URL inventory, 301 redirects, content, tags and monitoring: everything to check so a redesign improves your site instead of killing your traffic.
A redesign can boost a website or wipe out half of its traffic overnight. The difference almost always comes from SEO preparation. Here is the website redesign SEO checklist we use on every project.
Before: take inventory
- Export every indexed URL (sitemap, Search Console, crawler).
- Identify pages that receive traffic and backlinks.
- Record titles, meta descriptions and H1s of important pages.
- Note current positions for your main keywords.
During: keep what works
Keep URLs that perform whenever possible. If the structure changes, map every old URL to the closest new page with a 301 redirect. Never redirect everything to the homepage.
Launch day
- Check that the site is not set to noindex.
- Test a sample of redirects and fix 404 errors.
- Submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Check canonical tags, hreflang and structured data.
After: monitor
Monitor errors, indexing coverage and rankings for at least two months. A short dip is normal; a lasting drop usually means missing redirects or removed content.
Use the redesign to get faster
A redesign is the ideal moment to improve Core Web Vitals: WebP images, lazy loading, lighter CSS and optimised fonts. Read our guide to website speed and Core Web Vitals.
We handle redesigns with full SEO migration: see our website design service. Have a project in mind? Message us on WhatsApp at +212 604 762 053 for a free quote within 24 hours.
