How to Measure Website Success After a Redesign
/ Table of contents
- How to Measure Website Success
- Definitions: Useful Terms to Know
- How Do You Measure Website Success?
- What Are the Most Important Metrics for a Website?
- What is a KPI for a Website?
- What to Measure Before a Redesign
- How to Measure Website Success with Your Web Design Agency and Team
- 1. Agree success criteria before launch
- 2. Review performance in stages, not snapshots
- 3. Separate “design feedback” from performance insight
- 4. Turn insights into iteration
- 5. Keep ownership clear
- 6. Follow this KPI Checklist for Post-Redesign Reviews
- User experience & behaviour
- Conversion & outcomes
- Performance & technical health
- Search & visibility
- Brand & confidence signals
- Final Thoughts
How to Measure Website Success
A website redesign is one of the most visible investments a brand can make. Businesses can typically see anywhere from 30-100% increases in qualified leads following strategic redesigns. New look, improved UX, better performance – all exciting things. But once the site is live and the initial buzz settles, the most important question quickly follows:
How do you actually measure whether the redesign was a success?
For marketing managers, this is where many projects become uncomfortable. Too often, success is judged by subjective feedback (“it looks better”) or surface-level metrics (“traffic’s up”). In reality, measuring website success requires clearer benchmarks, better alignment with business goals, and ongoing collaboration between marketing, design and development.
In this KIJO article, our Co-Founders Jordan Thompson and Kirk Thompson walk you through how to measure website success properly after a redesign – not just to justify the investment, but to improve what comes next.
Related Read: When (and How) to Rebuild Your Website: Signs It’s Time for a Redesign in 2026
Definitions: Useful Terms to Know
Before we progress, the following definitions may be useful to refer to during your reading of this article.
- KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A metric tied directly to a specific business or marketing goal.
- Lighthouse Score
A Google measurement of your core web vitals: performance, accessibility and best practices.
- Benchmarking
Comparing current performance against a defined baseline to measure change.
- Conversion Rate
The percentage of users who complete a desired action.
How Do You Measure Website Success?
You measure website success against the goals it was meant to support; website success is rarely a single number.
Whether that’s lead generation, eCommerce sales, brand perception, user engagement or operational efficiency.
The most effective way to measure success is to ask three questions:
- Did the site improve the user experience (UX)?
- Did it support marketing and commercial goals more effectively?
- Did it perform better technically than before?
If you can answer “yes” to all three (with measurable evidence) your redesign is likely doing its job.
“A redesign isn’t successful because it launched. It’s successful because it made something clearer, faster or more effective for the user – and that should always be measurable.”
– Jordan Thompson, KIJO’s Co-Founder
What Are the Most Important Metrics for a Website?
The most important website metrics are the ones that tell you how users behave, whether they convert, and how reliably the site performs. Together, they show whether a website is actually doing its job.
- Engagement Time
This is a strong indicator of content relevance. If users spend time actively engaging with key pages, it suggests the messaging, structure and experience are resonating. A sudden drop after a redesign can signal confusion or misaligned expectations. - Scroll Depth
This helps you understand how far users get through a page. If most visitors never reach key sections or calls to action, the issue is rarely the CTA itself. It’s usually hierarchy, pacing or clarity earlier in the journey. - Exit Rate (or Bounce Rate)
This highlights where users choose to leave the site. High exit rates on core pages often point to unanswered questions, missing reassurance or friction at critical decision points. - Conversion Rate
Conversion rate remains one of the clearest success indicators. Whether it’s enquiries, bookings or sign-ups, this metric shows whether the site builds enough confidence for users to act. Importantly, conversion rate should be reviewed in context. Improvements in quality or intent often matter more than raw volume. - Form Completion Rate
This metric reveals how easy it is for users to convert once they’ve decided to. High drop-off within forms typically indicates friction, unnecessary fields or unclear expectations. - Page Load Speed
On the technical side, page load speed has a direct impact on both user experience and SEO. Research shows that as page load time increases from one to three seconds, the probability of a user bouncing increases by 32%. Faster sites don’t just feel better – they convert better. - Mobile Performance
Equally critical. With the majority of users now accessing websites on mobile devices (in mid-2025, mobile devices (excluding tablets) accounted for 62.54% of global website traffic), poor mobile usability can genuinely undermine even the strongest desktop experience.
Taken together, these metrics provide a clear picture of whether a website is engaging users, earning trust and performing reliably. More importantly, they point to where improvements will have the biggest impact and turn measurement into meaningful action rather than just reporting.
Traffic metrics matter, of course. But, context matters more. A redesign that attracts fewer users but converts better is often a far stronger outcome than one that simply increases visits.
“We often see brands obsess over traffic post-launch. But success usually shows up first in behaviour – fewer dead ends, better journeys, stronger intent.”
– Kirk Thompson, KIJO’s Co-Founder & Head of Partnerships
What is a KPI for a Website?
A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is a metric that directly reflects progress towards a specific goal. So, for a website, the above metrics would also be classed as KPIs.
The mistake many teams make though is tracking too many KPIs without agreeing which ones actually matter. A homepage redesign doesn’t need to be judged by every possible metric – it needs to be judged by the ones tied to the intent and purpose of the redesign.
The key is relevance. If a metric doesn’t relate to the goal of the project, it’s probably not a needed KPI.
Related Read: High Converting Landing Pages: How to Turn Visitors Into Clients
What to Measure Before a Redesign
Another of the biggest mistakes teams make is launching a redesign without properly capturing what “good” and “bad” looked like before.
Without baseline data, it becomes almost impossible to prove whether the redesign improved anything at all. You might feel progress, but you won’t be able to evidence it – especially to senior stakeholders.
Before starting a redesign and identifying your target metrics/KPIs, take time to document how the current website performs across three key areas: performance, behaviour and outcomes.
Performance
From a performance perspective, capture page speed scores, mobile usability results and any known technical issues. These metrics form the foundation for understanding whether the new site is genuinely faster and more stable.
What Is a Good Performance Score for a Website?
A good performance score for a website helps translate technical quality into something measurable.Google’s Lighthouse scores (which feed into PageSpeed Insights) are commonly used benchmarks. The “perfect” score is 100, but this is incredibly difficult to achieve. Most high-performing websites aim for scores in the green range which is typically 90+ for performance, accessibility and best practices (We consider this a minimum requirement for all KIJO-built websites.)
Behaviour
Behavioural data is just as important. Look at how users currently move through the site. Where do they drop off? Which pages have high exit rates? How long do people actually spend engaging with your most important content? These insights reveal friction points that design alone can’t fix unless they’re understood first. You can identify friction points with tools like heatmaps. We like to use (and recommend) Hotjar at KIJO.
Outcomes
Finally, measure outcomes. Conversion rates on key pages, lead quality, form completion rates and enquiry volume all matter. If a redesign doesn’t improve the site’s ability to support commercial goals, it’s unlikely to be considered a success long term.
By capturing this data early, you create a clear “before” picture. Post-launch, you’re no longer guessing whether things are better; you’re comparing like for like.
Related Read: When (and How) to Rebuild Your Website: Signs It’s Time for a Redesign in 2026
How to Measure Website Success with Your Web Design Agency and Team
Measuring success with your web design agency and team is important. This is literally where many redesigns either compound in value or stall.
Measuring success works best when it’s collaborative and structured, not reactive. Here’s a practical way to approach it.
1. Agree success criteria before launch
Success should be defined before the site goes live. That means aligning on goals, KPIs and review timelines with your web design agency and internal stakeholders.
This avoids post-launch ambiguity and ensures everyone is working towards the same outcomes.
2. Review performance in stages, not snapshots
Immediate post-launch data is rarely representative. Early reviews should focus on technical stability and obvious friction, whilst later reviews (30–90 days) reveal behavioural and conversion trends.
In our experience, staggered reviews lead to better decisions.
3. Separate “design feedback” from performance insight
Stakeholder opinions are inevitable but they shouldn’t overshadow data. A successful redesign may challenge internal preferences whilst still outperforming the old site significantly.
Try to use data to anchor conversations and reduce subjectivity.
4. Turn insights into iteration
The best redesigns don’t end at launch. Measurement should feed directly into optimisation – refining copy, adjusting layouts, improving CTAs or streamlining journeys.
This is where redesign investment compounds rather than depreciates.
Related Read: UX Copywriting for Websites: How Text + Design Makes or Breaks Conversions
5. Keep ownership clear
Someone should own post-launch performance. Whether that’s marketing, digital or your trusted web design agency partner, clarity prevents momentum from fading once the project “ends”.
6. Follow this KPI Checklist for Post-Redesign Reviews
This general KPI checklist works well as a starting point for 30, 60 and 90-day post-launch reviews.
User experience & behaviour
- Engagement time on key pages
- Scroll depth on priority content
- Bounce rate on landing and service pages
- Exit points across core journeys
Conversion & outcomes
- Conversion rate on primary CTAs
- Form completion rate and drop-off points
- Volume and quality of enquiries or sales
- Newsletter sign-ups or gated content downloads
Performance & technical health
- Page speed and Lighthouse scores
- Mobile performance and usability
- Error rates or broken journeys
- Accessibility improvements (if measured pre-launch)
Search & visibility
- Keyword rankings for priority terms
- Organic traffic to redesigned pages
- Click-through rate from search results
- Indexation or crawl issues
Brand & confidence signals
- Reduction in support queries related to usability
- Qualitative feedback from users or internal teams
- Stakeholder confidence in using the site as a marketing tool
Remember, the most valuable insight often comes from trends, not single numbers. Improvements in engagement followed by uplift in conversions usually indicate the redesign is doing what it was meant to do.
Used consistently, this checklist turns post-launch reviews into informed optimisation sessions rather than subjective debates.
Related Read: Brand Consistency: Why It Matters for Brands
Final Thoughts
A website redesign isn’t a finish line – it’s a starting point.
Measuring website success properly allows marketing teams to justify investment, refine strategy and continuously improve how the site supports growth. When success is defined clearly and reviewed collaboratively, redesigns stop being risky one-off projects and start becoming long-term assets!
It’s time to stop asking whether a redesign looks good – this should be a given. But, start asking whether it worked and if you’ve got the data to prove it.
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