Redesigns fail when nobody can prove what changed. The site looks better, but the lead volume stays flat and the team starts guessing. That happens when you launch without a baseline.
A baseline does not need to be complex. It needs to show three things: how people find you, which pages create inquiries, and whether the site feels fast and reliable. If you capture that now, you can tell whether the redesign actually moved the business.
If you want a broader view of how a redesign pays for itself, pair this with the business website redesign ROI guide. That article explains the financial side. This one focuses on measurement.
Start with one clear definition of a lead
Most teams track pageviews and call it a day. That is noise. Decide what counts as a qualified inquiry first. For most service businesses, that is a completed contact form, a submitted project brief, or a booked call.
Google Analytics 4 lets you mark events as key events so they count as conversions. Google’s GA4 help doc explains how key events work and how you can mark them. See the GA4 key events guidance.
If you track leads as events, use a clear name like generate_lead. It is one of Google’s recommended events and keeps your reporting consistent. See the GA4 recommended event reference.
If you want help mapping this into your site structure, the contact page design guide shows where lead friction usually hides.
Capture visibility before you change content
A redesign almost always changes titles, headings, and internal links. That can shift rankings even if the content stays similar. Use Search Console now so you have a clean before‑and‑after view.
The Performance report shows clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position by page and query. Those are the baseline metrics that tell you whether visibility improved or dipped after launch. See the Search Console Performance report documentation.
Record your top pages and their top queries. If you lose traffic later, you will know which page changed and why it mattered.
Add light context to lead events
Knowing that a form was submitted is useful. Knowing which service or page triggered it is better. GA4 supports custom event parameters so you can pass details like form type, service interest, or page category. That makes the data usable when you ask which pages drive the best leads. See the GA4 event parameters guidance.
This is also how you connect site structure to lead quality. If a specific service page creates better leads, you can prioritize it in navigation and internal links.
Set a simple pre‑launch baseline
You do not need a dashboard jungle. A basic baseline sheet is enough. Capture:
- Total qualified inquiries per month
- The top three pages that drive those inquiries
- Search Console clicks and impressions for those pages
- A quick performance snapshot for each page
If you want a quick speed benchmark, the performance calculator helps you estimate how speed changes might affect revenue. It is not a replacement for analytics, but it frames the stakes.
Protect the baseline when you redesign
The biggest mistake is launching and then rewriting tracking. Keep your lead events the same before and after launch. Otherwise your comparison breaks. If you must change events, document it clearly and keep an overlap period where both old and new events run.
This is where a good partner earns their fee. A serious build includes measurement planning, not just UI delivery. If you are comparing proposals, the proposal evaluation guide explains what to look for.
Use the baseline to make decisions, not just reports
After launch, compare the first four weeks against the baseline. If leads go up but search visibility drops, you may need to adjust content and internal links. If traffic stays stable but leads drop, the issue is likely on the conversion path, not SEO.
If you do not have internal ownership of this, keep it simple: check the baseline monthly and make one change at a time. The services overview and business websites service page give context for how a site should support lead quality, not just clicks.
If you want help setting the baseline or fixing tracking, you can start with contact or send a structured project brief. A redesign is expensive. A clear baseline is what makes it accountable.
