Websites
Website redesign: prepare SEO before launch
Content to retain, old URLs, redirects and checks: what to prepare when defining the scope of a business website redesign.
How should you prepare SEO before a website redesign?
Inventory useful pages and content, keep URLs where possible and prepare a permanent redirect to the corresponding page for every address that changes. Before launch, check links, forms and search engine access. After the switch, monitor errors, impressions and clicks in Search Console.
Your website needs to evolve, but its pages already answer questions, receive links or support sales conversations. Before choosing a new mock-up, gather what needs to be passed to the future website. This work helps you discuss a precise scope with the provider.
A redesign can affect search visibility. Google says visibility may fluctuate during a migration. The aim is therefore to prepare changes, check their execution and monitor observed results. No mock-up or redirect guarantees a position in search results.
Write down what the redesign should improve
Describe difficulties through specific situations: a visitor cannot find a service, the form is awkward on a phone, or a team no longer knows how to update pages. Associate each difficulty with an expected check. Someone outside your business should be able to understand your activity and complete the intended action.
Separate essential changes from possible later improvements. Request a quote that distinguishes design, editorial work, development, migration and follow-up. Identify who approves the text and who holds the access: a project can await a business decision even when development is complete.
Inventory useful pages and content
Prepare a table of existing pages with their address, subject, future location and reviewer. Include downloadable documents and content used by your sales team. Consult the available Search Console data to identify pages already visible in search.
Keep explanations that actually help people choose: services, limits, process, authorised examples and answers to frequently asked questions. A long text can be better organised with headings and a table of contents. Length alone is no reason to remove useful information. Have substantive changes approved.
- List of pages, images and documents to carry over.
- Questions received by phone or in requests for quotes.
- Content to update, with its owner and the points to verify.
- Access to the website, hosting, domain and Search Console.
Plan a destination for addresses that change
Keep existing URLs when changing them adds nothing to the project. For a moved page, map the old address to the corresponding new page. Google recommends permanent server-side redirects, including 301 or 308. Have each destination checked and avoid successive detours before reaching the content.
The mapping table is a deliverable to review, not just a technical setting. An old page presenting a service should lead to that service. Google’s migration guide advises against redirecting everything to the home page. Also ask for internal links to be updated to the final addresses.
Validate the website before the switch
Use a staging environment, a working version separate from the public site, to compare content and try user journeys. Check service pages and the form on a phone. Send a test enquiry and verify its actual receipt with the person who normally handles contacts.
- The agreed content and documents are present and readable.
- Menus, links, downloads and contact details work.
- Titles and descriptions match each page’s subject.
- Planned redirects reach the correct destinations.
- The backup and rollback procedure is described.
Prepare the launch and assign responsibilities
Define who authorises the switch, who carries it out and who receives reports. Plan how to handle messages or content added during that period. Keep a reference version of the previous site to compare any problem reported after delivery.
At launch, verify that staging restrictions do not block pages intended for the public. Update the sitemap with the new addresses. Private access must retain its protection. Request a report of the checks and an explicit list of any outstanding issues.
Monitor pages and enquiries after the redesign
In Search Console, URL inspection distinguishes information known to Google from the test of the page currently online. A valid test does not guarantee indexing. Examine issues, impressions and clicks with their dates, then compare them with enquiries actually received.
To prepare a conversation about your redesign, share the site address, the difficulties encountered, the content to retain and your scheduling constraints. At Oryon, these elements help define website creation or recovery, migration and support after delivery.