Careers Website Redesign Checklist and 12-Week Project Plan

How to use this plan

Use this as a working plan, not a poster. Choose an owner for every task, agree the dates in the first week, and review the risks every Monday.

Twelve weeks is a realistic shape for a focused redesign when decisions are made quickly and content is ready. Complex organisations with many brands or languages will need longer, and a platform change adds time. Treat the plan as a starting point and adjust the lengths.

For the wider thinking behind a redesign, read our careers website redesign guide. If you are moving platform, see the migration checklist and the guide to replacing your careers website provider.

The checklist by phase

Discover (Weeks 1 and 2)

• Agree the goals and the three measures that define success
• Name the sponsor, the project lead and the decision makers
• Capture a baseline: traffic, apply rate, speed, accessibility
• Inventory the content and mark keep, rewrite or remove
• Interview candidates, new hires and hiring managers
• List every integration, from the recruiting system to analytics and consent

Plan (Weeks 3 and 4)

• Write requirements and rank them: must, should, could
• Agree the information architecture and page templates
• Set the accessibility standard and test method
• Decide who edits what, and who approves
• Confirm the budget, risks and launch date
• Choose or confirm the platform

Design (Weeks 5 and 6)

• Wireframe the journeys: home, search, job, apply
• Design on mobile first, then scale up
• Build or confirm the design system and brand rules
• Plan imagery, video and story content
• Write key page copy with answer-first openings
• Sign off the design with accessibility checked

Build (Weeks 7 to 9)

• Build the templates and the editing experience
• Migrate or write the content
• Connect the recruiting system, analytics and consent tools
• Set up SEO: titles, markup, sitemap and redirects
• Train the team who will edit the website
• Run weekly show and tells with stakeholders

Test (Weeks 10 and 11)

• Test accessibility with tools and with real assistive technology
• Test speed on real devices and slower connections
• Test the full apply journey on every major device
• Test every redirect and check for broken links
• Validate structured data on a sample of jobs
• Run acceptance testing and log defects

Launch (Week 12)

• Freeze content and confirm the go-live checklist
• Launch at a quiet time with the team on hand
• Monitor errors, speed, search and applications daily
• Fix urgent issues within one working day
• Review results at 30 days against the baseline
• Share the results and plan the next improvements

The 12-week plan with owners

Each phase has a clear finish line. Do not start the next phase until the sign-off for the last one is recorded.

1. DiscoverKnow where you start.
2. PlanAgree what and who.
3. DesignMobile first.
4. BuildContent and code.
5. TestProve it works.
6. LaunchWatch closely.

Risks and how to reduce them

Roles and sign-offs

Record sign-offs in writing at five points: goals, scope, design, content and go-live. It prevents the late changes that cost the most.

Download the plan

Build your skills as you go with the Happydance Academy, and work out whether the project pays back with our business case template.

Choose the right scope before you start the checklist

A checklist is only useful if it matches the size of the project. Match the tier first, then use the phases that apply.

Go or no-go: the launch gate

Hold a short gate meeting two working days before launch. Each item has an owner, and each owner says go or no-go.

• Content is final and approved in every launch language.
• Phone, tablet and desktop tests have been passed on real devices.
• Keyboard and screen reader tests have been passed on the main journeys.
• Job feed and apply flow have been tested end to end.
• Redirects, sitemap and structured data have been tested on staging.
• Analytics and consent have been tested.
• A rollback plan exists and the owner is named.
• Support has a briefing note and a contact list.

What to do in the first week after launch

1. Check search coverage and errors each morning.
2. Watch application starts and completions against your baseline.
3. Collect feedback from recruiters and hiring managers.
4. Log every issue with an owner and a date.
5. Hold a short review on day five and agree the next fixes.

Keep a decision log

Redesign projects lose time when the same decision is made twice. Keep a one-page log with the decision, the date, who decided and why. Review it at each gate meeting. It also helps the next team understand why the site is built as it is.