A new website can improve how your business looks online, make it easier for customers to navigate and create a better experience across different devices.
But there is one thing businesses often overlook during a redesign: what happens to the SEO work already built on the existing website?
Your current website may already have pages ranking in Google, backlinks from other websites, internal links and content bringing in organic traffic. If these elements are changed or removed without a plan, your new website can look better while losing some of the search visibility the old site had built up.
This is why SEO should be considered before a website redesign goes live, not after.
Here are the main things NZ businesses should check.
Before changing anything, you need to know what you already have.
Create a list of the important URLs on your current website. This should include service pages, location pages, product pages, blog posts and other pages that receive organic traffic.
Look at:
Not every old page needs to be moved to the new website, but important pages should not simply disappear during the redesign.
Keeping the same URL is often the simplest option when the page is still serving the same purpose.
For example:
example.co.nz/services/seo/
If the redesigned website still has an SEO service page, there may be no reason to change that URL.
Keeping important URLs consistent can reduce unnecessary changes during a redesign.
If URLs do need to change, create an old-to-new URL map before the website is launched.
For example:
| Existing URL | New URL |
| /services/seo/ | /seo-services/ |
| /services/web-design/ | /website-design/ |
| /about-us/ | /about/ |
This gives the developer and SEO team a clear list of what needs to happen when the new website goes live.
A redesign is often treated as a chance to rewrite everything.
That can create problems if useful content is removed simply because it does not fit the new design.
Before deleting or heavily changing a page, check its:
A page that does not look important from a design perspective may still be bringing valuable visitors from Google.
The goal is not to copy every piece of old content onto the new website. Instead, identify the content that is already working and make sure its value is not lost during the redesign.
If an old URL is being replaced with a new URL, the redirect needs to be planned before launch.
For example:
/old-service/ → /new-service/
For permanent URL changes, 301 redirects should be used where appropriate. Each important old URL should be matched with the most relevant new page.
Avoid creating redirect chains such as:
Old page → temporary page → another page → final page
It is better to redirect the old URL directly to the final relevant URL.
For more detailed guidance, see Google Search Central’s guide to site moves and migrations.
A redesign can change more than the appearance of a website.
During development, page titles, headings, meta descriptions and body content can easily be changed or removed.
Before launch, compare important pages between the old and new websites.
Check:
This does not mean every piece of content has to remain exactly the same. The important thing is to understand what has changed and whether important search intent and information are still covered.
Internal links are easy to overlook when a website is redesigned.
For example, an old service page may have received links from several blog posts. If that page is renamed or removed, those links may no longer work correctly.
Review links between:
After the redesign, make sure internal links point directly to the current URLs.
Google also recommends updating internal links to the new URLs during a site move.
During development, websites are sometimes blocked from search engines so that unfinished pages do not appear in Google.
This is fine while a website is being built.
The problem happens when those settings remain after launch.
Before the new website goes live, check that important pages are not accidentally:
A simple check before launch can prevent an important section of the new website from being excluded from search.
Your new website should have an up-to-date XML sitemap containing the URLs you want Google to discover.
If the website structure has changed, the sitemap should be updated accordingly.
After launch, check the sitemap in Google Search Console and look for unexpected indexing issues.
For a website with hundreds or thousands of pages, this becomes particularly important because it can help identify patterns rather than checking every URL manually.
Canonical tags can change during a website rebuild, particularly when a new CMS, theme or development setup is introduced.
For important pages, check that the canonical URL points to the correct version of the page.
For example, if your preferred URL is:
you do not want the new website accidentally pointing the canonical tag to an old staging URL, another domain or an unrelated page.
Google recommends checking canonical annotations as part of a site move.
A redesign should not only look good on a desktop computer.
Many customers will visit a business website from a mobile phone, so check the new site across different screen sizes before launch.
Look at:
A mobile-first approach is also part of PPC Hero’s website design and development service, which focuses on responsive websites across desktop, tablet and mobile devices.
A website redesign can also affect measurement.
Before launching, make a list of the important tracking elements on the existing website.
These might include:
Make sure these are tested on the new website.
There is little value in maintaining organic traffic if you can no longer see which visitors are submitting forms or making purchases.
Before launching, crawl the new website and look for issues.
A crawl can help identify:
This is especially useful when a website has many pages.
It is much easier to fix these problems while the website is still being tested than after customers and search engines are already using the new site.
The SEO work does not finish when the new website goes live.
Monitor Google Search Console after launch and compare the new website with the previous performance.
Pay attention to:
Some fluctuation can happen while Google crawls and processes a significant site change. Google notes that rankings can temporarily fluctuate while it recrawls and reindexes the new URLs.
The important thing is to identify unusual changes and investigate them rather than assuming they are normal.
Before launching your redesigned website, check that you have:
SEO should be considered from the planning stage rather than added after the new website has already been built.
A website redesign involves more than changing colours, images and layouts. It can affect URLs, content, internal linking, crawling, indexing, tracking and the way search engines understand your website.
Planning these areas before launch gives your business a better chance of carrying its existing search visibility into the new website.
If your Auckland or New Zealand business is planning a website redesign, PPC Hero’s SEO and website services can bring website development and organic search considerations together when planning your new website. You can also contact PPC Hero to discuss your website requirements.
