How to Plan a Sitemap for a Website Redesign (2025)
- Zhe Chen Nyan
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
The foundation of UX clarity, SEO strength, and enquiry flow
Most website redesign projects fail before design even begins — at the sitemap level.
Teams jump straight into visuals: layouts, colours, UI effects. But without fixing structure first, the redesign only improves how the site looks, not how it performs.
A sitemap is not just a list of pages.
It is the architecture of:
your information
your user journeys
your SEO signals
your conversion paths
your business priorities
This guide shows you how to plan a sitemap the correct way during a website redesign — using a framework built around UX clarity, SEO hierarchy, and commercial intent.
Why Sitemap Planning Is the True Starting Point of Any Redesign
Before any UI, a sitemap answers five strategic questions:
What does your business actually offer?
How should users logically move through information?
Which services matter most commercially?
Which pages deserve ranking power?
How do users reach an enquiry decision?
If your sitemap is weak:
navigation becomes confusing
internal linking becomes random
Google struggles to understand your site
enquiries drop even if the site “looks nicer”
A good sitemap fixes all of that before a single pixel is designed.
The SEO-Safe Sitemap Planning Framework
Below is the structured system used in professional website redesign projects for Singapore SMEs.
How to Structure a Website Sitemap Properly (Using a Movers Business Example)
A sitemap is not a technical document. It is the strategic structure of your business online.
It determines:
how clearly customers understand your services
how easily they find what they need
how efficiently Google understands your business
and how effectively your website converts enquiries
A well-planned sitemap creates clarity, confidence, and commercial flow.A weak sitemap creates confusion, friction, and lost opportunities — regardless of how good the design looks.
The correct way to plan a sitemap follows a simple hierarchy:
Main services → categories → specific service pages
Below is how this structure is professionally applied using a moving company as a practical example.
Step 1: Define the Main Services
Start by identifying the core services that directly generate business.These form the foundation of your entire website structure.
For a movers business, the main services are typically:
Residential Moving
Commercial Moving
Disposal Services
These services should sit clearly under the “Services” section of your website. At this stage, the focus is strictly on what you sell, not design, layout, or content presentation.
If your main services are unclear here, your website will struggle to perform commercially.
Step 2: Establish Clear Categories Under Each Service
Each main service must then be organised into logical categories based on how customers naturally identify themselves.
Customers do not think in internal company language.They think in terms of:
property type
business use
specific operational needs
This is how the categories should be structured:
For Residential Moving, customers identify by property type: HDB, Condo, Landed Property
For Commercial Moving, customers identify by business use: Office, Warehouse, Retail Shop
For Disposal Services, customers identify by what they need to dispose of: Furniture, Renovation Debris, Electronic Waste, Office Items
At this level, your sitemap already becomes significantly clearer and more customer-aligned.
Step 3: Expand Each Category Into Dedicated Service Pages
Each category should then become a dedicated service page.This ensures relevance, clarity, and stronger conversion potential.
Under Residential Moving: HDB Moving, Condo Moving, Landed Property Moving
Under Commercial Moving: Office Relocation, Warehouse Moving, Retail Shop Moving
Under Disposal Services: Furniture Disposal, Renovation Debris Disposal, Electronic Waste Disposal, Office Disposal
Each of these pages can now be specifically structured for:
pricing expectations
frequently asked questions
relevant imagery and references
manpower and logistics requirements
customer concerns unique to that service
This is what allows each page to rank more accurately and convert more effectively.
Step 4: The Final Sitemap Structure (Professional Version)
Once services, categories, and service pages are fully structured, the sitemap reads clearly and intuitively:
Main Section | Category / Sub-Section | Specific Page |
Home | — | Home |
Services | Residential Moving | HDB Moving |
Condo Moving | ||
Landed Property Moving | ||
Commercial Moving | Office Relocation | |
Warehouse Moving | ||
Retail Shop Moving | ||
Disposal Services | Furniture Disposal | |
Renovation Debris Disposal | ||
Electronic Waste Disposal | ||
Office Disposal | ||
Case Studies | — | HDB Moving Case Study |
Office Relocation Project | ||
Blog / Resources | — | HDB Moving Cost Guide |
Condo Moving Checklist | ||
Office Relocation Timeline | ||
About Us | — | About Us |
Contact | — | Contact |
At this stage, the sitemap functions as a clear service directory, not a collection of disconnected pages.
Step 5: Add Supporting Pages Only After the Service Structure Is Finalised
Once the core service architecture is established, you then layer in supporting pages such as:
Case Studies
Blog / Resources
FAQs
About Us
Contact
These pages exist to:
build credibility
address objections
educate customers
and direct traffic back to revenue-generating service pages
A properly structured website always follows this flow:
Blog → Service → ContactCase Study → Service → Contact
This ensures that educational content supports conversion rather than distracting from it.
Step 6: Ensure the Enquiry Path Is Visible and Direct
Your sitemap must clearly surface how customers contact you when they are ready to engage.
This should include:Contact PageWhatsAppEnquiry FormBooking Page (if applicable)
If customers cannot immediately identify how to reach you, your website will quietly lose potential enquiries.
Step 7: Maintain a Lean and Focused Sitemap
A strong sitemap is not defined by volume. It is defined by clarity and intent.
For most movers businesses, an effective sitemap typically remains within:
4 to 8 core service pages
3 to 6 case study pages
one blog or resource section
an about page
a contact page
If your sitemap is cluttered with:
outdated campaigns
duplicated services
unused landing pages
forgotten promotions
A website restructure should simplify the experience, not complicate it.
The Core Principle to Remember
If a customer cannot immediately understand what you do by viewing your sitemap, your website will not convert consistently.
A strong sitemap should feel like:
a professional service menu
a structured business blueprint
a clear customer pathway
Not a technical diagram.
Strategic Perspective
Website performance is driven by structure before design.
When a sitemap is organised by:Main service → category → specific service your website becomes:
easier to understand
easier to rank
easier to navigate
and easier to convert
Design enhances perception.Structure drives performance.
What a Well-Planned Sitemap Unlocks
When executed properly, sitemap planning delivers:
clearer navigation
stronger SEO signals
better topical authority
faster ranking growth
higher enquiry flow
less future-page clutter
easier site scaling
It also aligns design, development, SEO, and CRO into one unified structure.
Common Sitemap Mistakes to Avoid
Designing layouts before planning structure
Hiding services under vague labels
Letting multiple pages target the same keyword
Over-nesting directories
Treating blogs as substitutes for service pages
Building sitemaps based on internal team structure
These mistakes dilute both SEO and conversions.
If you’re planning a full website revamp and want a structure-first approach, explore our
to see our full process, SEO migration framework, and pricing logic.
Ready to Fix Your Website Structure Before Redesigning?
We help Singapore SMEs rebuild website architecture around:
clarity
search visibility
and enquiry flow
Send us your current sitemap and we’ll recommend a cleaner, SEO-safe structure before any design begins.
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