A website rewrite should not begin by covering the old site with new words. It should begin with a dated record of what is live now.
Marque & Heir uses that record to put the owner and the person doing the work at the same starting point. It shows which pages existed, what they said, which public routes were checked, and which material still needs an ownership or approval decision. The method keeps the live capture and the replacement draft in separate labeled records.
Marque & Heir recommends a plain pre-rewrite record for local businesses. This is an operating record, not a technical score and not a claim that the current site is good or bad.
List the live paths before copying the words
Start with the public routes a visitor can reach. Record the home page, navigation links, service pages, contact routes, policy pages, and any other live page the owner wants included in the rewrite decision.
For each path, save:
- the full live URL;
- the page title visible in the browser;
- the date and time checked;
- whether the path opened, redirected, or failed;
- where it appeared in the navigation; and
- the person who checked it.
Do not treat the menu as the full path list. Check for live pages that are no longer linked from the main navigation. When an old campaign path, former service page, or outdated contact page is found, give it an explicit keep, replace, redirect, or retire decision.
This path list is the outside edge of the copy record. It does not claim that every hidden or system-generated route has been found.
Save the live copy with its source attached
Copy the visible page text into a business-controlled working folder, one file per live path. Put the source URL and checked date at the top of every file. Keep the page title, headings, button labels, form labels, and short notices with the page they came from.
Do not paste every page into one large document and remove the source labels. Once the words move away from the site, the source path is what tells the team where each statement was public.
Mark this first capture LIVE RECORD. It is a record of what appeared on the checked date, not owner approval to reuse every sentence. A current page can still contain an old phone number, an ended offer, an unapproved claim, or wording the owner wants retired.
The rewrite file should have a different label, such as WORKING DRAFT. The owner-approved version should be marked APPROVED, with the approval date and approver named. Those labels keep “we found it” separate from “we may publish it.”
Inventory images without guessing at permission
Create a separate image list. Record the file name when known, the page where the image appears, what the image shows in plain terms, and whether the source and permission are on file.
Do not treat “already on the website” as proof that an image can be reused in a new build. If the source, owner, license, customer permission, or release status is unknown, mark it HOLD. Do not fill the gap with a made-up credit or a claim about who appears in the image.
Keep the actual image files in the approved business folder when the owner has them. A screenshot can help identify what was live, but it is not the same thing as the original file and does not settle reuse permission.
Marque & Heir recommends keeping each approved image tied to its source and approval record. That is a house operating rule, not a claim that the record decides every legal question. Qualified review still controls when rights or releases are unclear.
Record what each contact action does
Attach the existing approved contact-path record to the website baseline. It should name each live phone, email, form, booking, map, or download action and its current destination. Routing and test mechanics belong in that separate operating record, not in the copy inventory.
Do not put passwords, recovery codes, private customer material, or full account credentials into the baseline folder. It can name the account, responsible owner, and approved access path without becoming a loose credential file.
Separate current facts from copy choices
Attach the current owner-approved public-facts sheet to the baseline. Mark any disagreement between that sheet and the captured copy as HOLD. The baseline records the disagreement; it does not decide which version is right or authorize a new public fact.
Give every old page a written disposition
Each live path needs one answer before the replacement goes public:
- Keep — the path and approved material remain.
- Replace — the path remains but approved content changes.
- Redirect — the old path should lead to a tested current path.
- Retire — the path comes down under an approved removal plan.
- Hold — ownership, facts, routing, or permission are not settled.
The person doing the work should not turn a hold into a deletion or publication decision. Put the owner’s decision and date beside the path.
When a new issue appears after approval, add it to the change record. Do not quietly widen the rewrite scope because the old site contains more work than expected.
Compare, test, and hand over the new record
Before launch, compare the approved draft with the live record. Confirm that required pages have a destination, approved facts match, approved images are attached, contact actions point to the right place, and retired material has an owner-approved disposition.
After launch, run the live page-route checks and attach the separate contact-path test record. Record what was checked and when. A passing check proves only that the checked route behaved as recorded at that time; it does not promise future availability, inquiries, rankings, bookings, or sales.
Hand the owner the live baseline, approved copy, image list, path decisions, test record, and final live-route list. Keep the handoff under business control with named access.
If a rewrite is already moving without a clean live baseline, ask the free check to mark what needs saving first.