Websites. Reviewed October 29, 2026
Website redesign
Also called: Site rebuild, Website refresh
A website redesign rebuilds the look and structure of an existing site, and done carelessly it loses rankings because old page addresses disappear without redirects.
In practice
Before the design starts, inventory every page that gets traffic from Google, decide where each one goes on the new site, and write the redirect map. After launch, check Search Console for 404s for a month.
The pages that earn the most search traffic are often the ones the designer wants to delete.
Related terms
- 301 redirectA 301 redirect permanently sends visitors and search engines from an old web address to a new one and passes most of the old page's ranking value along with them.
- Website migrationA website migration moves a site to a new platform, host or domain, and the checklist that protects rankings is a page inventory, a one-to-one redirect map and a Search Console check after launch.
- Custom websiteA custom website is built from code for one business, with its own design, pages and tools, rather than assembled from a theme or page builder shared with thousands of other sites.
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