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Website Redesign SEO Checklist: Keep Your Pages, Ads and Leads Working
By Josh Croom · October 27, 2026 · 11 min read
A website redesign protects its search traffic and its ads when every old page address still opens or forwards to its closest new page. Your tracking, your email and your leads can break in the same move, so finish with a real test form and a real phone call on launch day.
A new site and a quiet phone
Monday, 9:15 AM. The new site went live on Friday afternoon, and everyone loved it. By Monday morning the phone is quiet, and nobody can say why.
The ads still point to the old water heater page, which now shows a page not found error. The contact form sends to an inbox that belonged to an office manager who left in the spring. The tracking code didn't make the move either, so the ad account hasn't seen a single call or form since Friday.
None of these problems shows up when you click around the new site and admire it. You find them by opening the old addresses, sending a test form and checking that the tracking counted it, and a written list makes sure someone does all three.
water heater repair near me
Why a redesign needs its own checklist
Old redirects and one-off setups are common on the sites we work with, and Google says how long a redirect should stay in place.
- 14%of our clients' live ad links reach their page through a redirectbecause the page's address changed once before
- 15different web hostsacross 34 client sites with a known host
- 1 yearthe least time Google generally advises keeping redirectsand as long as possible
What a redesign can break
Four things can break during a redesign: page addresses, old redirects, tracking and the records behind your domain and email.
Page addresses carry your search rankings and your ad links. When a page moves to a new address and nothing forwards the old one, Google and your ads both land on an error page.
Old redirects are easy to lose. 14% of our clients' live ad links reach their page through a working redirect, because the page's address changed once before, and a new build can drop those redirects without anyone noticing.
Tracking lives in a code snippet and in the thank-you step after each form. If either one stays behind, your ads keep running while your reports go blank.
Domain and email records sit with the company that holds your domain. They run your email and prove your site to Google, so a vendor who tidies them up can stop your mail without touching the website at all.
Before launch: 8 checks
Work through these with your web vendor a week or two before the new site goes live, because each one is quicker to set up now than to repair after launch.
Check 1
List the pages that matter
Start with the pages your ads use, which the Landing pages report in Google Ads shows under Campaigns, then Insights and reports. Add the pages that get the most search visits, from Search Console or your analytics, so nothing that brings in leads gets missed.
Check 2
Map every old address to a new one
Write each old address next to the new page that best replaces it. When a page keeps its address, mark it as unchanged, because an address that doesn't change can't break.
Check 3
Use permanent redirects
Ask for a 301 or 308 redirect on every address that changes, since Google reads a permanent redirect as a sign that the new page replaces the old one. A temporary redirect doesn't send that signal.
Check 4
Bring the old redirects along
Your current site may already forward old addresses from an earlier change. Copy that list into the new build, or the links that still use those old addresses will break the day you launch.
Check 5
Carry over titles, headings and words
Keep the page title, the main heading and the core words of each page that ranks today. A fresh design is fine, but a page that drops the words people searched for can slip in the results.
Check 6
Move the tracking code
Put the same tracking container on every new page, and rebuild the thank-you step that counts each form. Have it in place before launch, so your ads never run a day without counting a lead.
Check 7
Leave domain and email records alone
Moving your site should only touch the records that point to the website. The records that run your email and verify your site with Google stay exactly as they are.
Check 8
Pick a midweek launch
Go live on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning, when your team and your vendor are around to catch a problem. A Friday or holiday launch can leave a broken form unnoticed for days.
A sample redirect map
Your map can live in a simple spreadsheet with one row per old address, and your vendor works straight from it.
Fill in the Tested column after launch by opening every old address yourself and checking where it lands. The URL Inspection tool in Search Console can test single addresses too, and it shows you what Google sees.
| Old address | New address | Redirect | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|
| /services/water-heaters/ | /water-heater-repair/ | 301 | ____ |
| /about-us/ | /about/ | 301 | ____ |
| /blog/2019/winter-tips/ | /blog/winter-pipe-tips/ | 301 | ____ |
| /contact/ | /contact/ | None, same address | ____ |
Where an old page should send people
Google warns against sending many old addresses to one page that doesn't match, such as the home page. People lose what they came for, and Google may treat the redirect as a soft 404 error.
Everything to the home page
- The water heater page sends people to the home page.
- The searcher has to hunt for what they wanted.
- Google may treat the redirect as a missing page.
- Your ad pays for a click that has to start over.
Each page to its closest match
- The water heater page sends people to the new water heater page.
- The searcher lands on the answer they clicked for.
- Google reads the redirect as a sign the new page replaces the old one.
- Your ad keeps sending people where they meant to go.
What to send your web vendor
Send this before the build starts, so your vendor plans for it rather than patching it after launch. Fill in your tracking ID where the blank is.
Hi (name). Before launch, please keep every page address we have now. If one must change, set up a permanent redirect to its closest new page, and keep our old redirects.
Please put our tracking code (ID: ____) on every page. Before you touch our domain or email records, send me the list of changes.
Got it. I'll send the redirect map and any record changes for you to check before we go live.
Launch day checklist
Tick each one off as you go, and your ticks stay on this device.
0 of 7 done
The weeks after launch
A redesign isn't finished on launch day, so put a few check-ins on the calendar for the month after.
Expect your search traffic to move around for a while. Google says to expect temporary fluctuation in rankings during a move, and for a medium-sized site it can take a few weeks or more before Google shows the new addresses in place of the old ones.
Point your ads straight at the new addresses once the site is live. Google's move guide lists ad campaigns among the links to update, and a direct link saves each click a redirect hop. Check the Landing pages report in Google Ads that first week too, because Google's ad rules don't allow a page that fails to work or returns an error, and an ad pointing at one can stop running.
Keep the redirects in place for at least a year, as Google advises, and longer if you can. Old links in emails, social posts and other sites keep sending people to those addresses long after you've forgotten them.
Change your own internal links to the new addresses as well, so your pages link straight to each other instead of through a redirect.
If you're changing hosts too
No two setups match, so your checklist has to come from your own site rather than a template. Our clients' 34 sites with a known host sit with 15 different hosting companies, and each company sets up redirects and records in its own screens.
When every page keeps its address and only the host changes, Google suggests lowering the TTL on your domain records to a few hours at least a week before the move. That setting controls how long the internet remembers where your site lives, so a short one lets the switch spread faster. Keep the old hosting running until its traffic falls to zero, and then shut it down.
Mistakes that cost the most
- Pointing every old page at the home page, so people and Google lose the page they wanted.
- Launching on a Friday or right before a holiday, when nobody's around to catch a problem.
- Changing the phone number on the site and nowhere else, so callers from your ads and your listings still reach the old line.
- Letting a vendor clean up domain records they don't recognize, like the one that keeps a landing page on its own web address working.
Is your redesign ready?
Answer five quick questions, and your answers stay on your device.
Do you have a list of every page your ads and your top search pages use?
Does every old address either stay the same or have a permanent redirect to its closest new page?
Did your vendor copy your old redirects into the new build?
Is your tracking code on every new page, with the form thank-you step rebuilt?
Will someone send a real form and call the number on launch day?
You're ready to launch. Keep the redirects for at least a year, and check the Landing pages report in Google Ads during the first week.
You're close. Fix the first question you answered No before launch day, because each gap is harder to find once the site is live.
Hold the launch date until you have the page list and the redirect map, because those two pieces protect the addresses your rankings and your ads depend on.
How we build and move sites
A site is $4,997 for a business or $2,997 for a nonprofit, and you pay once. We track every call and form it brings in from day one, and your domain stays with the company you bought it from, under your own account. Hosting is $50 every 4 weeks, unless you're on a plan, and it keeps the site up, backed up and safe.
If your ads keep running while the site changes, our PPC audit checklist covers the account checks to run that same week, and our Google Ads management page shows how we run accounts. If you're planning a redesign and want a second set of eyes, book a call with Miguel. He'll ask what's changing and when, and he'll talk through the checks that matter most for your site.
Questions people ask
Will a website redesign hurt my SEO?
It can, when page addresses change without redirects or when pages lose the words people searched for. Keep every address or redirect it to its closest match, carry your titles and words across, and expect some movement for a few weeks while Google catches up.
How long should I keep 301 redirects after a redesign?
Google advises keeping redirects for as long as possible, generally at least a year. Old links in emails, posts and other sites keep using those addresses, so longer is better.
Should I redirect old pages to the home page?
No. Google warns that sending many old addresses to one page that doesn't match, like the home page, confuses people, and Google may treat it as a soft 404 error. Send each old page to its closest new one.
What should I test on launch day?
Open your old addresses, load each ad's landing page on a phone, send a real form, call the number and check that your tracking counted both. Then submit the new sitemap in Search Console so Google learns the new addresses.
See how we build websites that track every call and form
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