Most Irish businesses who ask about a website redesign already know their site is letting them down. They're less sure whether it's worth €8,000 to fix, whether the same problems will turn up on a new site, and whether the agency they're talking to will actually move the commercial needle. This page is the working answer to all three.
The short version
When the site no longer matches what the business has become — different services, different audience, different positioning. When traffic is decent but conversion is poor. When the brand looks smaller than the business actually is. When the structure itself is fighting the way buyers think.
When the site is fine but nobody's marketing it. When you're hoping a redesign will fix a service or pricing problem that has nothing to do with the website. When you've redesigned within the last 18 months for the same vague reason. In these cases the money is better spent elsewhere.
What a "redesign" actually means
Three things commonly get called a redesign in the Irish market, and they're not the same:
A visual refresh
Same structure, same content, new look. New colour palette, new type, new photography, layout polish. 2–4 weeks, €2,500–€6,000. Right answer when the structure works and the brand has just aged.
A structural redesign
New IA, new messaging, new layouts, rebuilt from scratch on a fresh stack. Existing content carried over and reshaped. 6–12 weeks, €7,000–€15,000. The standard mid-market redesign.
A full rebuild
New brand, new site, new content, often new CMS or stack. 12–20 weeks, €15,000–€30,000+. Right answer when the business has fundamentally changed shape.
What it shouldn't mean
"Putting a new theme on the same WordPress install and not changing anything else." That's not a redesign — it's a paint job. Charge accordingly or skip it.
What it actually costs in Ireland
Honest Irish-market numbers, May 2026:
- Sole-trader or small service firm, 5–8 pages, basic CMS: €3,500–€7,000.
- Established service business, 10–20 pages, custom design, conversion-focused: €7,000–€15,000.
- Multi-service firm, blog/news, integrations, light brand work alongside: €12,000–€25,000.
- Larger firm with product UI, multiple sites, or complex integrations: €25,000–€60,000+.
Anything below €2,500 is buying you templates and copy-paste. Anything above €60,000 for a marketing site (without product UI or major brand work) deserves a hard look at what's actually being delivered. The middle band is where the real value lives.
What changes commercially after a good redesign
If the redesign is done well, you should expect:
- Inbound enquiries up 20–60% within 90 days, holding traffic constant. Better positioning + clearer CTAs do this.
- Lead quality up — fewer tyre-kickers, more right-fit prospects, because the site explains who you're for.
- Sales conversations easier — the site has done some of the explaining before the call.
- Search rankings stable or up over 60–90 days, assuming the redirect/SEO work was done properly.
- Internal alignment — the new site forces explicit decisions about positioning that improve everything else.
What you should not expect: a 5x traffic increase, a top-1 ranking for a generic term you weren't ranking for, or that the redesign fixes something that isn't a website problem.
The eight questions to ask before signing
What commercial outcome does this redesign have to produce?
Named clearly, in one sentence. If the agency can't answer this, walk.
How will we know it worked at 60 and 90 days?
Three to five measurable signals, agreed in writing before design starts.
What's in scope, and what's explicitly out?
The "explicitly out" list matters more than the in-scope list. It's what prevents creep.
Who owns the content?
Who writes new copy, who supplies photography, who proofreads. Content is where most redesigns stall.
How do you handle SEO continuity?
Redirect map, sitemap, structured data, GSC monitoring. If they shrug at any of these, walk.
Will I be able to edit it after launch?
What CMS, what training, who fixes what when. Avoid sites that need the agency for every typo.
What's the payment schedule?
50/50, 33/33/33, or milestone-based — all reasonable. 100% up front, not reasonable.
What happens after launch?
Iteration cadence, support arrangement, ownership of code and assets. Most projects ignore this and it bites later.
Redesign vs starting from scratch
If the current site has any genuine traffic, brand recognition, or accumulated search authority, redesigning beats starting fresh by a wide margin. A redesign carries forward the link equity, the redirect-able URLs, the indexed content, and the audience expectation. Starting fresh resets all of those.
The only times starting fresh wins: when the existing CMS or stack is genuinely broken beyond repair, when the brand itself is changing name, or when the site is so small that redesign and rebuild cost the same anyway.
How we run redesign projects
Same five-phase process as every digital design project: Discover, Define, Design, Deliver, Iterate. For a redesign specifically, the Discover phase weights heavier — we audit the existing site, identify what's working, and decide what's worth keeping before any design starts.
We don't take redesign projects where the only goal is "make it look newer". If the structure and positioning are fine and the issue is purely visual, a refresh is the honest scope — and most refreshes don't need a 12-week engagement.
Common Irish redesign scenarios
Professional services firm, 5+ year old WordPress site
Most common project. Site has aged faster than the business. Usually a structural redesign on a lighter stack — €8,000–€14,000, 8–10 weeks.
Service business that's expanded into new offerings
The IA hasn't kept up. New service pages, refreshed navigation, sharper positioning. €7,000–€12,000, 6–10 weeks.
Pre-funding startup
The site needs to look like the company it's trying to become. Brand work usually bundled. €10,000–€20,000, 8–12 weeks.
Established firm that hates how their site converts
Conversion-focused redesign — clearer CTAs, sharper proof, simpler funnel. €7,000–€15,000, 6–10 weeks.
Where to go from here
Thinking about a redesign?
The free audit looks at your current site and tells you whether the problem is structural, visual, content, or commercial. One working day, honest read. No pitch.
Request the free audit