# How to redesign your website without losing your Google rankings

By Banish Angural · Published June 15, 2026 · Updated November 9, 2026

> To keep rankings through a redesign, list every URL that gets traffic or links, map each to its closest new page with 301 redirects, keep or improve the content on important pages, keep titles and internal links, test before launch, then submit the new sitemap in Search Console and watch for errors and drops for several weeks.

## Before launch

1. **Export every URL** from your sitemap, Search Console Performance and analytics.
2. **Mark the important ones:** traffic, links, leads.
3. **Map each old URL to its closest new page.** Avoid sending everything to the homepage.
4. **Keep the content that ranks,** improve it rather than deleting it.
5. **Set 301 redirects** for every changed URL.
6. **Test on a staging site:** redirects, titles, noindex removed, forms and tracking.

## At launch

1. Go live and immediately test top redirects.
2. Submit the new sitemap in Search Console.
3. Check robots.txt doesn’t block anything.

## After launch

- Watch Search Console for 404s and indexing errors for several weeks.
- Compare rankings and calls with before.
- Fix any missed redirects quickly.

A small dip in the first weeks is common while Google recrawls. A big, lasting drop usually means missing redirects or lost content.

## Planning a new site?

Every site we build includes the redirect map, testing and post-launch monitoring. Ask for a [free audit](https://banishmedia.com/free-audit), or see our [web design service](https://banishmedia.com/services/web-design).

## Sources

- [How to move a site](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes), Google Search Central
- [About Search Console](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9128668), Google

## Questions readers ask

### Will a new website hurt my SEO?

Not if you keep valuable content, redirect every changed URL with 301s and check Search Console after launch. Missing redirects are the most common cause of drops.