Redesign without losing your rankings.
Google ranks addresses, not designs. Change the look all you like; it's the old links that break when a redesign goes wrong. Here's how we move a site so the rankings move with it.
Four steps, every time.
Most ranking losses after a redesign come from one thing: pages that used to exist and now don't. The fix is unglamorous and thorough.
- 1
List every address
Every page, post and old link Google knows about, from the sitemap, Search Console and the server itself.
- 2
Decide each one
Keep it at the same address, or send it to the closest new page. Nothing is left to break.
- 3
Carry the details over
Titles, descriptions, headings and structured data move with the content, not just the words.
- 4
Redirect, launch, watch
Permanent redirects go live with the new site, then we watch Search Console for anything that slipped.
A new look on the same domain.
A redesign can change everything a visitor sees: the photos, the layout, the menu, the way people get in touch. The domain stays, and so should the addresses Google already knows. Drag the line to compare a site we redesigned for O'Neil's Tree Service, before and after.
- Mobile score the morning of 9 Nov 2026
- 63
- Mobile score the same day, after our speed fix (two runs)
- 87–92
- Desktop score
- 100
- Time the page is frozen by scripts
- 0 ms
Our own site, by the numbers.
We're moving this site from WordPress to custom code ourselves, and doing it the same way. Every address accounted for, before anything launches.
- 32 kept at the same address
- 14 redirected to the closest new page
- 0 left to break
/the-agency301/team//san-diego-web-design-1/301/web-design-san-diego//folio/porto-vista-hotel/301/folio/the-maddox-hotel//affiliate-area/301/msp-program/Questions we hear.
Will a redesign hurt my Google rankings?
It can, if old addresses stop working. Rankings belong to addresses: when one disappears without a redirect, whatever it earned goes with it. Keep the addresses or redirect them, and a redesign usually helps rather than hurts.
What is a 301 redirect?
A permanent forwarding address. Anyone, or any search engine, that asks for the old page is sent to the new one, and Google passes the old page's standing along with it.
Will I lose my analytics history?
Search Console history stays as long as the domain does. Google Analytics is different: if a new property is created, it starts at zero and can't be merged with the old one, so we keep the existing one wherever we can.
Should I redesign or start over?
That depends on the platform and the state of the site. Either way, the address list and redirects are the same job.
Keep reading.
Planning a redesign?
Send us your current site. We'll list what Google knows about it before anyone touches a pixel.
