You know the site looks bad. Maybe a client mentioned it. Maybe you compared it to a competitor’s new site and felt a bit embarrassed. Maybe you just haven’t touched it in 5 years and it shows.
The question is: do you need to start from scratch, or can you just freshen up what you have?
Signs you need a full rebuild
- It’s not mobile-friendly. Open your site on your phone. If it’s hard to navigate, text is tiny, or buttons are impossible to tap, you need a rebuild. Google also penalises sites that aren’t mobile-friendly.
- It’s built on dead technology. Flash, old Joomla, Drupal 7, or a custom CMS from 2012 that nobody maintains anymore.
- You can’t edit content yourself. If every small change requires emailing someone and waiting days, the architecture is wrong.
- It loads in 8+ seconds. Test at PageSpeed Insights. If scores are below 30, the foundation is usually rotten, not just the paint.
- The URL structure is a mess. Pages like yoursite.com/index.php?page=services&id=4 instead of yoursite.com/services.
Signs a refresh is enough
- The site structure makes sense (right pages, right navigation)
- It’s built on WordPress or a modern CMS that’s still maintained
- It loads reasonably (under 4 seconds)
- The content is mostly accurate, just the design looks dated
- It works on mobile, just doesn’t look great
A refresh means: new visual design, better typography, updated images, improved layout. Same content structure, same pages, same URL addresses. Less work, less cost, less risk of losing any Google rankings you already have.
What a rebuild actually involves
Timeline: 2-4 weeks for a typical 5-10 page business site. Not 3 months. If someone quotes you 3 months for a small business website, they’re either overcomplicating it or fitting you between bigger clients.
What’s involved:
- New design tailored to your business
- Mobile-first build (looks perfect on phones)
- Fast loading (under 2 seconds)
- Basic SEO setup (so Google actually finds you)
- Content migration (your text and images moved over)
- 301 redirects (so you don’t lose any existing Google traffic)
What it should cost
A professional 5-page business website in 2026 should cost between €500-2,000 for setup depending on complexity. Not €5,000+. Not a “discovery workshop.” Not a “brand sprint.”
If you just need your business to look professional online, have your phone number easy to find, and show up when people Google you, that’s a solved problem. It shouldn’t be a 6-month project.
Not sure which one you need? Run our free audit. It’ll tell you if the foundation is solid (refresh) or needs replacing (rebuild).