Answer · Website Redesign

Do I Need to Rewrite All My Content?

2 min read308 words

WDCT Senior Strategist Web Design Company Tampa · Editorial

Updated May 16, 2026

14 days kickoff → live $3K–$15K+ scope-tiered WCAG 2.1 AA baseline

The short answer

No. We run a content audit at Day 1 that sorts every existing page into Keep, Update, Consolidate, or Kill. Typically 30-50% of pages are Keep (port as-is), 30-40% are Update (rewrite body, port URL), 10-20% are Consolidate or Kill. Total rewrite is rarely needed.

№ 01The longer answer

The content audit is the first deliverable in the redesign. We pull every URL from your existing site, cross-reference with GSC (impressions and clicks), GA4 (sessions), and backlink data, and assign each to one of four buckets: Keep, Update, Consolidate, Kill.

Keep pages port as-is. We restyle them to the new template but the body copy survives intact. Typically 30-50% of inventory falls here — service pages with traffic, case studies, About, FAQ.

Update pages get a rewrite pass. Body copy is refreshed for tone, length, conversion logic. URLs stay the same (no 301 needed). Typically 30-40% of inventory falls here — older blog posts, service pages that have drifted, pages that converted poorly.

Consolidate and Kill pages are the cleanup. Consolidate merges duplicate-intent pages (you probably have 3-7 of these). Kill removes dead-weight pages (zero traffic, zero links). Together this is usually 10-20% of inventory. Killing dead pages typically lifts site-wide topical authority by 5-10% within 4-8 weeks.

№ 02Who does the rewrites — you or us?

Default: you provide body copy for Update pages; we handle structural copy (H1s, sub-heads, CTAs). Full copy authoring is an add-on at $1,500-$4,000 depending on page count.

№ 03What if I disagree with the audit recommendations?

We discuss before locking. The audit is a data-led recommendation, not a unilateral decision. If you want to keep a Kill page for strategic reasons, we accept that and adjust.

№ 04How do you decide what gets killed?

Three data signals together: under 5 sessions/month over 12 months, zero referring domains, no strategic value (not a service / pricing / contact / case-study page). All three need to be true.

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