Website Redesign SEO Migration Checklist
A checklist for redesigning a website without losing rankings, traffic, or important URLs.
Do not delete traffic pages blindly
Before a redesign, export current URLs, rankings, traffic, backlinks, and conversions. Pages with value should be preserved, improved, or redirected carefully.
Deleting old pages without a redirect plan can cause traffic drops.
Map old URLs to new URLs
Every important old URL should have a destination. If the content is still relevant, keep the URL or redirect to the closest matching new page.
Avoid redirecting everything to the homepage because that loses topical relevance.
Monitor after launch
After deployment, check crawl errors, index coverage, sitemap submission, analytics, and Search Console performance.
Migration monitoring should continue for several weeks because issues can surface gradually.
Action checklist
Export existing URLs and traffic data.
Map redirects before launch.
Preserve valuable content.
Monitor Search Console after deployment.