A redesign is where a lot of firms lose search traffic they spent years earning. The new design is rarely the cause. What goes wrong is that the old addresses vanish, the new pages say less, and Google has to work the site out again from scratch.

We use the same five steps on every website redesign.

1. Map every page you have

Before you change anything, list every URL on the old site, what it ranks for and what links to it. Search Console shows which pages get impressions and clicks, and your sitemap lists the rest. Nothing that earns a click gets dropped without a redirect.

Watch for the pages nobody remembers: old blog posts, a service you stopped advertising, a PDF a directory links to. Those are often the pages other sites link to.

2. Redirect every old address in one hop

Every old page should point to its replacement, one to one, with a permanent (301) redirect. That way bookmarks, directory listings and the links you've earned all still work on launch day.

Two rules apply. Use one hop, so the old address goes straight to the new one and never through a page in between. And go page to page, rather than sending everything to the home page. Google can treat a redirect to an unrelated page as if the page no longer exists.

3. Rebuild each page with more to read, not less

Redesigns often swap words for big photos. If a service page had three paragraphs and now has one line, Google has less to rank and an AI assistant has less to quote. Every rebuilt page should say at least as much as the old one did. Give each service and each city its own page, put real words beside every photo, and add structured data that matches what the page says.

CP Crane & Rigging is a good example. Their old site was a single page fixed at 1,024 pixels wide, so it didn't fit a phone screen. It's now a site built around how a contractor books a lift, with a page for each crane type.

4. Build beside the old site, then switch in one move

Keep the old site running while the new one is built next to it, so visitors and Google always see a working site. On launch day the new site and all the redirects go live at once. That way there's no stretch where half the addresses lead nowhere.

Before you switch, check the basics. Each page should have one canonical address. The sitemap should list every page and nothing else, and no page should be reachable at two URLs. That's the technical SEO part of every build we do.

5. Watch Search Console for a month

Submit the new sitemap on launch day. For the next month, check Search Console every week for pages dropped from the index, addresses returning errors, and searches where clicks fell. Fix whatever dips while it's still small.

Some movement in the first few weeks is normal while Google re-reads the site. A dip that keeps getting bigger usually means a redirect is missing or a page now says less than it did.

What to keep from the old site

A redesign doesn't mean starting from zero. Keep what works: the name, the logo, any photos worth keeping, and every page that earns clicks. What changes is the structure and the words, since those are what search engines and AI assistants read.

When a redesign isn't the right call

If the old site gets no traffic worth protecting, a new build is simpler. If the site is sound and just isn't showing up, monthly work may help more than a rebuild. What local SEO costs per month explains that option.

A redesign with us costs the same as a new build, $5,000 once, fixed price, for up to 15 pages, paid half to start and half at launch. Trades firms can see more on our trades and construction page, and law firms can read what a law firm website costs. Not sure where you stand? Start with the free visibility check.

Questions owners ask

Will a redesign hurt my Google rankings?

Not if every old address redirects to its replacement and each new page says at least as much as the old one. Check Search Console weekly for a month after launch to catch anything that slips.

What kind of redirect should I use?

A permanent (301) redirect from each old address straight to its replacement, in one hop. Don't chain redirects, and don't send old pages to the home page.

Can I keep my current design?

Keep what works: the name, the logo, the photos worth keeping and any page that earns clicks. What changes is the structure and the words.

What does a redesign cost?

With us, the same as a new build: $5,000 once, fixed price, for up to 15 pages, half to start and half at launch. A larger site is quoted page by page before work starts.