Answer · Website Redesign

What Data Do I Need Before a Redesign?

2 min read339 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

You need 6 data sources active 12+ months: Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, current conversion rate baseline, ranking keyword list (Ahrefs or Semrush), backlink profile, and a 12-month lead-source breakdown from your CRM. Without these, the redesign is opinion-led, not data-led.

№ 01The longer answer

The 6 data sources we use during scoping: GA4 (12 months of sessions, conversions, behavior flow), GSC (12-16 months of impressions, clicks, indexed pages), conversion rate baseline (forms / sessions, last 3 months), ranking keywords (top 50-200 from Ahrefs or Semrush), backlink profile (referring domains and link velocity), CRM lead source breakdown (which channels drive qualified leads).

Without these, the redesign is operating blind. The IA decisions, content audit, 301 mapping, and conversion-engineering all depend on knowing what’s working today. Agencies that skip this step build sites based on opinions, not engineering.

What to set up if you don’t have it: GA4 takes 1-2 hours to install and 30 days to accumulate baseline. GSC takes 1 hour to verify and 16 months to backfill (GSC keeps 16 months of history retroactively once verified). Ahrefs/Semrush is $99-$199 for a 1-month subscription — cheaper than redesigning without the data.

What the data reveals during scoping: which pages to keep (high traffic, ranking, converting), which to update (decent traffic but underperforming), which to consolidate (overlapping intent), which to kill (zero traffic + zero links). It also reveals the conversion rate baseline that the post-launch lift gets measured against.

№ 02What if I don’t have any of this data?

We delay the redesign by 30-60 days to set up GA4 and accumulate baseline. Faster than going in blind. The $500 audit includes the data-setup recommendation.

№ 03Do you accept Universal Analytics data?

Yes, but GA4 is the future. UA stopped collecting in July 2023; the 2024-2026 baseline lives only in GA4. If you migrated to GA4 in 2023, we have 24+ months of history.

№ 04What about heatmaps or session recording?

Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity is helpful but not required. We add it post-launch for iteration phase — pre-launch decisions can be made with GA4 + GSC alone.

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