An SEO checklist for your website redesign

1. Establish what the current site contributes

Create an approved inventory of existing pages and important assets. Review available Search Console, analytics, and business inquiry information to identify useful landing pages and customer journeys. Do not assume that a page has no value because its design looks dated.

Keep a record of the baseline and who supplied it. If the redesign brief intentionally excludes reviewing the old website, request URL and performance exports from the owner. Record the missing information as a launch dependency instead of claiming that migration planning is complete.

2. Decide what stays, improves, or moves

For each important page, choose whether to retain its address, update its content, combine it with a closely related page, or retire it. Give that decision an owner. This editorial step helps prevent a new navigation menu from accidentally removing a valuable service explanation.

Use a simple worksheet with old URL, purpose, proposed destination, content action, redirect requirement, and verification status. Add notes about downloadable resources, forms, or images that must remain accessible. Treat the worksheet as a practical handover between content, design, and hosting responsibilities.

3. Map changed URLs to relevant destinations

Google's migration guidance recommends mapping existing URLs to their replacements. If a page moves permanently, configure an appropriate permanent redirect to its closest useful replacement. Avoid sending unrelated retired pages to the home page.

Google distinguishes permanent redirects such as 301 and 308 from temporary redirects. Have the hosting or development owner implement and verify the chosen rules. A spreadsheet is a plan; the server behavior is what visitors and crawlers actually receive.

• Keep a useful existing URL when there is no reason to change it.
• Check that redirected requests reach the intended final page.
• Update navigation and other internal links to the destination directly.
• Use an appropriate not-found response when no relevant replacement exists.

4. Review the new experience before launch

Test the tasks customers need to complete, including finding a service, understanding the offer, calling, and submitting a form. Check the actual mobile layouts rather than relying only on a desktop preview. Verify that forms reach a monitored destination and that confirmation messages accurately describe what happened.

Review important page titles, headings, descriptions, and business details. Confirm that canonical links and sitemap URLs match the intended public addresses. Remove development-only indexing restrictions from pages intended for search, while keeping private areas protected.

• Check representative service pages and guides, not only the home page.
• Review readable text, focus states, labels, images, and navigation.
• Confirm analytics and ownership verification remain connected.
• Save a release backup and define who can restore service if necessary.

5. Assign post-launch monitoring

After deployment, check the live domain, representative old URLs, important new pages, and contact paths. Review indexing and error information in Search Console alongside visits and real inquiries. A technically successful deployment is the start of verification, not the end.

Google notes that search visibility can fluctuate while changed pages are processed. Investigate concrete problems such as blocked pages, wrong destinations, or broken forms before drawing conclusions from a short-term ranking movement. Keep an issue log with an owner and resolution date so the team can distinguish normal observation from unfinished work.