Many businesses redesign their website and watch their Google traffic fall by half. It happens when old pages disappear without redirects or valuable content is cut. With planning, you can avoid it.
Before the redesign
- Record everything: list every current URL, its traffic from Search Console and Analytics, and its backlinks.
- Identify your best pages: those with the most visits, rankings and enquiries.
- Keep what works: do not delete or thin out content on pages that rank.
During the build
- Keep the same URLs where possible.
- Where URLs change, plan a 301 redirect from each old URL to the closest new page.
- Keep titles, headings and content on important pages, improving rather than replacing them.
- Stop search engines indexing the test site while it is being built.
On launch day
- Add all redirects. Our redirect generator creates the rules.
- Remove any “noindex” or blocking left from the test site.
- Submit a new sitemap in Search Console.
- Test old URLs to confirm they redirect correctly.
- Check tracking and forms.
After launch
- Watch Search Console daily for two weeks for errors and traffic changes.
- Fix any broken links or missed redirects quickly.
- Expect small fluctuations for a few weeks; big drops need investigation.
Planning a redesign? See our website redesign and migration SEO services.
Want the full picture? This article is part of Business websites: the complete guide, our in-depth guide with everything in one place.
