Before the redesign
- Export every URL from your sitemap and from Google Search Console.
- Find the pages that matter: the ones with the most clicks and impressions in Search Console.
- Record your starting point: rankings for your main searches, traffic and leads per month.
During the build
- Keep the same addresses where you can. An unchanged URL needs no redirect.
- Map old to new for every address that changes, one to one. Do not send everything to the homepage.
- Keep what ranks. Improve the text of strong pages; do not replace it with three lines and a photo.
- Carry over titles and descriptions unless you have a reason to change them.
On launch day
- Turn on the 301 redirects and test a sample of old addresses.
- Submit the new sitemap in Search Console.
- Check that the site is not blocked from indexing, a setting often left on from the preview stage.
- Confirm analytics and conversion tracking still record.
In the following weeks
Watch Search Console for “not found” errors and fix any you missed. Small ranking movements in the first weeks are normal; steady declines on specific pages usually point to a missing redirect or removed content.
All of this is included when we redesign a site.