Redesigning without losing your rankings: a redirect checklist
A new design should not reset years of search visibility. This is the order we work in to protect the pages that already earn traffic.
Rankings are earned by specific URLs. When a redesign changes those URLs without a plan, the authority built up there is lost. The fix is process, not luck.
1. Inventory what you have
Export every indexable URL, with its traffic, backlinks and the keywords it ranks for. This tells you which pages must be protected and which can be retired.
2. Build a redirect map
- Map each old URL to the closest equivalent new URL.
- Use permanent (301) redirects, not temporary ones.
- Avoid chains; point straight to the final address.
- Never send everything to the homepage.
3. Keep what already works
Preserve page titles, headings and the copy that earns clicks unless there is a reason to change them. Change one thing at a time where you can.
4. Check before and after launch
- Crawl the staging site and confirm every mapped redirect resolves.
- Submit the new sitemap on launch day.
- Watch indexing and impressions weekly for the first two months.
- Fix unexpected 404s as soon as they appear.
A short dip after a redesign is common. A prolonged one usually traces back to a missing redirect or changed content, both of which this checklist is designed to catch.