Website redesign
Website redesign checklist: preserve useful URLs and content
Before replacing an existing website, understand the pages and contact routes people already use. A redesign can improve usability while still requiring a careful transition. Build a URL inventory and check each important destination instead of treating launch as a visual review alone.
Inventory the current website
Collect public URLs from the current sitemap, navigation and available analytics or Search Console exports. Identify pages that explain important services, receive visits or have useful external links. Save approved copy and media before changing them. Mark what should remain, what needs improvement and what is genuinely obsolete rather than assuming every old page should disappear.
Checklist
- List important URLs and their purpose.
- Save existing metadata and approved content.
- Record working contact and conversion routes.
Map changed URLs to relevant replacements
Keep an established URL when the page's purpose remains the same and there is no reason to change it. For pages that move, map the old address to the most relevant new page with a permanent redirect. Avoid sending unrelated old services to the homepage. Check the final destination and avoid intermediate chains or loops. Retired content without an appropriate replacement needs an honest missing-page response.
Checklist
- One explicit replacement for each moved page.
- Updated navigation and internal links.
- Checks for loops, chains and irrelevant destinations.
Check the new content and indexing rules
Review initial HTML, titles, headings and canonical URLs on the new build. Verify which pages should be indexable and keep private preview content out of public search. Do not accidentally carry staging noindex rules into production. A sitemap should list the final canonical addresses rather than old redirects or temporary preview URLs.
Checklist
- Unique titles and useful page content.
- Canonical URLs on the production domain.
- Indexing settings checked at release.
Verify production and monitor the transition
Open important old and new URLs after deployment and inspect their actual response codes. Test the contact route again. Submit the current sitemap and monitor indexing and performance in Search Console. Compare consistent date ranges and relevant pages; a successful deployment does not prove that Google has processed the move. Search changes can occur while URLs are reprocessed.
Checklist
- Production redirects and real 404 responses.
- Sitemap and contact verification.
- A dated change log and follow-up search checks.
Illustrative URL decision table
Example paths only. Use your actual URL inventory when preparing a migration.
| Situation | Decision to verify |
|---|---|
| Service keeps the same purpose | Retain its useful existing URL when possible. |
| Service moves to a new address | Redirect the old URL directly to the matching new service. |
| Page has no relevant replacement | Return an appropriate 404 or 410 rather than an unrelated homepage. |
| Navigation still uses an old URL | Update the link to the final canonical destination. |
Further reading
For search-specific migration checks, see Google's guidance on moving URLs. The example checklist above is an original planning aid rather than a guarantee of unchanged rankings.
Turn your notes into a project brief
Share your goal, existing tools or website, relevant examples and the questions you still need to resolve. Do not email passwords or private customer records.
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