actually sells.

A business website review you do yourself will show which of those is true. You need the live site, a phone, a laptop and a colleague who did not write the copy. The result should be a short list: what a buyer cannot do, what staff cannot change, and what can wait until a website redesign.

The checks below suit a UK business website, including sites that have grown by adding a page whenever a contract or a campaign needed a home.

Read the first screen of the business website

Open the homepage and ignore the logo for a moment. Within a few seconds, can you say what the company sells, who it is for, and what a visitor should do next? If the answer is only a slogan, the business website is not doing the job.

Buyers scan. They look for a plain statement of the offer, then for a sign that you work with organisations like theirs. A line such as "creative solutions for growth" could sit on almost any site. A line that names the work, the kind of client and the result is easier to trust, because it can be checked.

Read the menu in the same sitting. Each label should say where it leads. "Solutions" and "Resources" are vague. Names of the actual services are not. If two items could hold the same page, the structure has drifted and people will pick at random.

Write down the words a buyer would use, then look for them on the homepage and in the menu. If they are missing, someone who already knows what they need may not see that you provide it. Titles in the browser tab should name the page, not only the company. Those titles are also what search tools read first.

Follow one job from the homepage to an enquiry

Pick a service you want to sell this quarter. Start at the homepage and try to reach a clear description, a relevant example and a way to enquire, without using site search. Count the clicks. Note every point where you have to guess.

A useful service page says what is included, who it is for, how a project usually runs, and what sits outside the offer. It links to one or two examples. The way to make contact should be the same on every page, not a different form or inbox depending on which template was used that year.

Read the form as if you were short of time. Ask only for what a first conversation needs: name, organisation, email and a short note on the job. Extra questions about budget, address and how someone heard of you can wait until a person has replied.

Send a test enquiry. Check that it reaches the right person, that any automatic reply is still true, and that someone owns the inbox. On a phone, the number and the email address should start a call or a message. If they do not, note that with the form. A website redesign will not fix an inbox nobody reads.

Check the mobile website, not a narrowed window

Buyers do not only sit at a wide monitor. They check a supplier between meetings, or while they wait for a call. Open the same pages on a real phone. A narrowed window on a laptop is not a mobile website test.

Can you read the text without pinching? Do buttons sit where a thumb can reach them? Does the menu open, and can you close it? Does the form fit, including any error message? If a field hides behind the keyboard, people will leave.

Type on photographs can vanish in daylight even when it looks crisp on a desktop. A large banner that pushes the offer below the first screen can still fail. If a page feels heavy, ask which pictures are earning their place. A website redesign that ignores the mobile website will look finished on a laptop and fail in the meeting.

Test the proof on the business website, not the adjectives

Claims are easy to type. Evidence takes longer, which is why buyers look for it. A case study should say what kind of client it was, what the task was and what changed, within whatever you are free to share. A row of logos helps only if those organisations would recognise the work.

An older project can still be worth showing if you say what remains true. A stopped news page, a team page of people who have left, or a footer year from the last website redesign suggests nobody is tending the site.

Read the service pages against a current proposal. If the site describes a process you no longer use, correct the website content before you argue about colour. People who sell will not send a prospect to a page that contradicts them.

Open PDFs linked from the main pages. Each file should open, be the current version, and be named by the link. "Click here" does not say what it is, and it tells a search tool nothing either.

Check website accessibility before you change the look

A site that only works for a narrow group is smaller than it looks. Someone may use a keyboard rather than a mouse, enlarge the text, or listen to the page. The same rough edges catch people on a poor connection or in a hurry. Website accessibility is part of a business website review, not a separate project you start after the redesign.

You can try the basics without new tools.

• Press Tab through a page. You should see where you are, reach the links and the form, and get out of the menu again.
• Look at contrast. Pale grey on white, or white type on a light photograph, is hard to read.
• Pictures that carry meaning need a short text alternative. Decorative pictures should not be announced as a camera filename.
• Links should make sense on their own. A run of "Read more" links does not say where they go.
• If a video carries the message, it needs captions or a written version of what is said.

Public sector bodies are under a specific rule. Their websites and mobile apps are expected to meet WCAG 2.2 AA and to publish an accessibility statement, under the public sector accessibility regulations. A private company is not automatically covered by those regulations.

Service providers more widely still have to consider reasonable adjustments for disabled people under the Equality Act 2010. A page that cannot be read or operated is a weak adjustment. This is not legal advice. If you need a formal view for your organisation, ask a legal adviser. The practical point is the same either way: remove the obstacles you can already see, before a website redesign paints over them.

Sort website content faults from build faults

Not every note from a business website review needs a new website. Split the list into three groups before you ask for a price.

Content you can change now. Old team details, expired offers, broken links, thin descriptions and examples that no longer match the work. If staff have a login and never use it, the editing screen may be awkward, or nobody may own the task.

Structure you can improve without a rebuild. A muddled menu, duplicate pages, or a homepage that leads with company history. Much of this is rearranging and rewriting.

Limits of the build. Pages nobody can edit safely, a layout that breaks on a phone, a form that fails, or a template so rigid that every service looks the same. Those are reasons to repair the site or plan a website redesign. Boredom with the colour is not.

What to do with each note:

• If the offer is vague or no longer true, that is website content. Rewrite the homepage and one service page.
• If the menu labels could belong to any company, that is structure. Rename the items in plain words and merge duplicates.
• If the mobile website hides the offer or breaks the form, that is the build. Repair the template, or include it in the website redesign.
• If examples have no outcome, or staff have left, that is website content. Update the page or take it down.
• If enquiries do not arrive, or nobody owns the reply, that is process. Test the form and name an owner.
• If the text is hard to read, or the keyboard gets stuck, that is website accessibility. Correct contrast, focus and labels before any visual work.

Decide the next piece of web design work

Take the notes to people who sell, people who deliver and the person who answers the phone. Ask which faults customers mention. A check done only by whoever cares most about design will overrate the look and miss the form.

Agree a short order. Deal first with anything that loses an enquiry. Then correct claims that are no longer true. Then clear the path through the one or two services that matter most this year. A new visual design earns its place when the current build cannot support that order.

If you brief a designer, hand over the notes from the business website review. Say what must stay, what must change, who the site is for and what those people should be able to do. A web design brief that starts with "make it modern" buys decoration. One that starts with tasks and limits buys a site people can use, and one that search tools can describe.

Keep the rest of the identity steady while the pages change. Colour, type and tone should match proposals, signs and packaging, or the new site becomes a second brand by accident. Logical Branding works with UK B2B companies on web design, and can line that up with branding and product development when those need to agree.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should you review a business website?
A light pass each quarter is enough for most firms. Cover the homepage, the main service pages, the forms and any page a salesperson hesitates to send. Do a fuller business website review before a rebrand, a new service or a conversation about a website redesign.

Do you need a website redesign if the site looks dated?
Not by looks alone. Old type and old photography are real issues, but they are not the first test. If buyers can see the offer, trust an example and make contact on a mobile website, you may only need new website content and a visual tidy. Plan a website redesign when the structure or the template blocks those jobs.

What should you take into a web design brief?
The notes from this business website review, and three decisions: who the site is for, what they should do next, and what you will not offer. Pages you find clear are useful references. A folder of sites you wish you resembled is not a web design brief.

Does a private company have to meet public sector website accessibility rules?
The expectation to meet WCAG 2.2 AA and to publish an accessibility statement applies to public sector bodies. Private companies are not automatically under those regulations. They do have duties under the Equality Act 2010, including reasonable adjustments. Making pages readable and operable is the practical step. Take legal advice if you need a ruling for your own situation.

Who should take part in a business website review?
Someone who sells, someone who does the work, and someone who did not write the current pages. Include the person who edits the site, if you have one. They know which changes take an hour and which ones the template will not allow.