A redesign is the most common reason search visibility collapses overnight. It does not have to. What matters most is that every old address is redirected to the right new one, and that this is checked before launch and after it.
What actually changes in the redesign?
The risks depend on what changes. A visual refresh alone is a small risk. A change of addresses, content or domain is a large one.
- Do the addresses (URL structure) change?
- Are pages removed or merged?
- Does the domain, the platform or the structure of the language versions change?
Before anything is built: record the current state
List every existing address. Combine the sitemap, the pages in Search Console and the landing pages in analytics. Mark the pages that bring the most traffic and enquiries. Those must not be lost.
Also save the current titles, meta descriptions and Search Console figures. You will need them to compare the situation after launch.
Make a redirect map
A redirect map is a table in which every old address has a new counterpart. Redirect each page to the closest matching content, not to the homepage. Google reads a page redirected to the homepage as gone.
Use permanent 301 redirects and avoid chains in which one redirect leads to another.
Check on the staging version
- Does every important page still have its title, meta description and content?
- Do the internal links work with the new addresses?
- Are the canonical and hreflang tags correct?
- Is the staging noindex definitely removed at launch?
On launch day
Test the redirects with real old addresses straight after launch. Submit the new sitemap to Search Console and check that robots.txt blocks nothing.
The most common launch-day mistake is the staging indexing block travelling along into production.
After launch: follow for four weeks
A small dip is normal while Google works through the new addresses. If important pages do not return to search within a couple of weeks, the cause needs to be found at once. The indexing checklist is a starting point.
We help with redesigns as part of technical SEO, ideally from the planning stage.