Fixing pays off when the site runs on a maintained platform, you hold all the access, and the problems are local: slow images, a broken form, outdated texts, separate layout errors on phones. Build a new one when the platform is no longer updated, you have no access to the code or hosting, the mobile version cannot be fixed without rewriting templates, or every change costs more than it brings. It is best to decide after a short technical review: it shows what exactly is broken and what it costs to fix — before you pay for a rebuild.
Contents
First, find out what exactly is wrong
“The site is bad” usually means one of three problems: people cannot find it, they find it but leave, or they cannot send a request from it. Each is treated differently, and far from always by a rebuild.
The site does not show up in Google even for the company name
- Common cause
- Indexing blocked, no sitemap, duplicate pages
- Usually solved by
- A fix
Slow to open on a phone
- Common cause
- Heavy images, unnecessary scripts, weak hosting
- Usually solved by
- A fix
Everything breaks on a phone
- Common cause
- Fixed-width layout
- Usually solved by
- Depends on the layout, often a new site
Requests do not arrive
- Common cause
- Broken form or email, no notifications
- Usually solved by
- A fix
Every change means a week of waiting and a separate invoice
- Common cause
- Outdated platform or access held by the previous contractor
- Usually solved by
- Often a move
You are embarrassed to send the link to customers
- Common cause
- Outdated design and texts
- Usually solved by
- A redesign or a new site
When fixing pays off
- The platform or engine is maintained and receives updates
- Domain, hosting, admin panel and code are registered to you
- The page structure mostly works; only some blocks need changing
- The site already brings leads or search traffic, and losing it would hurt
- The problems can be listed, rather than described as “everything is wrong”
In this situation a fix is ordinary work from a list: compress images, repair forms, correct the mobile layout, update texts and prices, open pages for indexing. The site keeps working, and improvements arrive in parts.
When it is time for a new site
- The platform or theme is no longer updated, and security updates break the site
- The site is built for a fixed width and does not adapt to phones
- You need features the old platform cannot do: accounts, a filtered catalog, payments
- The total of the needed fixes approaches the price of a new site
- Design, structure and texts are changing completely anyway
A one-hour self-check
A lot can be found out before talking to a contractor. These six steps give a picture that makes a review faster and cheaper.
Access
Find out where the domain is registered, who pays for hosting, and whether you have admin and code access.
Search
Type site: followed by your site's address into Google. If no pages appear, or noticeably fewer than the site has, something is wrong with indexing.
Speed
Check the home page and a couple of key pages in PageSpeed Insights in mobile mode.
Phone
Walk the customer's path on a phone: find a service, the price, contacts, send a request.
Request
Send a test request through the form and check whether and where it arrives.
Platform
Find out what the site runs on and when it was last updated. This often settles the fix-or-rebuild question.
How to estimate the cost of fixes
Fixes are priced by tasks, not pages. An honest scheme looks like this: a review, a prioritised list of issues, an estimate for each task, and only then a decision — what to do now, what later, and what not at all.
A useful reference for comparison is the price of a new site. By InterLAB's ranges, a landing page costs 150,000–250,000 ₸ and a 4–7-page business website 350,000–600,000 ₸. If the total of fixes approaches these numbers and the platform is old, a new site is the sensible choice. Small changes after launch are easier to cover with support: ours costs 25,000–50,000 ₸ a month and includes hosting, domain, edits and updates.
Diagnosis first, then the estimate.
How to move to a new site without losses
The most expensive risk of a move is losing what the old site has already earned in search. A few mandatory steps, described in Google's guide to site moves, close that risk.
- List the old site's addresses and map each one to a new page
- Set up permanent (301) redirects from old addresses to new ones
- Keep the redirects as long as possible — Google advises at least a year
- Carry over the texts of pages that bring visitors from search
- Check forms, analytics and lead notifications before switching
- Keep the same domain and submit the new sitemap in Search Console
