Redesigning your website is a big, exciting step—it’s a chance to breathe new life into your brand’s online presence, improve the user experience, and boost conversions. But here’s the catch: if you don’t keep SEO top of mind throughout the process, you could accidentally tank your search engine rankings.
For marketers, making sure SEO is part of the plan from day one is essential if you want to keep your hard-earned organic traffic. Let’s walk through why SEO is so important during a website redesign and what you should keep an eye on to make sure your site not only looks great but continues to perform well in search.
Why SEO Should Be a Priority in Your Redesign
It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of fresh designs, better UX, and shiny new content. But in that rush, SEO often gets overlooked. And that’s a problem—because search engines could be a major source of traffic in the first place. If you make big changes to your site’s structure, URLs, or content without a clear plan, search engines might not recognize it anymore, and your rankings could take a hit.
So here’s the bottom line: your redesign shouldn’t just look good—it needs to stay visible. And that’s where SEO comes in.
Key SEO Considerations During a Redesign
Maintain URL Structure, or Redirect
This is one of the most common trouble spots during a site overhaul. Changing URLs without properly redirecting them can lead to broken links—and a lot of lost SEO value.
- Audit your current URLs: Figure out which pages are performing best and make sure they either keep the exact same URLs or get redirected properly.
- Set up 301 redirects: If a URL needs to change, a 301 redirect tells both users and search engines where the new version lives. That way, you keep your traffic and search rankings intact.
Write Content for Humans
New design often means new content—and that’s great! But it’s important not to lose sight of your SEO goals.
Remember to preserve high-performing content, using tools like Google Analytics to spot your top pages and handle them with care. You should also remember to optimize new content with relevant keywords and proper alt tags. Just keep in mind that you’re writing for humans first—search engines second.
Test Before and After Launch
Even with the best intentions, things can slip through the cracks. That’s why testing is so important—both before and after your new site goes live.
- Pre-launch audit: Check for broken links, missing meta tags, slow load times, and other SEO red flags. Tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs are great for this.
- Post-launch monitoring: Keep a close eye on traffic, rankings, and user behavior. If something looks off, act fast to fix it.
SEO shouldn’t be an afterthought—it’s a core part of any successful website redesign. When you build SEO into your process from the start, you protect your organic traffic and give your shiny new site the best possible chance to thrive in search.
So take a deep breath, stay focused, and remember: a beautiful site that no one can find is a missed opportunity. But a site that looks great and performs well in search? That’s the sweet spot.