How to Redesign your Site Without Losing your Google Rankings?
Website redesigning is important to be successful online. However, it is a tricky process because if not handled properly, you can end up losing your much-valued Google rankings. It’s vital that you stay one step ahead and understand the process to keep your rankings intact.
If the website redesign is not done properly, it can cause a dip in rankings that could take time and effort to bring back up. Therefore, it’s important to follow these steps if you are considering a website redesign:
Whether you opt for professional SEO services India or have an in-house team, it’s important that you create a plan that outlines the steps to be taken. This article will explain what needs to be done in order for a successful website redesign that does not lose its rankings.
Create a backup:
Before you start the process of redesigning, create a backup of your website. This is to ensure that if something goes wrong during the process, you can restore your website back to its original state. This is an important step in the redesigning process as it prevents any data loss that could occur due to any technical difficulties.
There are several ways to create a quick backup. A popular plugin for this is BackWPup which creates a complete backup of your website, including files, folders, and databases, with just one click.
Host a “site under maintenance” page:
When redesigning a website, it’s important to keep your visitors informed of what is going on. This prevents any confusion and possible loss of traffic. You can host a “site under maintenance” page that informs visitors that the site is undergoing some changes and they should come back soon.
The benefit of hosting this page is that it will inform your visitors of the changes taking place and also give you some additional time to finish the redesigning process. Moreover, it helps you maintain your current rankings by sending a signal to Google that the site is still alive and under maintenance.
Check your current SEO rankings:
Before you start the redesigning process, it’s important to check your current SEO rankings. This will help you compare the rankings before and after the redesigning process. It also helps you identify any potential issues that could be addressed during or after the redesigning process.
You can use a number of online tools, such as Moz, SEMrush, and Ahrefs, to check your current rankings. These tools will provide you with detailed reports on the performance of your website, including its organic traffic, backlinks, and keyword rankings.
After the redesign, check all URLs are working properly:
Whether you opt for SEO packages or handle the redesigning process yourself, it’s important to check that all URLs are properly after the website is live. This is if any of your links are broken or redirected somewhere, this could lead to a decrease in your rankings.
You can use an online tool such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider, which will crawl your website and identify any broken links. It will also show you the redirects that have been set up, so you can make sure all URLs are working properly.
Redirect the deleted pages:
When redesigning your website, you may end up deleting some pages. It’s important to make sure that these pages are properly redirected so as not to lose any traffic or rankings. You should set up redirects for all deleted pages pointing to their relevant replacements or similar content.
This will ensure that the search engine bots understand that the content has been moved, and it will not affect your rankings. You can use a redirection plugin such as Redirection to manage all of your redirects.
Perform an in-depth content audit to boost performance:
Once you have finished the redesigning process and all URLs are working properly, it’s time to perform an in-depth content audit. This will help you identify any areas of improvement or optimization opportunities that can be addressed to boost your website performance and rankings.
The audit should include a detailed analysis of your content, including keyword research, SEO optimization, and content evaluation. This audit will help you identify any issues that can be addressed to improve the performance of your website.
Do on-page SEO:
You should make sure to do an on-page SEO audit. This will help ensure that all the basics of SEO have been addressed and there are no major issues that could be negatively affecting your website performance. Some of the elements to look at include meta titles and descriptions, headings, content optimization, and URL structure.
Ensure all the important parameters are up to date and properly optimized for search engines. This will help ensure your website is able to rank high in the SERPs and also contributes to a better user experience.
Test the website on the staging environment:
Before making the website live, it’s important to test it on a staging environment. This will help you identify any issues that might arise during the redesigning process and also give you an idea of how the website will look after launch.
Testing the website on a staging environment is important as this will help ensure a smooth transition when going live. It also allows you to make any necessary changes before the website is available to the public. Also, remember to test the site speed on both the staging and live environments to ensure it’s loading quickly.
Wrapping up!
By following these steps, you can ensure that your website redesign process goes smoothly without losing its rankings. With a little bit of planning and attention to detail, you can successfully redesign your website without any loss of traffic or rankings.
If you don’t have an in-house team, it’s better to opt for SEO services in India from an experienced agency to help you with the redesigning process. This will ensure that your website is optimized and all the necessary steps are taken to avoid any losses in the rankings. Adopting these strategies will help you manage a successful website redesign and gain a competitive edge.