Redesigns and migrations, planned carefully

Most traffic losses we are asked to investigate trace back to a site launch. The new site looked better, but old URLs were not redirected, important pages were merged or dropped, titles were reset to defaults, or the staging site's "do not index" setting went live with it.

Before launch

1. Inventory. We crawl the current site and pull every URL that has had search traffic or links, from Search Console, Analytics and link data.
2. Map. Each old URL is matched to the most relevant new URL. Pages that are being removed get a sensible destination or are left to return a 404 deliberately.
3. Review the new site. On staging we check titles, headings, internal links, structured data, page speed and that content has not been cut back too far.
4. Launch plan. A short checklist for launch day, agreed with your developer.

Launch day

We crawl the live site, test the redirects in bulk, check robots rules and the sitemap, and submit the sitemap in Search Console.

After launch

We watch Search Console and rankings for the following weeks, chase any redirects or pages that went wrong, and report clearly on what has recovered and what still needs work. Some movement after a migration is normal; a sharp, lasting drop is not.

Domain changes and mergers

If you are rebranding, merging two companies' websites or moving from a .com to a .co.uk, the same principles apply with extra steps such as the Change of Address tool in Search Console. Tell us early; it is much easier to plan than to repair.

Who it is for

• Businesses commissioning a new website from a web design company.
• Online shops moving between platforms, for example WooCommerce to Shopify.
• Firms rebranding, merging or changing domain.
• Organisations consolidating several websites into one.

The process, step by step

1. Kick-off with your web designer. We agree responsibilities, timelines and the format for redirects.
2. Inventory. Crawl of the current site plus every URL with traffic or links from the past twelve to sixteen months.
3. Priority list. The pages that carry most of your search traffic and enquiries, which must be protected.
4. Redirect map. Old URL to new URL, one by one, reviewed with you where judgement is needed.
5. Content comparison. Old and new versions of priority pages checked for lost content, headings and internal links.
6. Staging review. Technical checks of the new site before launch.
7. Launch-day checks. Indexing settings, redirects tested in bulk, sitemaps submitted, analytics verified.
8. Post-launch monitoring. Weekly checks for four to eight weeks, with fixes as needed.

Migration types and their risks

How long it takes and what drives the cost

For a small brochure site, the SEO side of a redesign might take a few days spread across the project. For a large shop changing platform it can be several weeks of work. Cost depends on the number of URLs, the complexity of the change, how much content is being rewritten and how long you want monitoring to run.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the staging site's noindex setting on at launch.
• Redirecting every old page to the home page.
• Cutting service page content to fit a new design.
• Changing URLs for no reason.
• Forgetting to update the Google Business Profile, social profiles and directory listings.
• Not keeping a copy of the old site's URL list and content.

How we measure it

We compare organic traffic, rankings for priority pages, indexed page counts and enquiries before and after launch. We also track redirect errors and 404s in Search Console until they settle.

Related services and reading

See our detailed redesign SEO checklist. Migration work draws on technical SEO and often follows an SEO audit. Shops should also read about ecommerce SEO. We support businesses across Derby and in towns such as Ilkeston.