By PDS Team
A website migration SEO checklist protects your search traffic when you redesign, change platforms or move to new URLs. The essentials are a complete map of old URLs to new ones, permanent 301 redirects for every page that moves, updated internal links, canonicals and sitemaps, and close monitoring in Search Console once the new site is live.
This checklist follows Google’s guidance on site moves with URL changes and splits the work into before, during and after launch.
Why do websites lose traffic after a redesign?
Most traffic losses after a redesign happen because old URLs stop working, content is removed or search engines receive mixed signals about which pages to show.
A redesign often changes more than the look of a site. Page addresses change, sections are merged, old blog posts are dropped and new templates leave out text or headings. If Google visits an old URL and finds a 404, or a redirect to an unrelated page, the value that page built up is put at risk.
Other common causes are a noindex tag or robots.txt block copied from the staging site, canonical tags that still point to the old domain and internal links that send visitors through chains of redirects. Each of these is easy to prevent with a checklist, and hard to spot after launch without one. Google also says rankings may fluctuate for a while during a move, even when everything is done correctly.
If you would rather have specialists manage the move, our technical SEO services cover migration planning, redirect mapping and post-launch checks.
What should you do before the migration?
Before launch, record what you have, build the new site carefully and map every important old URL to its new home.
Take a snapshot of the current site
- Export a full list of URLs from your sitemaps, your CMS and a site crawl.
- Note your highest-traffic pages from analytics and Search Console’s Performance report.
- Save a copy of current titles, meta descriptions, headings and structured data for key pages.
- List the external sites that link to you most, so you can ask them to update links later.
Prepare the new site
- Verify both the old and new sites in Search Console, including all variants you use.
- Check the new robots.txt blocks only what you intend.
- Give every new page a self-referencing canonical tag.
- Update hreflang annotations if you run versions in more than one language.
- Decide which old pages will not move, and let them return a 404 or 410.
Keep the content of pages that already rank well. Changing the design is usually fine, but stripping out useful text, headings or FAQs can change what a page is about in Google’s eyes.
How do you build a URL redirect map?
List every old URL in one column and its closest new equivalent in the next, then turn that list into 301 redirects.
Google’s site move guidance recommends starting with your sitemaps, your most visited URLs from logs or analytics, and the pages your CMS lists. Do not forget images, videos, PDFs, JavaScript and CSS files if their addresses are changing too.
| Old URL | New URL | Action |
|---|---|---|
| /services/seo.html | /services/seo/ | 301 to closest match |
| /blog/post-name/ | /insights/post-name/ | 301 to same content |
| /old-offer-2019/ | None | 404 or 410 (not moving) |
| /about-us.php | /about/ | 301 to closest match |
Redirect rules from Google
- Use server-side permanent redirects, such as 301s.
- Redirect straight to the final URL. Avoid chains where one redirect leads to another.
- Do not send many old URLs to one unrelated page, such as the home page.
What should you check on launch day?
On launch day, switch on the redirects, remove any staging blocks and test a sample of URLs straight away.
- Remove staging blocks: Google specifically reminds site owners to remove any
noindexrules or robots.txt blocks once the move starts. - Turn on redirects and test them with the URL Inspection tool or a crawler, starting with your top pages.
- Check canonicals point to the new URLs, not the old ones or the staging domain.
- Update internal links in menus, footers and content so they point directly to new URLs.
- Submit the new sitemap in Search Console and remove the old one.
- Use the Change of Address tool only if you are moving to a new domain or subdomain. Google says it is not needed for HTTP to HTTPS moves, www to non-www changes on the same domain or path changes.
Check tracking too. Make sure your analytics tag, Search Console verification and any conversion tracking work on the new templates before you announce the launch.
How long should you keep redirects, and what should you monitor afterwards?
Keep redirects for at least one year, and watch Search Console closely for the first few weeks after launch.
Google recommends keeping redirects in place for at least one year and suggests keeping them indefinitely if you can. Removing them early can undo much of the work, because some visitors, bookmarks and external links will keep using the old addresses.
What to monitor
- Page indexing report: watch for new “Not found (404)” errors, redirect problems or unexpected
noindexexclusions. - Performance report: traffic to old URLs should fall while traffic to new URLs rises.
- Sitemaps report: the old sitemap may show redirect warnings, which Google says you can ignore.
- Server logs and analytics: look for frequently hit URLs that still return errors.
Be patient with timing. Google says a medium-sized site can take a few weeks or more for most pages to move in its index, and larger sites take longer. Googlebot needs to visit every old and new URL at least once before the move is complete. For a fuller list of crawling and indexing checks to run on the new site, use our technical SEO checklist.
Website Migration SEO Checklist FAQs
Will a website redesign hurt my SEO?
It does not have to. A redesign that keeps the same URLs and content usually has little effect. Risk rises when URLs change, content is removed or technical settings slip through from staging. A redirect map, careful launch checks and close monitoring in Search Console reduce that risk, though Google says some ranking fluctuation during a move is normal.
How long does it take to recover traffic after a migration?
There is no fixed timeline. Google says a medium-sized site can take a few weeks or more for most pages to move in its index, and larger sites take longer. Recovery also depends on how complete your redirects are and whether content and internal links were kept. Persistent drops after that usually point to a technical problem worth investigating.
Should I use 301 or 302 redirects for a site migration?
Use permanent redirects, such as 301s, for a site migration. Google’s site move guidance asks for server-side permanent redirects from each old URL to its new URL. Google treats a permanent redirect as a signal that the new URL should be canonical, while a temporary 302 is not treated that way, so search results tend to keep showing the old URL.
Do I need the Change of Address tool?
Only if you are moving from one domain or subdomain to another, for example from an old brand domain to a new one. Google says you do not need it for moves from HTTP to HTTPS, switches between www and non-www on the same domain or changes to URL paths. Your redirects do the main work in every case.
Should I redirect deleted pages to the home page?
No. Google advises against redirecting many old URLs to one unrelated page such as the home page. Redirect each page to its closest equivalent on the new site. If there is no relevant replacement, let the old URL return a 404 or 410 so search engines and visitors get an honest answer.
Can I change URLs and design at the same time?
You can, but it makes problems harder to trace because many things change at once. If you do both together, plan the redirect map carefully and keep strong content on key pages. Some teams prefer to move URLs first and update the design later, which makes it easier to see the cause of any traffic change.
Need help with a website migration?
If you are planning a redesign or platform move, our technical SEO services can build the redirect map and run the launch checks, while our website design and development team handles the new build. We work with businesses in Noida, Delhi NCR and across India. Contact us before you set a launch date.
