Website redesign checklist
Steps to redesign a site without losing traffic: audit, redirects, launch, checks.
FreeRuns in your browserNo signupUpdated 2026-11-05
What is changing
1. Benchmark before you change anything
0/6Without a baseline you cannot tell whether the new site is doing better or worse.
- Protects traffic
- Protects traffic
2. Audit the content
0/4Most traffic usually comes from a small set of pages; know which ones before you cut anything.
- Protects traffic
3. Plan the structure and redirects
0/4Changed URLs without redirects are the most common cause of lost traffic after a redesign.
- Protects traffic
- Protects traffic
4. Build and test on staging
0/6Catch problems while they are cheap to fix and invisible to search engines.
- Protects traffic
- Protects traffic
5. Launch
0/5Most launch-day mistakes are settings carried over from staging.
- Protects traffic
- Protects traffic
- Protects traffic
6. After launch: weeks 1 to 8
0/5Rankings often move for a few weeks after a redesign; watch for pages that drop and stay down.
Ticks stay on this page only; download the checklist to keep your progress.
Done
0%
0 of 30 steps
Traffic steps left
10
Steps marked 'protects traffic'.
Current phase
Benchmark before you change anything
# Website redesign checklist ## 1. Benchmark before you change anything Without a baseline you cannot tell whether the new site is doing better or worse. - [ ] Export every current URL: crawl the site, and add URLs from the sitemap, analytics landing pages and Search Console (protects traffic) - [ ] Record visits, conversions and top landing pages for the last 12 months (protects traffic) - [ ] Export Search Console queries and pages with their clicks and impressions - [ ] List pages that other websites link to (Search Console links report or a backlink tool) - [ ] Record current Core Web Vitals and page speed for the main templates - [ ] Take a full backup of the old site, files and database ## 2. Audit the content Most traffic usually comes from a small set of pages; know which ones before you cut anything. - [ ] Mark each URL: keep, rewrite, merge or remove - [ ] Keep pages that bring visits, links or enquiries unless there is a strong reason not to (protects traffic) - [ ] Find thin or duplicate pages to merge into one stronger page - [ ] Name an owner for each section who signs off the new content ## 3. Plan the structure and redirects Changed URLs without redirects are the most common cause of lost traffic after a redesign. - [ ] Draft the new sitemap; keep existing URLs wherever they still fit - [ ] Map every old URL to the closest new page, one to one, not everything to the home page (protects traffic) - [ ] Write redirects as single 301 steps, with no chains or loops (protects traffic) - [ ] Check the new platform supports the URL patterns and redirect rules you need ## 4. Build and test on staging Catch problems while they are cheap to fix and invisible to search engines. - [ ] Keep staging out of search results with a password or noindex (protects traffic) - [ ] Carry over titles, meta descriptions, headings and structured data for pages you keep - [ ] Point internal links at final URLs, not at URLs that redirect - [ ] Test forms, tracking, payments and integrations on staging - [ ] Check mobile layout, speed and accessibility on the main templates - [ ] Crawl staging and compare it against the redirect map (protects traffic) ## 5. Launch Most launch-day mistakes are settings carried over from staging. - [ ] Remove the staging noindex and password, and check robots.txt on the live site (protects traffic) - [ ] Switch on redirects, then test the top 50 old landing pages one by one (protects traffic) - [ ] Submit the new XML sitemap in Search Console - [ ] Confirm analytics and conversion tracking record on the live site (protects traffic) - [ ] Update links in your Google Business Profile, social profiles and email signatures ## 6. After launch: weeks 1 to 8 Rankings often move for a few weeks after a redesign; watch for pages that drop and stay down. - [ ] Check Search Console weekly for 404s and crawl errors, and add missing redirects - [ ] Compare visits and conversions with the benchmark, using the same weeks last year if your business is seasonal - [ ] Inspect key pages with the URL Inspection tool to confirm they are indexed - [ ] Ask sites that link to important old URLs to update their links - [ ] Review pages that lost the most clicks and compare old and new content
About this tool
How it works and how to read the result.
Need this done for you?
Website redesign & migration
Rebuild an outdated site without losing content or search rankings.
See the serviceWhat it does
This website redesign checklist lists the steps to redesign a site without losing traffic, in six phases: benchmark before you change anything, audit the content, plan the structure and redirects, build and test on staging, launch, and follow up for eight weeks. Tell it what is changing, such as URLs, the domain, the platform or an online shop, and the matching steps appear. Steps that protect search traffic are marked. Tick steps as you go and download the list as a Markdown checklist to share with your team.
How to use it
- Tick what is changing in your redesign.
- Start with phase 1 before any design work, so you have numbers to compare against.
- Work through the phases in order and tick each step once it is done.
- Clear every step marked "Protects traffic" before and on launch day.
- Download the Markdown to keep your progress, because ticks are not saved on this page.
How to read the result
With the default settings, URLs changing and a move to a new platform or CMS, the checklist has 30 steps, 10 of them marked "Protects traffic". The current phase panel shows the first phase that still has open steps, which keeps the work in order: there is no point writing redirects before you have a full list of old URLs.
Tick "Moving to a new domain" and two steps are added: keep the old domain redirecting for at least a year, and use the Change of Address tool in Search Console. The total becomes 32.
Phase 1 is the one most often skipped. Exporting every current URL and 12 months of landing page data takes an afternoon, and it is the only way to tell after launch whether a drop is real, seasonal or caused by a missing redirect.
In phase 6, compare like with like. If your business is seasonal, compare the weeks after launch with the same weeks last year, not with the month before.
We plan and run redesigns with redirect maps and post-launch monitoring as part of website redesign. To turn your URL map into server rules, use the 301 redirect generator, and the XML sitemap generator for the new sitemap.
Questions
Frequently asked.
Why do sites lose traffic after a redesign?
The usual causes are changed URLs without redirects, pages that ranked being removed or merged without care, staging settings such as noindex carried over to the live site, and titles and content rewritten so they no longer match what people search for. Each phase of the checklist addresses one of these.
How long should I keep redirects in place?
As long as you can, and at least a year. Search engines need time to process the change, and other sites, bookmarks and old emails will keep sending people to the old URLs for years. Redirects cost almost nothing to keep, so there is little reason to remove them.
Is a drop in rankings after launch normal?
Some movement in the first few weeks is common while search engines recrawl the site and process redirects. What matters is the trend. If key pages are still down after a month or two, compare their old and new content, check the redirects, and confirm the pages are indexed.
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