How to Plan a Website Redesign Without Losing SEO

When to Redesign

Not every website needs a redesign. Consider redesigning when:

Business reasons:

• Brand has significantly evolved
• Business model has changed
• Target audience has shifted
• Current site hurts credibility

Technical reasons:

• Site isn't mobile-friendly
• Performance is poor
• Security vulnerabilities
• Can't be easily updated
• Platform is outdated

Performance reasons:

• Conversion rate is low
• Bounce rate is high
• Time on site is declining
• SEO rankings are falling

Don't redesign just because:

• You're bored with the current look
• A competitor redesigned
• It's been 2+ years (arbitrary timelines)

Redesign vs. Refresh

Full Redesign

• New design from scratch
• Possible platform change
• Information architecture overhaul
• Significant investment

Refresh

• Update visual elements
• Keep structure mostly intact
• Improve specific pain points
• Lower investment

A refresh may solve your problems at lower cost and risk.

Planning Phase

Step 1: Audit Current Site

Analytics review:

• Top performing pages
• High bounce rate pages
• Conversion paths
• Traffic sources
• User flow

Content audit:

• What content exists?
• What performs well?
• What's outdated?
• What's missing?

Technical audit:

• Page speed
• Mobile responsiveness
• SEO health
• Security status
• Accessibility

User feedback:

• Customer complaints
• Support tickets
• User surveys
• Session recordings

Step 2: Define Goals

Business goals:

• Increase leads by X%
• Improve conversion rate
• Support new product launch
• Enter new market
• Reduce support inquiries

User goals:

• Faster information finding
• Easier purchasing
• Better mobile experience
• Clearer messaging

Make goals measurable.

Step 3: Know Your Audience

Document:

• Who visits your site
• Why they visit
• What devices they use
• What they're looking for
• Where they struggle currently

Step 4: Competitive Analysis

Review competitors:

• What do they do well?
• Where do they fall short?
• What features do they have?
• How do you differentiate?

Don't copy—but learn.

Step 5: Define Scope

Include:

• Pages to redesign
• New pages needed
• Features required
• Integrations needed
• Content requirements

Set priorities:

• Must-have vs. nice-to-have
• Phase 1 vs. future phases

Step 6: Set Budget and Timeline

Budget considerations:

• Design and development
• Content creation
• Photography/video
• SEO migration
• Testing
• Contingency (10-20%)

Timeline considerations:

• Discovery and planning
• Design phase
• Development phase
• Content migration
• Testing
• Launch

Content Strategy

Content First

Design should serve content, not the other way around.

Before design:

• Inventory existing content
• Identify gaps
• Plan new content
• Define content requirements per page

Migration Plan

For existing content:

• What stays as-is?
• What needs updating?
• What gets consolidated?
• What gets removed?

Redirect mapping:

• Old URL → New URL
• Preserve SEO value
• Avoid broken links

New Content

Who creates it?

• In-house team
• Agency/freelancer
• Content as a service

Timeline:

Content often takes longer than expected. Start early.

SEO Considerations

Before Launch

Document:

• Current rankings
• Top performing pages
• Backlink profile
• Indexation status

During Development

Ensure:

• Proper URL structure
• Title tags and meta descriptions
• Header hierarchy (H1, H2, etc.)
• Image optimization
• Internal linking
• Schema markup
• XML sitemap
• Robots.txt

At Launch

Execute:

• 301 redirects for changed URLs
• Submit new sitemap
• Monitor Search Console
• Track ranking changes

After Launch

Watch for:

• Ranking drops
• Indexation issues
• Crawl errors
• Traffic changes

Have a plan to address issues quickly.

Design Phase

Information Architecture

Before visual design:

• Site structure
• Navigation hierarchy
• User flows
• Page templates needed

Wireframes

Low-fidelity layouts showing:

• Content placement
• Feature locations
• Hierarchy
• Functionality (before visuals)

Visual Design

High-fidelity designs showing:

• Colors and typography
• Imagery style
• UI elements
• Interactions

Review Process

• Review at wireframe stage (structure)
• Review at design stage (visuals)
• Consolidate feedback
• Limit revision rounds

Development Phase

Environment Setup

• Development environment
• Staging environment
• Production environment

Development Stages

1. Build core templates

2. Add functionality

3. Integrate content

4. Connect integrations

5. Optimize performance

6. Cross-browser testing

7. Mobile testing

8. Accessibility testing

Quality Assurance

Test:

• All browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
• All devices (desktop, tablet, mobile)
• All functionality
• All forms
• All integrations
• Page speed
• SEO elements

Launch

Pre-Launch Checklist

• [ ] All content reviewed and approved
• [ ] All forms tested
• [ ] All integrations working
• [ ] Analytics tracking installed
• [ ] 301 redirects in place
• [ ] SSL certificate active
• [ ] Backup of old site saved
• [ ] DNS changes ready
• [ ] Team notified
• [ ] Support plan ready

Launch Day

• Deploy during low-traffic period
• Monitor for issues
• Test critical paths immediately
• Watch error logs
• Be available to fix issues

Post-Launch

Week 1:

• Monitor analytics
• Check Search Console
• Fix issues quickly
• Gather initial feedback

Month 1:

• Compare metrics to baseline
• Address SEO changes
• Make quick improvements
• Document lessons learned

Common Mistakes

1. Redesigning Without Goals

Know what success looks like before starting.

2. Ignoring Current Analytics

Don't throw away what's working.

3. Content as Afterthought

Content drives design requirements.

4. Scope Creep

Define scope and stick to it.

5. Skipping SEO Planning

Poor SEO migration can devastate traffic.

6. Insufficient Testing

Test thoroughly before launch.

7. No Post-Launch Plan

Plan for monitoring and iteration.

A website redesign is a significant investment. Proper planning maximizes your return and minimizes risk.