A new website can quietly erase years of search visibility if URLs change and nobody redirects them. Here's how to avoid it.
A redesign should make your site better at winning business. Too often it breaks the pages Google already knows about, and enquiries dip right after launch. Most of that is avoidable with a bit of planning.
Crawl the current site and export every URL. Note which pages get traffic and which attract links, using Search Console and analytics. Those are the ones to protect.
If a page still makes sense, keep its address. Changing /services/boiler-repair to /what-we-do/repairs gains you nothing and creates work.
For any URL that changes or disappears, set up a permanent (301) redirect to the closest relevant new page, not blindly to the homepage. Keep a spreadsheet of old and new addresses and test them before launch.
Pages that rank do so for a reason. Keep the useful content, headings and page titles unless you're deliberately improving them. Don't launch with 'Lorem ipsum' or noindex tags left on from staging.
Submit the new sitemap, check Search Console for errors, and monitor rankings and enquiries for several weeks. Some movement is normal after big changes. If you're not sure a redesign is even the right move, read the signs your website is costing you customers.
We handle the redirects, metadata and launch checks as part of every rebuild.
Start a conversation →There can be some short-term movement, but careful redirects and content carry-over reduce the risk a lot.
That adds steps, including change-of-address in Search Console and updating listings. Plan it as a project in its own right.
