A website rebrand checklist for relaunching under a new name and look
A rebrand on the website is three jobs that get muddled: a new name, a new look and new words. Do them in that order, on a copy you can check page by page, keep the old version restorable, and switch on the same morning as your other channels so customers meet one brand, not two.
Decide what is actually changing
Before touching the site, write one paragraph that says what the rebrand is. A new name only? A new name and a new visual identity? A change of positioning, where the services or audience shift too? The answer decides how much of the site moves. A name change with the same offer is mostly find-and-replace plus a logo. A repositioning means rewriting most pages, and that is a copywriting job before it is a website job.
| Kind of rebrand | Name and logo | Look | Copy | Domain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rename only | Yes | Usually not | Name mentions | Often yes |
| Visual refresh | Maybe the logo | Yes | Light edits | No |
| Repositioning | Often | Often | Most pages | Sometimes |
Prepare before the first edit
- The new name, spelled and styled one way, including how it appears in a sentence (capitals, spacing, whether "The" is part of it).
- A logo and photos in the files you'll actually upload, cleared for use.
- The rewritten copy, page by page, in a document. Write it yourself or with your copywriter; the brand's voice is the part you know and a builder doesn't.
- A list of everywhere the old name lives outside the site: social profiles, email signatures, Google Business Profile, invoices, directories, printed materials.
- The domain decision. If the name changes, decide whether you register a new domain and send the old one to it, or keep the old address for now.
The relaunch, step by step
- Note the current version. Anticode keeps saves in version history. Write down the version that is live today; it's your way back.
- Rename the site. A change request such as "call it Harbour & Field" updates the site's name. Then read every page for the old name, including the footer, the FAQ and the legal pages.
- Apply the new look. In the visual editor, set the direction (one of the seven design systems, from Editorial to Swiss), the action colour, the theme and the headline scale. If the new identity calls for a font Anticode doesn't offer, choose the closest design system rather than forcing a second family; the Critic allows one family per site.
- Replace the words. Paste your rewritten copy page by page in the visual editor, or ask for structural changes in a sentence ("merge Services and Pricing into one page").
- Swap photos and the logo, and check that image descriptions (alt text) no longer mention the old name.
- Run the release checklist, which runs every publish check without publishing, and read the site on a phone and a laptop.
- Line up the domain. On a paid plan, connect the new domain to the site; Anticode verifies it by CNAME or TXT and issues the certificate. Redirecting the old domain is set up where that domain is registered, not in Anticode.
- Publish on the agreed morning, then update the outside channels from your list within the same day.
Timing the announcement
Customers notice a mismatch faster than a change. If the website shows the new name while your email signature, invoices and social profiles show the old one, people wonder whether they have the right business. Pick a switch date, prepare everything in advance, and change the site and the channels together. Send the announcement email from your own mailing tool after the site is live, so the link in it lands on the new brand.
What can go wrong
- The old name survives somewhere
- Usually the footer, the FAQ, image alt text or the Privacy Policy. Search for it on every page before you publish, and again a week later.
- Search traffic dips
- Normal for a short while after a domain change. Keep the old domain redirecting for at least a year and update your Search Console property.
- Regulars think you've closed or been sold
- Say what hasn't changed: same people, same address, same service. One sentence on the home page does it.
- The new look reads worse than the old
- Restore the noted version from history, which is added as a new version, publish again, and rework the look before trying again.
How you know the relaunch worked
A month later, nobody writes to ask whether you are the same business. Search for the old name and you find a note or redirect, not a dead page. Visits in the dashboard's per-site analytics hold steady, and enquiries keep arriving at the usual rate. And your list of outside channels has every line ticked.
Limits and what stays with you
Anticode handles the name, look, copy edits, publish checks, version history and the custom domain connection. It doesn't write your brand strategy, register domains, set up redirects at your registrar, update your social profiles or send the announcement. There's no scheduled publish, so someone has to press publish on the day. For larger structural work, see making big changes to a live website and the website redesign process; for the domain itself, moving a domain to a new website.
Questions people ask
Do I need a new domain when I rebrand?
Only if the name changes and the old domain no longer fits. Many businesses keep the old domain redirecting to the new one for a long time so old links and printed materials still work.
Can I prepare the rebranded site without the public seeing it?
Yes. Edits stay in the builder until you publish, and a client review link lets colleagues see the preview without an account.
What belongs on a website rebrand checklist?
The name everywhere it appears, the look, the copy, photos and alt text, the legal pages, the domain, the publish checks, and every outside channel that still shows the old brand.
Can I undo the rebrand?
Yes, provided the old version is still within your plan's version history. Preview it, restore it and publish again.