How to redesign a website without losing SEO

To redesign a website without losing SEO, keep every URL that earns traffic or links, 301-redirect every URL that changes straight to its closest new equivalent, carry over titles, content and structured data, and watch Search Console for the weeks after launch. Google’s site-move documentation says permanent redirects don’t cause a loss in PageRank and recommends keeping them for at least a year. Most traffic drops after a redesign trace back to missing redirects, deleted content or a staging noindex left on at launch.

Where do redesign traffic drops come from?

The new design is rarely the cause. Search engines rank pages, and a redesign changes what’s on those pages and where they live. The common failures are mechanical:

• URLs change with no redirect. Old links and indexed pages now return 404.
• Redirects point to the wrong place. Everything goes to the homepage, or to URLs that don’t exist. Google’s guidance names wrong or non-existent redirect targets as a frequent mistake.
• Content gets cut. A long page that ranked becomes a short, pretty page with half the text.
• The new site is blocked. A noindex tag or a robots.txt block from staging ships to production.
• Metadata is lost. Titles, descriptions, canonicals and structured data aren’t rebuilt.
• Mobile loses content. Google indexes the mobile version of your pages, and it asks that the mobile site contain the same primary content as desktop.
• The site gets slower. Heavy hero video and unoptimized images push Largest Contentful Paint past 2.5 seconds, the threshold web.dev treats as good.

All of these are preventable with a plan made before design starts.

Step 1: inventory what you have

Before anyone opens Figma, export a list of every URL that matters. Google’s site-move guide suggests where to look:

1. Your sitemaps. They probably list your most important URLs.
2. Analytics or server logs. The URLs that get the most traffic.
3. Search Console’s Links report. Pages with internal and external links pointing at them.
4. Your CMS. A full listing of every URL that hosts content, including images and video files.

Combine them into one sheet. For each URL, record monthly clicks, backlinks, the main query it ranks for and its title. This is the list you protect.

Step 2: build the redirect map

Decide what happens to every URL on the list. Each one falls into one of four cases:

Old URL status	Action	Example
Keeps its content and path	Keep the URL exactly	/pricing stays /pricing
Same content, new path	301 to the new path	/blog/post-name to /insights/post-name
Merged into another page	301 to the page that now covers it	Three thin feature pages into one
Retired with no equivalent	Let it return 404 or 410, or 301 to the closest parent	An old event page

Rules that keep the map clean:

• Use server-side permanent redirects. Google recommends HTTP 301 or 308 where possible, and treats them as a signal that the target should be canonical.
• Redirect to the final destination. Googlebot can follow up to 10 hops in a chain, but Google advises redirecting straight to the final URL.
• Map one to one. Send each old page to the page that answers the same question. A blanket redirect to the homepage throws away what each page had earned.
• Fix the old chains too. If an earlier migration left redirects behind, point them at the new final URLs.

On our own site, the redirect file maps old Framer URLs to their new homes. A retired case study path, /projects/genesy, now sends visitors straight to /projects/tickiz, the case it became.

Step 3: carry the content and metadata across

The redesign can change everything visual. These should move across deliberately:

• Titles and meta descriptions. Rewrite them if they’re weak, but don’t drop them.
• Headings and body copy. If a page ranked for a query, keep the content that answers it. Shortening a page is a ranking decision, so make it on purpose.
• Internal links. Update every link to point at final URLs, not redirects.
• Canonical tags. After launch, canonicals must use the new URLs.
• Structured data. Organization, Article, FAQ and Breadcrumb markup need rebuilding on the new templates.
• Image alt text and file names.
• Mobile parity. Primary content on mobile should match desktop, including content behind tabs or accordions.

Step 4: launch day checks

Google’s site-move documentation lists these steps once redirects go live. In practice we run them in this order:

1. Turn on the redirects.
2. Remove any noindex rules and robots.txt blocks left over from staging.
3. Confirm canonical tags point to the new URLs.
4. Test redirects in bulk with a script, and spot-check key pages with the URL Inspection tool.
5. Submit an updated sitemap with the new URLs.
6. If the domain or subdomain changed, submit a Change of Address in Search Console for the old site. Google shows a notice that the move is in progress for 180 days.

Make sure both the old and new properties are verified in Search Console before launch, including www and non-www variants.

Step 5: monitor after launch

Expect some movement. Google says that for medium-sized sites it can take a few weeks or more before the new URLs consistently replace the old ones in results, and longer for large sites. In the first weeks, check:

• Search Console for an unusual number of “Not found” errors, which usually means a missing or wrong redirect.
• Clicks and impressions for the pages on your inventory sheet.
• The sitemap report, to confirm the new URLs are being indexed.
• Core Web Vitals, to catch a slower template before it costs you.

Then leave the redirects in place. Google recommends keeping them for at least a year, and there’s little reason to ever remove them.

Changing platforms: Framer, Webflow, Astro or Next.js

Platform migrations add a few specific risks:

• URL structures differ. Webflow CMS collections, Framer CMS pages and file-based routing in Astro or Next.js all generate paths differently. Decide the new URL scheme first, then map to it.
• CMS content needs exporting. Export collections to CSV or JSON and import them, rather than copying by hand.
• Redirect setup moves. Hosted builders manage redirects in their dashboard. On a static host like Cloudflare Pages, they live in a _redirects file in the repository, which is easier to review and test.
• Generated extras disappear. Sitemaps, RSS feeds and social images that the old platform made automatically need rebuilding.

When we rebuilt Kaveree’s site, its first draft was a Framer template that still carried placeholder content. We rebuilt it in Astro, and its old .php URLs return 301s to the new pages. The Kaveree case study covers the brand and site. Our own Then & Theory site, also on Astro, went from first commit to live in three days. If you’re still choosing a platform, read Framer vs Webflow vs Next.js.

How does Alterra Studio handle redesigns?

We treat the URL inventory and redirect map as part of the design project rather than a launch-week task. The map is agreed before design starts, content decisions are made per page, and redirects are tested before DNS moves. We record your starting point before we begin, including search traffic, and review what moved after launch.

Redesigns usually run as a Brand + Website Build, with a starting price on our pricing page. See our website design and development service, how we work with SaaS companies, or look up 301 redirect and LCP in our glossary.

The short version

• Inventory every URL that earns traffic or links before design starts.
• Keep URLs where you can, and 301 or 308 the rest one to one to their final destination.
• Carry titles, content, canonicals, structured data and mobile content across deliberately.
• On launch day, remove staging blocks, update the sitemap and test every redirect.
• Expect a few weeks of movement, watch Search Console, and keep redirects for at least a year.

Planning a redesign or a platform move? Book a 30-minute call and we’ll look at your current site and what’s worth protecting, or take the free Brand & Website Scorecard first.

Sources

Checked October 2, 2026.

• Google Search Central, Site moves with URL changes (last updated August 20, 2026).
• Google Search Central, Redirects and Google Search.
• Search Console Help, Change of Address tool.
• Google Search Central, Mobile site and mobile-first indexing best practices (last updated December 10, 2025).
• web.dev, Largest Contentful Paint (LCP).