Website Redesign Decision Log
This is a practical guide to building a decision log for a website redesign project — a record of the key decisions made, by whom and why, adapted to the realities of redesigning an existing website.
What a Decision Log is
A decision log is a record of the key decisions made, by whom and why. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Decision Log. On a website redesign project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Website Redesign project
Website Redesign projects live or die on redesigning an existing website. A well-built decision log gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how website redesign projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Decision
- Date and owner
- Rationale
- Alternatives considered
- Impact
Website Redesign-specific considerations
Tailor the decision log to the risks that most often derail website redesign projects:
- Scope creep
- Content migration
- SEO preservation
Example
On a real website redesign project, the decision log would be shaped by redesigning an existing website. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — scope creep, content migration, SEO preservation — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.