Members come to your website to get something done: check a rate, find a branch, sign in to online banking, or apply for a loan. Your redesign should make those tasks easier—and make the site easier for your team to manage.

That starts before anyone chooses colors or designs a homepage. You need clear priorities, accurate content, and a plan for moving from the old site to the new one.

Use this credit union website redesign checklist to organize the work from kickoff through launch.

1. Agree on what the redesign needs to improve

Choose two or three problems the new website should solve. “We need a more modern site” is a starting point, but it doesn’t tell your team what to prioritize.

More useful goals might be:

• Help prospective members find eligibility information and start an application.

• Reduce calls about branch hours, routing numbers, or online banking access.

• Let staff update rates and announcements without waiting for a developer.

Record your starting point wherever you have data. If you track applications, distinguish clicks to an application from completed submissions, especially when a separate provider handles the process.

Name one project lead and identify who approves content, design, and launch.

2. Decide what to keep, update, combine, or remove

Create an inventory of your current pages, PDFs, forms, and links to outside services. For each item, record its address, purpose, owner, and what should happen to it.

Look beyond traffic. A disclosure may receive few visits and still need to remain available. A popular loan page may contain useful information worth preserving, even if its design needs work.

Ask member-facing staff which website questions they answer repeatedly. Those conversations can reveal missing information that analytics won’t explain.

The result should be a clear content list your team and website provider can work from.

3. Organize navigation around member tasks

Build your site structure around what people need to find and do. Someone looking for an auto loan shouldn’t need to understand your internal department names.

Map clear routes to:

• Membership eligibility and joining.

• Accounts, loans, and current rates.

• Online banking.

• Branches, ATMs, hours, and contact information.

Use our guide to the pages every credit union website needs as a starting point, then adapt it to your services.

Before approving the navigation, ask someone outside the project to find a few specific items. Notice where they hesitate.

4. Plan how existing links will reach the new site

Keep useful page addresses where practical. When an address changes, map the old URL to its closest relevant replacement and have your provider implement a permanent redirect, commonly called a 301.

For example, an old auto loan link should lead to the new auto loan page. Sending every retired address to the homepage leaves visitors searching again.

Review page titles and descriptions, update internal links, and prepare a sitemap listing the new site’s pages. Content removed without a relevant replacement may need a proper “not found” response instead of a redirect.

Google’s site migration guidance explains these steps. Ask your provider to test the URL mapping before launch.

5. Make accessibility part of design and testing

Agree on a documented accessibility target with your provider, such as WCAG 2.2 Level AA, and define how the work will be evaluated. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines provide testable requirements for making content more accessible.

Include checks for keyboard navigation, visible focus, text contrast, form labels and errors, and accessible documents.

Apply that review to real member tasks. Can someone navigate the menu without a mouse? Understand a form error? Read a rate table with assistive technology?

Combine automated checks with manual evaluation. A quick scan or short checklist cannot establish full accessibility conformance. W3C’s accessibility checks explain the limits of an initial review.

6. Test mobile tasks early

Use your analytics to understand how members access the site, and test the mobile experience during design.

On a real phone, try to:

• Open the menu and reach online banking.

• Read rates and their accompanying details.

• Find branch hours and tap a phone number.

• Complete a form or follow an application link.

Check what happens when visitors move to an outside banking or application provider. A usable page needs a clear, working next step.

7. Prepare and approve content before launch week

Give each page an owner and a review deadline. Gather current product details, rates, fees, eligibility requirements, disclosures, images, and contact information while the site is being built.

Write around the questions members need answered. On a loan page, that might mean explaining who the product suits, where to find current terms, and how to apply.

Schedule the appropriate internal reviews rather than leaving every approval until the end.

Also ask staff to practice routine updates on the new site. Changing a rate or publishing a closure notice is a useful test of whether the editing tools meet your team’s needs.

8. Run a launch rehearsal

Test complete journeys, including what happens after someone clicks a button.

Submit test forms using clearly identified test information. Confirm that messages reach the right people and that confirmation screens make sense. Coordinate application testing with the relevant provider.

Before approving launch, confirm that:

• Priority member journeys work on representative phones and browsers.

• Rates, disclosures, and contact details have final approval.

• Redirects, downloads, and important links work.

• Analytics records the actions you intend to measure.

• Your team has editing access and knows how to request help.

Agree on the launch window, the person making the final decision, and the recovery plan if a critical problem appears.

9. Monitor the live site and resolve problems

Repeat the most important checks immediately after launch. Confirm that members can reach online banking, view rates, contact your team, and start an application.

Have your provider check indexing settings, submit the sitemap, and monitor unexpected broken links. Compare search traffic and tracked actions with your starting figures. Search visibility can fluctuate while Google processes significant changes, so investigate patterns rather than judging the redesign on one day’s results. Google’s migration guidance covers post-launch monitoring.

Assign someone to collect staff and member feedback, prioritize fixes, and keep content current.

Give your team a clear starting point

Before your first redesign meeting, gather three things: your main goals, a list of current pages, and the names of the people who will approve the work. Bring this checklist so your provider can clarify responsibilities and deliverables.

CU Rocket offers a WordPress website platform built for credit unions, with tools for managing pages and rates. Talk with CU Rocket about your redesign to discuss your goals, content, and launch requirements.