A new design can make a business look better overnight. It can also make it disappear from Google overnight. When a site changes its addresses and no one redirects the old ones, search engines treat the new pages as strangers and the old pages as gone. Years of ranking can vanish.
This checklist keeps what you have earned while you improve what customers see.
Before you touch anything
1. Record what is working
- Export your list of pages and their addresses
- Note which pages bring the most visitors and enquiries (Google Search Console and analytics show this)
- Note which pages have other websites linking to them, since those links are valuable
- Save the current page titles and descriptions
2. Decide what stays, goes and merges
Not every old page deserves to survive. Thin or outdated pages can be merged or removed. But each removed page needs a plan, not silence.
The most important step: redirects
A redirect sends visitors and Google from an old address to the new one, and passes on most of the ranking. Without it, they hit an error page.
- Create a map from every old address to its new home
- Use permanent (301) redirects, not temporary ones
- Redirect to the closest matching page, not always the home page
- Keep redirects in place for at least a year
- Test them before launch and again after
For example, when we rebuilt our own website, we mapped old pages such as /portfolio and /prerequisite-form to their new equivalents so nothing was lost.
Keep what Google already likes
- Keep page titles and descriptions that perform, or improve them carefully
- Keep the main headings of your best pages
- Keep valuable content. If the new design has less text, ask whether you removed something people searched for
- Keep internal links between related pages
- Keep your domain, unless there is a very good reason to change it. A domain change is a bigger risk than a redesign
Build it right
- Speed: a redesign should make the site faster. Heavy sliders and large videos can do the opposite
- Mobile first: most visitors use a phone, and Google judges the mobile version
- Clean structure: one main heading per page, sensible subheadings, descriptive link text
- Images: compressed, with descriptive alt text
- Structured data: keep or improve it, so search results can show extra details
- Security: HTTPS everywhere, secure headers and backups. Run the free scanner on the new site before launch
Test before launch
On a private test version of the site:
- Check every important page loads, on desktop and a phone
- Click every menu link, button and form
- Test every redirect from the old address list
- Make sure the test site is not indexable while it is being tested, then make it indexable on launch day
- Check titles, headings and descriptions on key pages
Launch day
- Switch the site live, and remove any "noindex" setting
- Check the redirects again on the live site
- Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console
- Check that analytics and forms work
- Watch for errors straight away
After launch
For the first weeks, check Search Console every few days:
- Coverage and pages: look for new errors
- Search performance: some movement is normal, but sharp drops need investigating
- Crawl errors: fix broken links and missing redirects quickly
A small dip in the first weeks can be normal. A large, lasting drop usually means a missing redirect or missing content.
When to redesign, and when not to
Redesign when the site looks outdated, loads slowly, is hard to use on a phone, or no longer says what the business does. Do not redesign just for a new look if the site is working and bringing in enquiries. Sometimes careful improvement of the pages that perform is smarter.
We plan every redesign around what you already have, and keep your rankings safe. See our web design service, or ask for a quote.
