RC MEDIA / WEB DESIGN
How to plan a website redesign without losing search value
Prepare a website redesign with content inventory, redirect mapping, search intent, stakeholder alignment, launch checks, and post-launch monitoring.
Start with the real job
A redesign is an opportunity to improve clarity, performance, and conversion, but it can create avoidable search disruption if valuable URLs, content, and links are discarded without a plan.
Why it matters
Established pages may have earned links, impressions, or useful rankings even when the design around them is no longer right. A redesign needs to preserve the value of what works while improving what no longer serves the visitor.
A practical approach
Inventory current URLs, traffic patterns, backlinks, metadata, and conversion routes before design begins. Map every retired URL to the closest relevant replacement, retain or improve useful page intent, test redirects and canonicals before launch, and monitor the release afterwards.
What to watch
Do not redirect every old page to the homepage. A specific, relevant redirect is more helpful for people and search engines than a generic destination.