I just want to be sure that I am on the right path or making the right choices for redesigning a website that has been in existence since 1997 and has a page ranking of 4/10. The current look and overall layout is not user friendly - I can provide a link to the new site if you would like to provide me with additional input on the new look and layout.

I have created a new folder on the ftp site to house the new site until it is complete. All of the new pages will be named exactly as the old pages e.g. default.htm, etc. Assign unique titles, keywords and descriptions to each page while keeping existing content for the search engines. Providing Alt tags for all images, buttons, etc.

Anything I am missing or forgetting about? Do I need to do a 301 on the old pages to the new pages?

Thank you very much for your help, I have read articles and such but they are out dated and am not sure if the rules still apply.