Short answer: A website redesign typically costs $1,500–$5,000 for a WordPress marketing site, $2,000–$6,000 on Webflow, and $2,000–$7,000 for a Shopify or WooCommerce store. Custom theme development starts from $2,500. The largest cost driver is not page count but how much is genuinely being rebuilt: a visual refresh on an existing structure costs a fraction of a redesign that changes the structure, the content and the platform at once.
Three Different Things Called “Redesign”
Most confusing quotes come from client and developer using the same word for different work. Establishing which of these you actually want is the fastest way to a realistic number.
| Type | What changes | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh | Colours, fonts, imagery, minor layout tweaks on the existing build | $800–$2,500 |
| Redesign | New design and templates on the same platform and structure | $1,500–$7,000 |
| Rebuild | New design, new structure, often a new platform | $5,000–$25,000+ |
| Replatform | Moving to a different platform entirely, with content migration | $5,000–$30,000+ |
If your site works but looks dated, you may need a refresh rather than a redesign. If your site looks fine but cannot do what the business now needs, a redesign will not fix that either. Diagnosing which one you need is worth doing before requesting quotes.
Cost by Platform
Platform choice affects both the build cost and what you pay afterwards.
| Platform | Typical redesign range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | $1,500–$5,000 | Widest range; cost depends heavily on theme vs custom build |
| Webflow | $2,000–$6,000 | Hosting bundled; less ongoing maintenance |
| Shopify | $2,000–$7,000 | Theme customisation cheaper than custom build |
| WooCommerce | $2,000–$7,000 | Product data and checkout add complexity |
| Custom theme development | From $2,500 | Applies where no existing theme is a suitable base |
What Actually Drives the Price
Unique templates, not total pages
A 40-page site reusing six templates is a smaller job than a 10-page site where every page is bespoke. When you brief a redesign, count layouts rather than pages — it is the number that determines the work.
Whether content is ready
This is the most underestimated line item. If copy, images and product data are written, sourced and organised, the build proceeds smoothly. If they are not, either you pay someone to produce them or the project stalls waiting for you. Content is the most common cause of redesign delays, and delay costs money on both sides.
Whether structure is changing
Keeping the same page structure and URLs is far cheaper than reorganising the site. Restructuring means new information architecture, new internal linking, and a full redirect map to preserve search rankings — skipping that last part is how redesigns lose traffic.
Custom functionality
- Booking systems, calculators, portals or member areas
- CRM, ERP or marketing automation integrations
- Multilingual versions, which multiply both build and content effort
- Complex product configurations on a store
- Accessibility compliance work, if it is a requirement rather than a nice-to-have
Design from scratch versus adapting a theme
A well-chosen premium theme costing $50–$400 can carry a professional site a long way. Fully custom design costs considerably more and is worth it when your brand differentiation depends on it — and often is not when it does not.
Costs People Forget to Budget For
| Item | Typical cost | Often forgotten because |
|---|---|---|
| Content writing | $100–$500 per page | Assumed to be included |
| Photography or stock imagery | $0–$2,000 | Existing assets turn out to be unusable |
| Redirect mapping | Included by good developers | Invisible until rankings drop |
| Data migration | Varies with volume | Only surfaces on stores and large sites |
| Post-launch fixes | Warranty, or billed | Real usage finds what testing missed |
| Training | A few hours | Nobody plans for learning the new CMS |
| Ongoing maintenance | From $3,999/mo dedicated, or ad hoc | Treated as optional until something breaks |
Protecting Your Search Rankings
A redesign is the most common way businesses accidentally lose organic traffic, and it is entirely preventable. Any quote worth accepting should include:
- A crawl of the existing site before work begins, capturing every URL, title and meta description
- A complete redirect map from old URLs to new ones, using permanent 301 redirects
- Titles, meta descriptions and heading structure carried across rather than regenerated
- A staging environment blocked from indexing, and confirmation that the block is removed at launch
- Post-launch monitoring in Search Console for the first several weeks
If a quote does not mention redirects, ask about them before signing. The same principles apply whether you are redesigning in place or moving platforms, and we covered the full process in migrating without losing SEO.
How to Get an Accurate Quote
- Say which of the four types you want, or describe the outcome and let the developer classify it
- Count unique layouts, not pages
- Be honest about content readiness, since assuming it is ready when it is not is how timelines slip
- List integrations explicitly, including anything connected to your current site
- State whether URLs are changing, which materially affects scope
- Ask what is excluded, particularly content entry, redirects and training
- Ask about the warranty period and what counts as a bug rather than a new request
Whether the work is quoted fixed-price or hourly matters less than whether the scope is clear, though the two suit different situations — we compared them in fixed-price versus hourly. If you are also choosing who to work with, our vetting checklist covers what to verify before committing.
Is a Redesign Actually the Right Answer?
Worth asking, because redesigns are sometimes prescribed for problems they do not solve:
| The problem | Redesign will help? |
|---|---|
| Site looks dated compared with competitors | Yes |
| Poor conversion on an otherwise fine site | Sometimes; test changes first |
| Not enough traffic | Rarely; usually a content and SEO problem |
| Site is slow | Often not; performance work is usually cheaper |
| Cannot edit content without a developer | Yes, if the CMS is the constraint |
| Site breaks on mobile | Yes, if the theme is not responsive |
| Business has outgrown what the site can do | Yes, and likely a rebuild |
A slow site in particular is worth diagnosing before redesigning, since the cause is frequently hosting, images or plugins rather than the design itself. We covered how to tell in why is my WordPress site slow.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a website redesign cost?
A WordPress marketing site redesign typically costs $1,500 to $5,000, Webflow $2,000 to $6,000, and Shopify or WooCommerce stores $2,000 to $7,000. Custom theme development starts from $2,500. A simple visual refresh can cost as little as $800, while a full rebuild with new structure and platform can exceed $25,000.
How long does a website redesign take?
A refresh usually takes one to three weeks, a standard redesign four to eight weeks, and a full rebuild or replatform eight to sixteen weeks or more. The most common cause of delay is content not being ready, since the build cannot finish while copy, images or product data are outstanding.
Will a redesign hurt my search rankings?
Only if URLs change without proper redirects. Rankings are usually preserved when every old URL is mapped to its new equivalent with permanent 301 redirects, and titles, meta descriptions and heading structure are carried across. Any quote you accept should explicitly include redirect mapping.
Should I redesign or rebuild my website?
Redesign if the structure and platform still fit your business and the problem is how the site looks. Rebuild if the site cannot do what you now need, if the platform is limiting you, or if the underlying build is poor enough that working on top of it costs more than starting again.
What is not usually included in a redesign quote?
Content writing, photography, training and ongoing maintenance are frequently excluded, and content entry is sometimes billed separately from design and development. Ask explicitly what is covered, since assuming content is included is one of the most common causes of budget surprises.
Want a clear number before committing? We quote fixed prices within 24 hours, include redirect mapping as standard, and back every project with a 30-day bug-fix warranty. See pricing or get a free quote.