How to Redesign a Website Without Losing Your Google Rankings

Google ranks pages, not designs. A redesign loses rankings when it removes or moves the pages Google was ranking without telling Google where they went. The common causes are addresses that change with no redirect, so searchers land on an error page; service or location pages cut to simplify the menu; headings and text that ranked replaced with shorter design copy; and a block left on from the staging site that tells Google not to index the new one.

Each of these is avoidable. None of them is caused by the new design itself, which is why a redesign done with a plan often ranks better than the old site: it is faster on phones and easier to use, and the pages that earned rankings are still there.

Google says that for a medium-sized site it can take a few weeks or more for the new addresses to replace the old ones in search, and longer for large sites. Small movements in that window are normal. A sharp, lasting drop on specific pages usually points to a missing redirect or a page whose content was cut, and both can be fixed once found.

If you are only changing the design and keeping the same domain, you do not need the Change of Address tool in Search Console. Google says it is only needed when moving from one domain or subdomain to another.

Every Rankure redesign includes the redirect map, phone and speed testing, call tracking and 30 days of fixes after launch, at a fixed price agreed in writing: $499 for a one-page site and from $1,499 for up to five pages for a local business. Practices start at $1,499 for one page and from $2,999 for up to five. Two sites we rebuilt, intomesee.com and dentalnightguard.com, are live to look at. See website redesign services for the full scope.