Website decisions
Relaunch, redesign, or refresh?
Cost, risk, and the decision signals that point toward each approach. The honest comparison for B2B teams deciding what their website actually needs.
TL;DR
- A full relaunch (new CMS, new codebase, new structure) costs €25k to €100k and takes 12 to 24 weeks. Right when the technical foundation is genuinely the constraint.
- A visual redesign (same CMS, same pages, new look) costs €8k to €30k and takes 6 to 12 weeks. Right when the design is the problem, not the structure or tech.
- An incremental refresh (targeted improvements to conversion, speed, or specific pages) costs €3k to €15k and can start immediately. Right for most B2B sites that are not broken.
- The most common mistake is a full relaunch when an incremental refresh would fix the actual problem and cost a quarter of the price.
- Read how we approach website discovery and build to scope the right intervention.
What each approach actually changes
Three levels of intervention. The right one depends on <em>where the constraint is</em>.
A full relaunch rebuilds from the ground up: new CMS or static site generator, new information architecture, new design system, new content, new URL structure with redirects. Everything is touched. The cost and timeline reflect that scope. A relaunch is right when the existing technical foundation is genuinely blocking what the business needs, the CMS is so locked that basic changes require a developer, or the information architecture no longer reflects how the company sells.
**A visual redesign keeps the existing CMS, URL structure, and page count intact but overhauls the visual design.** New typography, colour system, component library, and page layouts, applied within the constraints of the existing platform. The risk is that visual redesigns often uncover structural problems that should have been in scope from the start, turning a €15k redesign into a €50k relaunch six months later.
An incremental refresh targets specific measurable problems: conversion rate on the contact page, Core Web Vitals score, navigation clarity, or the performance of two or three key landing pages. This approach is faster, cheaper, and lower risk than either of the above. For most B2B companies whose site is generating some leads but not enough, incremental is the right first move, not a full relaunch.
Side-by-side comparison
Cost, timeline, and scope across the three approaches.
| Dimension | Full relaunch | Visual redesign | Incremental refresh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | €25k–€100k+ | €8k–€30k | €3k–€15k |
| Timeline | 12–24 weeks | 6–12 weeks | 2–8 weeks |
| CMS / tech stack | Replaced entirely | Kept; design layer changed | Kept; targeted changes only |
| URL structure | Rebuilt with redirects | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| SEO risk | High (managed with redirects) | Low | Very low |
| Content work required | Full rewrite | Light refresh | Targeted pages only |
| Disruption to team | High; major project | Medium | Low; can run in background |
| Best fit | Broken tech foundation, major repositioning | Design is the problem, structure is fine | Conversion or performance gap on working site |
| Main risk | Cost and SEO impact if not managed | Structural issues uncovered mid-project | Underfixing a structural problem |
Decision signals
Start with the constraint, not the ambition.
01
A full relaunch is right when the technology is the problem
The CMS requires a developer to change a paragraph. The page speed score is below 40 and the issue is architectural, not a plugin. The information architecture was built for a product that no longer exists. In these cases, incremental improvements hit a ceiling quickly. A relaunch addresses the root cause rather than working around it indefinitely.
02
A visual redesign is right when design is the problem and structure is fine
The site generates traffic and some leads. The conversion rate is below benchmark. Buyer feedback consistently mentions the site looking outdated or not reflecting the current brand. The existing CMS is adequate and editors are comfortable with it. In these cases, a visual redesign solves the actual problem without the cost and risk of rebuilding the foundation.
03
An incremental refresh is right when the site is working but underperforming
Traffic is arriving. Some leads convert. But the contact page converts at 2% when the benchmark for your category is 5%. The home page loads in 4 seconds on mobile. The navigation buries the most-visited service page three clicks deep. These are specific, measurable problems with specific, measurable fixes. An incremental refresh addresses them without stopping the site or burning a six-figure budget.
04
Run a discovery before committing to any approach
The most expensive mistake is committing to a full relaunch before understanding what the actual problem is. A structured discovery, typically two to four weeks and €3,500 to €8,000, produces a written diagnosis: what is broken, what is structural, what is fixable incrementally, and what genuinely requires a rebuild. The discovery cost is a fraction of the difference between a €15k refresh and a €70k relaunch.
Common questions
What B2B teams ask before deciding what their website needs.
How long does a full website relaunch take?
For a typical B2B marketing site (20 to 50 pages), a full relaunch takes 12 to 24 weeks from kickoff to go-live. The range reflects discovery time, content production, design sign-off cycles, and quality assurance. Compressed timelines are possible but increase the risk of post-launch issues. Agencies that promise a full relaunch in under eight weeks are usually scoping a template-based build, not a custom one.
Will a website relaunch hurt my SEO?
It can if redirects are not managed correctly. Every URL that changes needs a 301 redirect to the new equivalent. Internal links need updating. If the site moves to a new domain or subdomain, that amplifies the risk. A well-managed relaunch with a pre-launch redirect audit and a post-launch monitoring period of four to six weeks recovers any ranking dip within three to six months. An unmanaged one can take twelve months or longer to recover from.
What does a website discovery cost?
A structured discovery that covers current site audit, user research, competitive analysis, information architecture, and a written build brief typically costs €3,500 to €8,000 for a B2B marketing site. Some agencies include it in the total project price, which means you are committing to the build before you know what it should be. A standalone discovery is worth the separate cost.
How do I know if my website needs a relaunch or just better content?
Check your analytics first. If traffic is arriving but not converting, the problem is often copy and conversion design, not technology. If traffic is not arriving, the problem might be SEO structure, not the visual design. If editors cannot make changes without developer help, that is a platform problem. Diagnose before prescribing. Most B2B sites that feel broken are actually suffering from unclear positioning and weak conversion design on the contact page, both of which are incremental fixes.
What is the risk of a visual redesign uncovering structural problems?
High, and often underestimated. It is common for a visual redesign to reveal that the CMS content model does not support the new design patterns, that the navigation needs restructuring to support the visual hierarchy, or that several key pages need to be split or merged. When this happens mid-project, the scope and cost expand. The mitigation is a brief discovery before the redesign to map structural constraints before the design work starts.
How we approach this at SomeTech.work
We diagnose before we scope.
Every website engagement starts with a diagnostic: what the site currently does commercially (traffic sources, conversion points, lead quality), what is blocking it (technical, structural, copy, or conversion design), and what the minimum viable intervention looks like. From that, we write a recommendation, not a proposal. If an incremental refresh fixes the problem, we say so. See how we structure website discovery and build projects.
**We do not default to full relaunches.** A relaunch is the right answer in specific circumstances. It is the wrong answer when the fundamental problem is positioning, copy, or a single conversion bottleneck. We will tell you which it is before you commit to a budget.
Concrete solution
Bring the operational risk.You get a clear diagnosis and a concrete next step.
We are the right fit if you want a team that pushes back when it matters. See outcomes and metrics →
Reviewing first?
Company evidenceon the site.
Engagements with commercial outcomes on Work. Team bios and operating model on About. Nothing to download. Review it before you commit to a call. Open to review. Commit when ready.