Redesigning your website? Nice one. It’s your chance to freshen things up and show the world you mean business.
But let me tell you this – if you don’t handle it right, it’ll cost you.
Here’s the deal: Google doesn’t care how shiny your new design is.
If you don’t guide it through the changes, it’ll act like your site’s vanished into thin air. Rankings drop.
Traffic dries up.
And you’re left wondering where it all went wrong.
At Rankfresh, we’ve seen it all – sites nuked by no-index tags, traffic tanking after a replatform, and domain changes done with zero planning. Here’s how to avoid the common pitfalls and keep Google sweet.
Evolution, Not Revolution
Look, a complete redesign sounds exciting. Rip it all out and start again, yeah? But unless it’s absolutely necessary for branding or functionality, small, steady changes are often the better choice.
Why? Because steady changes:
- Keep things consistent for Google. It doesn’t like surprises.
- Reduce risk. A phased approach means you’re not gambling your entire site’s SEO.
- Help users adapt. Big changes can confuse your audience. Small tweaks? They’re easier to get used to.
- Save cash. A little here, a little there, and you’ve got yourself a budget-friendly upgrade.
That said, if you are going for the full Monty, make sure you plan it properly.
1. Content is King – Don’t Lose It
Your content is why Google ranks you. If you mess with it without a plan, you’re asking for trouble.
Real-world Example:
A global engineering firm we worked with saw 70% of its traffic disappear after a redesign.
Why?
Their URL structure changed, and no one sorted the redirects.
To Google, it was like their best pages had nipped down the pub and never come back.
We got the 301 redirects and canonical tags in place, and within a month, the traffic was back.
What to Do:
- Know what’s working. Audit your content and hang on to the good stuff.
- Don’t forget your metadata—it’s not just the words on the page that count.
2. URL Structure: Keep It Simple
Replatforming? Watch out. New platforms love to mess with your URLs.
What Happens:
Even tiny changes, like switching from /products to /our-products, can create 404 errors.
Add a new platform’s auto-generated URLs into the mix, and suddenly, your sitemap’s looking like a dodgy treasure hunt map.
And don’t get me started on domain changes.
If you’re moving from .com to .co.uk and don’t set up redirects, you’re starting from scratch.
Years of SEO? Gone.
What to Do:
- Map out every URL change and set up 301 redirects. No exceptions.
- Test them before going live. One broken link can cause chaos.
3. No-index Tags: The Silent Killer
A no-index tag is like pressing the “self-destruct” button on your rankings.
What We’ve Seen:
One client migrated their site and forgot to remove the no-index tag. Google couldn’t see it. Rankings tanked, revenue followed, and they were left scratching their heads.
It’s an easy fix, but the damage was done.
What to Do:
- Always no-index your staging site to stop Google indexing a half-finished job.
- Remove it before launch. Double-check. Triple-check.
4. Mobile-first: Think Small First
Google’s crawling your mobile site first. If it’s slow, clunky, or broken, you’re handing your competitors a free win.
What We See:
Buttons too small to tap, forms that don’t work, and menus that make no sense.
What to Do:
- Test everything on mobile. If it doesn’t work on a phone, it doesn’t work.
5. Post-launch: Don’t Put Your Feet Up
You’ve launched. The hard work’s done, right? Wrong.
The post-launch phase is where you catch the gremlins.
Case in Point:
A client assumed their analytics were tracking after launch. They weren’t. Months of data were lost because no one copied over their tracking script.
What to Do:
- Use tools like Google Search Console to monitor traffic and rankings.
- Check for crawl errors, broken links, and dodgy redirects. Try our free website audit tool to get started.
The Bottom Line
Redesigning or replatforming your site can feel like a fresh start, but it’s not.
It’s about guiding Google through the changes so it knows you’re still the same reliable business.
At Rankfresh, we’ve seen how a little planning can save you a lot of pain.
If you’re thinking about redesigning your site, give us a shout.
We’ll make sure it’s done right, and your rankings stay where they belong—at the top.
