A website redesign can be a daunting task. Not only do you have to worry about the design and layout of your website, but you also have to make sure that your SEO rankings aren’t affected. In this blog post, we will discuss some tips on how to keep your SEO rankings after a website redesign. By following these tips, you can ensure that your website remains at the top of the search engine results pages!
Redesign & Rankings
Websites are redesigned for a variety of reasons. Maybe your website is starting to look dated, or you want to add new features that weren’t available when your site was first built. Whatever the reason, if you’re planning on redesigning your website, it’s important to take the necessary steps to ensure that your SEO rankings don’t take a hit.
Plan ahead
In order to keep your rankings after a redesign, it’s important to plan ahead. This means that you need to have a clear understanding of your current SEO strategy and how it will be affected by the redesign.
You should take the time to research your keywords and rankings and make sure that they’re still relevant. You also need to document all of the pages, posts, and other content on your current website. This will help you to create a 301 redirect plan, which will ensure that your traffic is redirected to the new website.
Here are some tips on how to keep your SEO rankings after a website redesign:
Preserve your backlinks
One of the most important things to do when redesigning your website is to preserve your backlinks. Backlinks are what help your website rank in the search engines, so it’s important to make sure that they’re not lost in the redesign process.
There are a few ways to preserve your backlinks:
- Use a 301 redirect: A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that tells the search engines that your content has moved to a new location. By using a 301 redirect, you can ensure that your backlinks are redirected to your new website.
- Use a rel=”canonical” tag: The rel=”canonical” tag is an HTML element that helps you to manage duplicate content. By using the rel=”canonical” tag, you can tell the search engines which version of your content is the original and should be ranked.
- Use a robots.txt file: A robots.txt file is a text file that tells the search engines which pages on your website should be indexed. By using a robots.txt file, you can ensure that your backlinks are not lost in the redesign process.
Keep your content and maintain consistency
Another important thing to do when redesigning your website is to keep your content and maintain consistency. This means that you should keep the same URL structure, title tags, meta descriptions, and other elements of your website. By keeping these elements consistent, you can ensure that your SEO rankings are not affected by the redesign.
A big mistake that many website owners make is forgetting to move over their blog posts and other content. This can be a huge mistake, as this content is often the most important part of your website from an SEO standpoint.
Update your sitemap
Another important thing to do when redesigning your website is to update your sitemap. Your sitemap is a file that tells the search engines what pages are on your website. By updating your sitemap, you can ensure that the search engines are aware of your new website design and layout.
There are a few ways to update your sitemap:
Use a sitemap generator: A sitemap generator is a tool that helps you to create and submit your sitemap to the search engines. By using a sitemap generator, you can ensure that the search engines are aware of your new website design and layout.
- Submit your sitemap to the search engines: By submitting your sitemap to the search engines, you can ensure that they are aware of your new website design and layout.
- Update your robots.txt file: As we mentioned above, your robots.txt file is a text file that tells the search engines which pages on your website should be indexed. By updating your robots.txt file, you can ensure that the search engines are aware of your new website design and layout.
- Use Google Search Console: Google Search Console is a free service that helps you to manage your website’s presence in the Google search results. By using Google Search Console, you can ensure that the search engines are aware of your new website design and layout.
Monitor your progress
Once you’ve implemented the tips above, it’s important to monitor your progress. You can do this by using Google Analytics and other tools to track your website traffic. By monitoring your progress, you can ensure that your SEO rankings are not negatively affected by your website redesign.
Mistakes to avoid
There are a few common mistakes that website owners make when redesigning their website. These include:
- Making radical changes: Making radical changes to your website, such as changing your URL structure or moving to a new domain, can be disastrous for your SEO. If you make radical changes to your website, you may lose all of your hard-earned SEO rankings.
- Not redirecting old pages: If you don’t redirect old pages to new pages, you will lose all of the SEO value that those pages have.
- Not updating your sitemap: As we mentioned above, your sitemap is a file that tells the search engines what pages are on your website. By not updating your sitemap, you will lose all of the SEO value that those pages have.
- Not using a robots.txt file: A robots.txt file is a text file that tells the search engines which pages on your website should be indexed. By not using a robots.txt file, you will lose all of the SEO value that those pages have.
- Not keeping an eye on your traffic: By not monitoring your website traffic, you won’t be able to tell if your SEO rankings are being affected by your website redesign.
- Not monitoring your rankings: By not monitoring your SEO rankings, you won’t be able to tell if your website redesign is hurting your SEO or helping it.
Avoid these common mistakes and you can ensure that your SEO rankings are not affected by your website redesign.
In Conclusion
A website redesign can be a great way to improve your website’s design and user experience. However, it’s important to take the necessary steps to preserve your SEO rankings. By following the tips above, you can ensure that your SEO rankings are not affected by your website redesign.
If you’re in the process of planning a website redesign, be sure to keep these tips in mind! Not only will they help you maintain your SEO rankings, but they’ll also help make the redesign process smoother and less stressful. At Graticle, we can help you with every step of the website redesign process – from designing your new site to ensuring that your SEO rankings stay intact. Contact us today for more information! Call (360) 450-3711
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Website redesign and SEO FAQs
Will a website redesign affect my SEO?
This is a common question we get here at Graticle, and the answer is… maybe. It really depends on a variety of factors, including your current website design, how extensive the redesign will be, what changes will be made to your website’s structure and navigation, and whether or not you take steps to preserve your existing SEO during the redesign process.
If you do nothing to preserve your SEO during a website redesign, it is very likely that your website’s search engine rankings will take a hit. However, if you take the proper precautions and plan ahead, it is possible to maintain or even improve your SEO following a redesign.
Why does a website redesign affect SEO?
There are a number of reasons why a website redesign can have a negative impact on your SEO. Perhaps the most common reason is that changes to your website’s structure and navigation can make it difficult for search engine crawlers to index your pages correctly. If your pages are not being indexed correctly, they will not rank as highly in the search results.
Another common reason why website redesigns can negatively impact SEO is that changes to your website’s design can lead to broken links. If there are links on your website that no longer work, search engines will view this as a sign that your website is outdated and not worth ranking highly.
Finally, website redesigns can also have an impact on your website’s traffic. If users have difficulty navigating your redesigned website, they are likely to give up and go to a competitor’s site instead. This will cause your website’s bounce rate to increase, which is another factor that search engines take into account when ranking websites.
Will a small website redesign affect my SEO?
In general, the answer is yes – even a small website redesign can have an impact on your SEO. However, the extent to which your SEO is affected will depend on the specific changes that are made to your website.
For example, if you are only making cosmetic changes to your website (such as changing your website’s color scheme or adding a new logo), it is unlikely that your SEO will be significantly affected. However, if you are making more substantial changes to your website’s structure or navigation, your SEO could be impacted to a greater degree.
