A new design can bring in more leads, or it can quietly erase years of search traffic. The difference is almost never the visuals. It's whether the move was planned. Use this checklist to protect your rankings through a relaunch.
Before you start
- List every URL on the current site. A crawl or your sitemap will show you what exists.
- Find the pages that matter. In Google Search Console, note which pages get traffic and which queries bring people in.
- Record a baseline. Save current traffic, rankings and lead numbers so you can compare afterward.
- Decide what to keep. Pages and content that rank should be improved, not thrown away.
While you build
- Keep URLs the same where you can. The fewer addresses that change, the less risk.
- Plan 301 redirects. Every old URL that changes needs a permanent redirect to its closest new page.
- Preserve what ranks. Keep the titles, headings and the substance of pages that already perform.
- Keep internal links working. Navigation and links between pages help search engines understand your site.
- Block the staging site from search. And then remember to remove that block at launch.
At launch
- Check that no leftover "noindex" tags or robots.txt rules are blocking the live site.
- Submit the new sitemap in Search Console.
- Confirm canonical tags, HTTPS and redirects all work.
- Test every form, phone link and booking flow.
- Make sure analytics and call tracking carry over.
After launch
Watch Search Console for 404 errors and indexing problems for the first few weeks, and compare traffic with your baseline. Small fluctuations are normal after a relaunch. Sharp drops mean something specific broke, and the earlier you catch it the easier it is to fix.
Planning a redesign? Our web design process builds SEO and redirects in from the start, and our SEO service can audit your current site first. Tell us about your project and we'll look at it with you.