If your website is already bringing in visitors from Google, a redesign can be exciting. But without the right plan, a new site can lead to a sudden drop in your search rankings.
Search engines regularly crawl your website to learn how it’s set up and what’s on each page. Over time, they get to know your site and build trust. If you change your site’s structure during a redesign, search engines can lose track of your pages. This can break links and cause your rankings to drop.
To keep your website traffic steady after a redesign, make sure you follow these important steps:
1. Map out 301 redirects
If you change a page’s URL, even just a little, you need to set up a 301 redirect. This is like telling Google your page has moved, so visitors and search engines end up in the right place. Redirects help maintain your search rankings and prevent you from losing the valuable SEO that you’ve built over time.
2. Audit and preserve content & on-page SEO
Don’t just copy everything over without checking. Use Google Analytics to find your best-performing pages. Make sure your important content, page titles, and headings are carried over or improved on your new site. If you’re implementing the rebuild on your own, don’t overthink keywords—focus on what your customers are looking for and write clear, helpful content.
3. Implement schema markup
Adding structured data (Schema markup) helps search engines understand your business, your products, and your services. Including this in your redesign can help your site stand out in search results with extra details, making it easier for customers to find you.
4. Optimise for Core Web Vitals and mobile
Google now prioritises the mobile version of your website. Your new site should be fast and work perfectly on smartphones. Focus on Core Web Vitals, Google’s official speed and user experience metrics. Even the best-looking site won’t rank if it takes too long to load.
5. Submit your new roadmap
Once your new site is live, your developer should create a new sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. This helps search engines find your new pages quickly and update their records.
Ready for a fresh look without the risk?
A website redesign should help your business grow, not cost you visitors. If your site needs a fresh look, our team can deliver a modern design while maintaining your search rankings. Get your free quote now.