Website Redesign SEO Checklist: Protect Your Google Rankings

Updated: 13 October, 2026

A new website should bring in more enquiries, not fewer. Yet a redesign is one of the most common reasons small businesses lose their place on Google: pages disappear, addresses change and the content that earned the rankings gets cut. Good website redesign SEO is mostly careful housekeeping. This checklist covers what to do before, during and after the launch, based on Google's own guidance for moving a site.

No checklist can promise your rankings will stay exactly where they are. Google's guidance on site moves says to expect some temporary movement while it processes the changes. What a careful plan does is give your new site the best chance of settling quickly.

Before you start: know what's working now

1. List every page that gets visits

Export the pages that bring in traffic from Google Search Console and your analytics. These are the pages you can't afford to lose, and the list becomes your checklist for the rest of the project.

2. Note what each page ranks for

For your most important pages, record the searches they appear for and their position. Search Console's Performance report shows this. You'll want a "before" picture to compare against after launch.

3. Save your backlinks

Other sites linking to you are a big part of how Google judges your site. Make a note of which of your pages they point to, so those addresses keep working.

4. Keep the content that ranks

It's tempting to start fresh, but a page that ranks well usually does so because of what it says. Improve it, update it and redesign around it, rather than replacing it with a shorter version.

During the build: plan every address

5. Map old addresses to new ones

Write down every old URL and the new URL that replaces it. Pages with no direct replacement should point to the closest relevant page, not just the homepage. Google calls this mapping one of the most important steps of a move.

6. Use permanent redirects

Set up a permanent (301) redirect from each old address to its new one. Send people straight to the final page rather than through a chain of redirects, and keep the redirects in place for as long as possible: Google suggests at least a year.

7. Keep titles, headings and descriptions strong

Carry over or improve the title tags, headings and meta descriptions of your best pages. Make sure every page has one clear main heading and a title that says what the page is about.

8. Don't let the test site be found

A staging copy of your new site shouldn't appear on Google. Block it while it's being built, and plan exactly how and when those blocks come off at launch, because a forgotten "noindex" can hide a whole site.

9. Check speed and mobile

A redesign is a chance to make pages faster. Test the new site on a phone before launch: slow pages and fiddly buttons cost enquiries as well as rankings.

Launch day

10. Switch on the redirects and test them

Visit a sample of old addresses and check each lands on the right new page with a single redirect.

11. Remove any blocks

Take off the noindex tags and robots.txt rules that were only there during the build.

12. Update internal links and canonicals

Links within your own site should point straight to the new addresses, and each page's canonical tag should point to itself.

13. Submit the new sitemap

Submit the new sitemap in Search Console so Google finds the new pages quickly. If you're also changing your domain name, use Search Console's Change of Address tool too.

After launch: watch and fix

14. Check Search Console every week

Look for pages that aren't indexed, errors and 404s. Fix any missing redirects as soon as they show up.

15. Compare against your "before" picture

Some movement in the first weeks is normal; Google says it can take a few weeks or more to replace the old addresses with the new ones. If a key page drops and stays down, compare the old and new versions and restore what was lost.

16. Update your links elsewhere

Change the website address on your Google Business Profile, social media profiles and directory listings, and ask partners who link to you to update their links.

Common mistakes

• Changing every address when most could have stayed the same.

• Redirecting everything to the homepage.

• Deleting old blog posts that still bring in visitors.

• Launching with the "don't index" setting still switched on.

• Removing the redirects a few months later.

Planning a redesign?

When we redesign a site, we start with a list of your current pages and test the redirects on launch day. If your site is due a refresh, see our web design in Gibraltar and SEO in Gibraltar pages, or request a quote.

Frequently asked questions

Will a redesign hurt my Google rankings?

It can if pages and addresses are lost. With every old address redirected and the best content kept, most sites settle within a few weeks, although Google expects some temporary movement.

What is a 301 redirect?

A permanent redirect. It sends visitors and search engines from an old address to the new one and tells Google the move is permanent.

How long should I keep redirects?

As long as possible. Google suggests at least a year, and there is rarely a good reason to remove them.

Can I keep my old addresses?

Often, yes. Keeping the same addresses where possible is the simplest way to protect your rankings.

Do I need to tell Google about my new site?

Submit the new sitemap in Search Console. If the domain name itself changes, use the Change of Address tool as well.