Website relaunch: costs, process, mistakes

Last updated: 23 October 2026 · By Maurice, freeehouse team · About 3 minutes to read

When does a relaunch pay off?

A relaunch pays off if at least one of these applies:

• The site looks bad on a phone or loads slowly.
• You can no longer change content yourself or have lost access.
• The technology is outdated, such as a WordPress site without updates.
• The site no longer explains your current services.
• You pay clearly more for the site than it brings you.

The site being a few years old is not a reason for a relaunch on its own. If it works well, new texts and images are often enough.

What do the costs depend on?

At its core a relaunch costs the same as a new build, plus the move. Cost drivers are the number of pages, new texts, features such as a shop or booking, carrying over old content and the redirects. With agencies, project coordination comes on top. We have not found reliable average prices for Germany.

One cost many forget: the time when old and new site run in parallel. Anyone who has just renewed their website builder for two years may pay twice when switching. So time the relaunch to match the end of your contract.

How does a relaunch work?

1. 1

   Take stock. List all pages and addresses of the old website, back up content and images.

2. 2

   Plan the structure. Which pages stay, which are merged, which are new?

3. 3

   Build. The new site is created while the old one stays online.

4. 4

   Set up redirects. Every old address points permanently to the matching new page.

5. 5

   Check. Forms, display, loading time, legal pages.

6. 6

   Switch. Point the domain to the new site, do not touch the email records.

7. 7

   Follow up. Use Google Search Console to check that pages are found and no errors appear.

How do I avoid losing Google rankings in a relaunch?

With 301 redirects. Google's guide for moves with changed addresses describes exactly this way: redirect every old address permanently to the matching new one, submit a new sitemap and watch how it develops. In our moves in October 2026 that meant between 36 and more than 5,000 old addresses, depending on the site. In detail in the guide Redirects when moving.

Which mistakes get expensive in a relaunch?

• Old addresses without a redirect. Visitors and Google land on error pages.
• Content that disappears because nobody carried it over during the move.
• Domain or email cancelled by accident.
• The new site goes online without checks and the form arrives nowhere.
• The preview of the new site can be found on Google. Previews belong on noindex.

freeehouse does relaunches with no invoice for the build: we take over all content, redirect every old address, and the old site stays online until you give your approval. The first invoice comes when your old contract ends. Claim your spot on the waiting list

What should happen after the relaunch?

In the first weeks after launch, a close look pays off: do enquiries arrive through the form? Are there errors in Search Console? How are clicks and impressions developing? Short-term swings are normal. If an important page has clearly fewer visitors after a few weeks, check the redirect and whether the content was carried over completely.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Google Search Central: Website-Umzug mit URL-Änderungen, accessed 23 October 2026
• Google Search Central: Weiterleitungen und Google Suche, accessed 23 October 2026
• Google Search Central: Sitemap erstellen und einreichen, accessed 23 October 2026

Providers' prices and terms change often. What counts is what's in your customer account and your contract. Not legal advice.

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