Most rankings lost in a redesign are not lost because the new site is worse. They are lost because the old URLs stopped working and nobody told Google where the content went. The fix is unglamorous and very reliable: an inventory, a redirect map, and a few checks on launch day.
This is the process I follow. It’s also what I used when this site moved from WordPress to static HTML in September 2026 — every old URL was either redirected to its closest new page or deliberately retired.
Why redesigns lose rankings
- URLs change and the old ones return 404 errors, so the links and history attached to them are thrown away.
- Content that ranked is removed or cut down to a thin summary in the name of a cleaner design.
- Titles and headings are rewritten without looking at which searches the page was actually ranking for.
- A staging setting goes live — a
noindextag or a blockingrobots.txtleft over from development. - Internal links point to old URLs, creating redirect chains or dead ends.
- The new site is slower, especially on mobile.
Before launch
1. Build a complete list of old URLs
Combine three sources, because each one misses something: a crawl of the live site (Screaming Frog or similar), the Pages report in Google Search Console, and the URLs in your old XML sitemap. Add any pages with backlinks from a backlink tool if you have one. Put everything in one spreadsheet.
2. Mark what matters
From Search Console, export clicks and impressions per page for the last 12 months. Those pages are the ones whose content, title and heading you protect. A redesign is not the moment to rewrite your best-performing page from scratch.
3. Map every old URL to a new one
Next to each old URL, write its new URL. The rule is closest equivalent content, one to one wherever possible. Sending everything to the homepage looks tidy but Google tends to treat mass homepage redirects as soft 404s, and the value is lost anyway.
4. Decide what to retire, and retire it honestly
Some pages have no equivalent — thin tag pages, old promotions, duplicate city pages. For those, a 410 Gone tells search engines the removal is deliberate, and they drop the URL faster than with a 404. Use 301 when there is a real replacement and 410 when there isn’t. Don’t 301 junk into good pages.
5. Write the redirects on the server
On Apache hosting (most shared hosts, including Hostinger), redirects go in .htaccess:
# moved pages: permanent redirect to the new URL
RedirectMatch 301 ^/old-services-page/?$ /web-design-services/
RedirectMatch 301 ^/portfolio-item/some-project/?$ /portfolio/
# retired pages with no replacement
RedirectMatch 410 ^/tag/cheap-websites/?$Keep each redirect a single hop. If /a/ used to redirect to /b/ and /b/ now moves to /c/, point /a/ straight at /c/.
6. Carry the on-page SEO across
For every page that had traffic, keep its title tag, meta description, H1 and core content close to what ranked, then improve from there. Keep image file names and alt text where you can. Update internal links to the new URLs directly rather than relying on redirects.
On launch day
- Remove any
noindextags and checkrobots.txtdoesn’t block the site. - Test a sample of old URLs — at least your top 20 — and confirm each returns one 301 to the right page.
- Check canonical tags point to the new, live URLs.
- Submit the new XML sitemap in Search Console.
- Crawl the new site for 404s, redirect chains and missing titles.
- Test the main pages on a phone and in PageSpeed Insights.
The weeks after
Some movement in the first few weeks is normal while Google re-crawls and processes the redirects. Watch the Pages report for new “Not found (404)” entries and fix them with further redirects. Compare clicks per page against the same period before launch, and look closely at any page that dropped — usually it is a missing redirect or content that was cut.
Keep the redirects in place permanently. Links from other websites to your old URLs will keep arriving for years.
Printable checklist
- Old URL inventory from crawl + Search Console + old sitemap
- Top pages by clicks and impressions identified
- Redirect map: every old URL → closest new URL, one hop
- Retired pages marked 410, not dumped on the homepage
- Titles, H1s and key content carried over for pages with traffic
- Internal links updated to new URLs
- noindex and robots.txt checked on launch
- New sitemap submitted; 404s monitored weekly
If you’re planning a redesign and want the migration handled properly, that is part of every website redesign I take on, and the SEO services page covers audits for sites that have already lost traffic.
Frequently asked questions
Will a website redesign affect my SEO?
It can, mostly through broken URLs and removed content. With a full redirect map, carried-over titles and content, and launch-day checks, most sites keep their rankings.
Should I use a 301 or a 410 for old pages?
Use a 301 when a new page covers the same content. Use a 410 when a page is removed on purpose and has no real replacement.
How long do rankings take to settle after a migration?
Some movement for a few weeks is normal while Google re-crawls the site. Keep monitoring Search Console and fix any 404s it reports.
