Introduction: A new design can drop a site out of search if old addresses start returning “not found,” or if every page is suddenly blocked. The visual launch and the address list are separate jobs. Both should be done before the switch.
1. Map every old address
Export the current URLs. For each one, decide the new address or a redirect. A redirect should land on the matching page, not on the homepage for everything.
2. Check what search engines are allowed to see
- The new site should not ship with a “noindex” tag left over from staging.
- The sitemap should list the new addresses, and the robots file should allow them.
- Titles and descriptions should move with the page, then be edited where the offer changed.
3. Watch the first week
After launch, look for addresses that 404 and for pages that disappeared from the index. Fix the redirect or the block that week, while the old addresses are still fresh.
A redesign is ready when the old links still arrive at the right page.
4. Conclusion
EliteSigma pairs the new layout with the address map, so the launch does not throw away the pages that already rank.
See our Website SEO service.
