Redesign Without SEO Disaster
Website redesigns often tank organic traffic because teams focus on design and forget about search. Here is how to avoid that mistake.
Before the Redesign
- Export a complete list of all URLs from Google Search Console
- Document current rankings for your top 50 keywords
- Screenshot your top 10 pages for reference
- Note all internal link structures
- Backup your entire current site
During Development
- Match new URLs to old URLs whenever possible
- Create 301 redirects for any changed URLs
- Preserve title tags and meta descriptions that work
- Keep the same heading structure (H1, H2, etc.)
- Do not launch without testing redirects
After Launch
- Submit new sitemap to Search Console immediately
- Monitor crawl errors daily for two weeks
- Check rankings weekly for your key terms
- Fix any broken links or redirect chains
- Update Google Business Profile if URLs changed
Common Mistakes
- Launching without redirect plan
- Changing URL structure unnecessarily
- Removing or rewriting high-performing content
- Forgetting about image URLs and alt text
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