Website redesign: how to protect your search traffic
When is enough improvement, and when is a new website needed? Plan for migrating pages, checking forms, and controlling searches after the redesign.
A redesign is needed when the current website makes it difficult for the buyer to understand the offer or leave a request. Changing colors alone does not solve lack of demand, poor directory structure, or lost messages. Before starting work, write down the specific problem and the indicator by which you will evaluate the change.
Improvement or complete rework?
If the required pages are already in the search, the form works, but the visitor lacks prices and examples, start with the content and arrangement of the blocks. If the directory cannot be maintained, the mobile version is falling apart, and changes require workarounds, a new architecture may be justified.
Make a list of what is already delivering value: search referral pages, external links, quote requests, and repeat business. They should not be lost just because the new layout looks neater.
Pre-launch plan
- Save a list of page addresses and downloads of indicators for the comparable period.
- For each old URL, determine its fate: keep it, move it to a relevant address, or delete it if the material is no longer available.
- For changed addresses, prepare permanent redirects. Do not send all old cards to the main page: there may not be an answer to the request there.
- Transfer useful texts, characteristics and images. Update internal links, canonical and sitemap.
- Check the mobile version, form, success page, and analytics events.
- Make sure that the test version bypass bans have not moved to the main domain.
What to check on the day of publication
Open the main page, several services and cards for old and new addresses. Check server responses, transitions, absence of redirect loops, and availability of images. Submit a test request from your phone. Confirm that the message has been received and the original page has been saved.
A detailed procedure for working with changed URLs is described inGoogle documentation about site migration. Redirects and a sitemap help detect changes, but do not guarantee that every position will be preserved.
How to evaluate the result
Separate technical errors from changes in demand. Compare the same page groups, regions, and sources. A decrease in the total number of visits does not always mean a deterioration: non-targeted requests may have disappeared. But missing important pages from search or undelivered enquiries require immediate verification.
In Vehart industrial service caseYou can see what problems the service website solves. This is an example of structure and measurement, not a promise of a similar result with any redesign.
Send us your website: we’ll determine what’s worth saving and what’s worth redoing. Cost and format of work - ontariffs page.
Questions and answers
Can you guarantee that traffic will not drop?
No. You can reduce technical risks, preserve useful pages, and track changes. Search results also depend on the demand and evaluation of the site by the search engine.
Do I need to change the addresses of all pages?
No. If the addresses are clear and work, they can be saved. When changing, you need a map of correspondence between old and new pages.