This is one of the most common worries I hear, and it’s a fair one. Some businesses launch a beautiful new site and then watch the calls slow down. The good news is that it’s avoidable, and Google publishes exactly what it recommends.
Why rankings can drop after a redesign
Over the years, Google has learned where your pages are, what they’re about, and which other sites link to them. A redesign often changes all of that at once. The usual problems:
Page addresses change. Your old roof repair page lived at /roof-repair.html. The new one lives at /services/roof-repair/. Google’s old listing, and every link other sites made to it, now leads to an error page.
Pages get cut. A page that quietly brought in steady traffic gets removed because it seemed unimportant.
Content gets thinner. A detailed service page becomes one short paragraph and a stock photo.
Settings get missed. Many website platforms let you hide a site from search engines while it’s being built. Forgetting to turn that off at launch is more common than you’d think.
What Google recommends
Google’s guide to moving a site with URL changes is clear on the main points:
Map your old pages to your new ones. Google says it’s important to map your old site’s URLs to the new site’s URLs. In practice, that means listing every page on your current site and deciding where each one goes.
Use permanent (301) redirects. A 301 redirect tells browsers and Google, “this page has moved here for good.” According to Google, 301 and other permanent redirects don’t cause a loss in PageRank, Google’s measure of a page’s authority.
Keep the redirects in place. Google recommends keeping redirects as long as possible, generally at least a year.
Expect a little movement. Google warns that rankings can fluctuate temporarily during a move. That’s normal. A careful move keeps the dip small and short.
Watch Search Console. Google calls Search Console “your friend” during a move. It’s a free tool that shows which pages Google has found, which ones are broken, and how your site appears in search.
What a careful redesign looks like
- Before: list every page on the old site, including ones that aren’t in the menu.
- Decide what stays, what merges, and what’s retired. Pages that bring in traffic stay and usually get better.
- Write the redirect map, where each old address points to its new home.
- At launch, turn on the redirects, make sure search engines can see the site, and submit a sitemap.
- After launch, test the old addresses and check Search Console for errors.
Keep what’s working
A redesign is a chance to improve things, but it isn’t a reason to throw away what Google already likes about your site. If a service page ranks well, keep its main topic, its useful details, and ideally its address. Improve the design and the writing around it.
Questions to ask any designer
- Will you map my old pages to the new ones?
- Who sets up the redirects, and are they permanent (301)?
- Will you make sure the new site is visible to search engines at launch?
- Will you check Search Console after launch?
- What happens to pages that are being removed?
If the answers are vague, or the designer isn’t sure what a redirect is, keep looking.
How I handle it
Every site I build gets an SEO-ready setup: page mapping, permanent redirects, clean page titles, a fast mobile-friendly design, and a post-launch check in Search Console. I don’t sell ongoing SEO services. My job is making sure your move doesn’t cost you what you’ve already earned.
Thinking about a redesign? Book a 20-minute call and bring your questions.
