Adding new services: when your website needs restructuring

Key takeaways

Adding one or two services rarely needs a redesign: give each its own page and link it from the menu and homepage. Restructure when new services change who you sell to, when the menu can no longer hold them clearly, or when old services still dominate the site. The test is whether a buyer can find each service in two taps.

• 1 service = 1 page, always. Never bolt it onto an existing page.
• The two-tap test: can a buyer reach every service in 2 taps on mobile?
• Restructure when new services bring a new type of buyer.
• Retire or demote services you no longer want to sell.

Can you add new services without a redesign?

Usually, yes. If the site already has one page per service and a menu with room for more, adding a service means writing a new page, linking it from the menu, homepage and related services, and adding proof. That is a content job, often a few days' work, not a redesign.

• Signs your business needs a new website
• How to write a service page that wins enquiries

When do new services need a restructure?

When the new services change the shape of the business rather than extending it.

• They serve a different buyer, such as commercial clients alongside homeowners.
• The menu would need more than about seven top-level items.
• The homepage message no longer describes what you do.
• Old services dominate the pages that rank and get traffic.
• Services need grouping, such as by sector or by outcome.

• Website navigation best practices
• Targeting a new market: when your website must change

How do you run the two-tap test?

On a phone, start from the homepage and try to reach each service page in two taps or fewer. Then ask someone outside the business to find a named service. If services sit three levels deep, or the labels do not match the words buyers use, the structure is failing.

What about services you no longer sell?

Retire them properly. If an old service page has search traffic or links, redirect it with a 301 to the closest current service rather than deleting it. If you still do the work but do not want more of it, move it lower in the menu and remove it from the homepage.

• Website migration SEO checklist

What does a restructure typically cost?

Adding pages to a sound structure is usually a few hundred to a couple of thousand pounds per service in the UK market, depending on copy and photography. A restructure of navigation and templates sits in the typical redesign range of £3,000 to £12,000.

• how much a business website costs in the UK

When should you wait before restructuring?

When the new service is still being tested. Launch it on a single page or landing page first, measure enquiries for a quarter, and restructure once you know it will stay. Restructuring around a service that is dropped six months later wastes the budget.

• New landing pages or a full redesign?

How should a new service page be launched?

Launch it with enough substance to compete from day one: a clear headline, who it is for, what is included, pricing guidance, at least one example of the work and a call to action. A thin placeholder page rarely ranks and does little to persuade the buyers who find it.

Link to the new page from the homepage, the menu and any related service pages, and mention it in a short post on your Google Business Profile and social channels. Then request indexing in Search Console so Google discovers it quickly, and track enquiries from the page for the first quarter.

• Write the full page before launch, not a placeholder.
• Include pricing guidance and one example of the work.
• Link it from the homepage, menu and related pages.
• Request indexing and track enquiries for a quarter.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern in UK construction: a firm known for kitchens adds extensions and loft conversions, but the site lists them as bullet points on the kitchens page. Giving each its own page with photos and pricing guidance, and changing the homepage headline to cover all three, is a restructure of a few pages rather than a full redesign.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

New services checklist

Work through these before adding or restructuring.

• Create one page per service, with proof and pricing guidance.
• Run the two-tap test on a phone.
• Check the homepage headline still describes the business.
• Redirect retired service pages to the closest current service.
• Test new services on a single page before restructuring.
• Restructure if the menu exceeds about seven items.

Next step

If you have added services and the site no longer fits, we will map a structure with you in 30 minutes and tell you whether it needs pages or a redesign.