You have an old site that brings in calls, a redesign is quoted, and you want to redesign a website without losing SEO. Most guides on this are checklists for whoever runs the move. This one is the list of what to ask the person you hired, in plain words. It is not a build guide.
Short answer: you can't promise a redesign keeps every ranking, but you can cut the risk. For a medium-sized site, Google says it can take a few weeks or more to show your new addresses, and your visibility may fluctuate in the meantime. What protects you is written answers: which addresses stay, where each old one redirects, and who checks after launch. Six questions below.
Does a website redesign hurt SEO?
It can, it doesn't have to, and nobody can promise either way. A redesign changes what Google has stored about your pages: the addresses, the titles, the text and the links between them. When those change, rankings can move. Google's Site Moves and Migrations page (updated 20 August 2026) says the visibility of your content in Search "may fluctuate temporarily during the move", and that for medium-sized sites "it can take a few weeks or more" for Google to start showing the new addresses.
How much risk you carry depends on what is changing. I sort it into four situations. If you can't tell which row you are in, that is question 1 below.
| Situation | What changes | What you ask for |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Same addresses, new design and text | The look and the words. Page addresses stay. | Nothing to redirect for those pages. Ask that the titles and the text that already work are kept. |
| 2. Some addresses change | Pages are renamed, merged or dropped. | A written redirect map. Google says to map old addresses to new ones with permanent redirects such as 301 and 308. |
| 3. Platform change | Addresses often change by default when you move off Wix or WordPress. | Treat it as row 2. For the take-your-site-with-you side, see what you can take with you. |
| 4. Domain change | Your web address itself changes. | Everything in row 2, plus Google's Change of Address tool. Google says you only need it when moving from one domain or subdomain to another. |
A hosting-only move, where every address stays the same, has its own shorter Google guide. That one says it's normal to see a temporary drop in Googlebot's crawl rate right after launch.
What should I make my designer answer in writing?
Six questions. I would send them in an email before signing anything, and keep the replies. If you want a website redesign SEO checklist, this is the version for the buyer. The designer does the work. Your job is to get the answers on paper.
- 1Which of my page addresses are staying exactly the same?An address that doesn't change needs no redirect, so keep as many as you can. On the website redesign I did for an independent insurance brokerage, the old page addresses were kept. That is the scope of what I did, and I'm making no promise about results from it.
- 2Is there a written redirect map, and is it permanent?It is a list of every old address and where it goes. Google says "it's important to map your old site's URLs to the URLs for the new site" and recommends permanent redirects such as 301 and 308. It also says to keep chains short, "ideally no more than 3 and fewer than 5". For what else a quote should list, see what a redesign quote should list.
- 3Which pages are being dropped, merged or renamed, and where does each one go?A page that brought calls and now says "not found" is the avoidable loss I worry about most. That is my view from experience, not a statistic. Every dropped page should appear in the map from question 2 with a place to land.
- 4What happens to my page titles, headings and the text that already brings people in?A redesign should change how the site looks and works, not quietly rewrite the words people find you with. Ask which pages keep their titles and descriptions, which are rewritten, and why. This one is my own rule. Google doesn't give one for it.
- 5Who records my numbers before launch?You want a baseline: the pages and searches that bring visits today, from Search Console and your analytics, plus a list of your current pages. Without it, nobody can say what changed. This is also my own rule.
- 6Who checks after launch, what do they look at, and when?Google's list is to test the redirects, submit the new sitemap in Search Console, check regularly for unexpected crawl errors and watch the Index Coverage report. Ask for a named person and dates. My suggestion is the day after launch, then weekly for the first few weeks. Google also says to keep the redirects "for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year".
If a designer can't answer these, that tells you something. My list of red flags in a web designer has more.
How long does a drop last, and when is it a real problem?
Google gives no fixed number for rankings. It says a medium-sized site can take "a few weeks or more" to show the new addresses, and that visibility "may fluctuate temporarily". So a short dip is common, and I can't tell you how long yours will last. Anyone who gives you a percentage or an exact number of weeks is guessing. That timing is Google re-reading your site, not the build, which I cover in how long a website takes to build.
Here is how I sort what you might see after launch.
- Normal: clicks and impressions wobble for the first few weeks while the old and new addresses both show up.
- Ask questions now: a page that brought calls says "not found" or sends people to the home page, the old addresses stopped working, the new site is marked "noindex" or blocked in robots.txt, or nobody has your baseline.
The noindex and robots.txt point comes from Google's hosting move guide (updated 10 December 2025). New sites are often built behind those blocks, and Google says to remove them from the new copy when you are ready to move. So it is a launch check. One more thing: a redesign does not make rankings go up by itself. If the old site ranked poorly, the redesign is a chance to fix that, not a promise.
Where do I fit, and when do you not need me?
When I redesign a site, I ask myself these same six questions. I quote the redirect and check work up front, in writing, before any work starts. You can see the job on my website redesign service page, and what each package includes and costs is on the pricing page. I only take on 4 new sites a month, because I build every site myself.
You may not need me. If the change is small (new photos, new hours, a few lines of text) and the addresses stay the same, there is nothing to protect and no redesign needed. If someone else is building your site, take the six questions to them. If you want a second pair of eyes first, I can record a short video on what is putting customers off and what I would fix. It is free, with no obligation, and you can ask for a free website review.
What to do this week:
- Write down which pages bring you calls today.
- Save a Search Console export or screenshot of your top pages and searches.
- Send the six questions to whoever quotes your redesign.
- Check who holds your domain.
Related posts
- Website Redesign Cost: What a Quote Should Include
- Does Wix Own My Website? What You Can Take With You
- Who Owns My Website Domain, Me or My Web Designer?
- Green flags and red flags when hiring a web designer
Sources
All three pages were opened and read on 1 November 2026. The checks that are not from Google are marked as my own view in the text.
- Google Search Central: Site moves with URL changes (Site Moves and Migrations) (updated 20 August 2026)
- Google Search Central: Redirects and Google Search (updated 14 April 2026)
- Google Search Central: Site moves without URL changes (hosting or CDN) (updated 10 December 2025)
Questions people ask
Do I need redirects if I keep my domain?
Only for pages whose address changes. If a page keeps exactly the same address, there is nothing to redirect for it. For any page that moves, Google recommends a permanent redirect such as 301 or 308 from the old address to the new one. Google's redirects page says those codes mean a page has permanently moved.
How long should the old redirects stay in place?
Google says to keep them for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year. Ask your designer who keeps track of them, especially if you later change platform again.
Do I need Google's Change of Address tool?
Only if you are moving to a different domain or subdomain. Google says you don't need it for path changes inside the same domain, HTTP to HTTPS, or a www change. If your address stays the same, skip it.
Does moving to a new host affect my rankings?
Google has a separate, shorter guide for a hosting or CDN change where the visible addresses stay the same. It says a temporary drop in crawl rate right after launch is normal. Ask whoever moves the site to check that Googlebot can reach it and that no old blocks were copied across.
Planning a redesign and worried about your rankings?
Tell me about your current site and I'll quote it up front, in writing, before any work starts. Not ready? Ask for a free website review first.
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