Website relaunch: when and how without losing rankings

In short: a relaunch pays off when the website no longer keeps up on phones, in loading speed, in maintenance or in enquiries. To keep visibility on Google, before launch you need a list of all old addresses and, for each one, a permanent redirect to the matching new page. Afterwards: submit a new sitemap, check internal links and watch Search Console.

What makes a good website for a small business is covered in the article website for small businesses. This one is about switching from the old to the new. As of October 2026.

When a relaunch makes sense

• The site is hard to read or use on a phone.
• It loads slowly, especially on the move.
• Content can only be changed with effort, or not at all.
• The technology or site builder is no longer maintained.
• Design and content no longer fit the business, for example after a rebrand.
• Hardly any enquiries come through the website.

Not every one of these problems needs a complete rebuild. Sometimes rewriting individual pages, shrinking images or improving contact routes is enough. An honest look beforehand saves money.

The biggest trap: forgotten addresses

Every page of your old website has an address. Google has known some of them for years; others are linked from other websites or saved as bookmarks. If addresses change during the relaunch, and they almost always do, visitors and search engines land on error pages. The visibility the old pages built up is lost.

Google therefore recommends mapping the old site's addresses to the new ones and setting up permanent, server-side redirects, for example with status code 301. The redirects should be kept as long as possible, generally at least a year (Google Search Central: site moves with URL changes).

The process in six steps

1. Inventory: collect all old addresses, from the sitemap, from the old website's system, from Search Console and from server logs. Don't forget old PDF files and images that are linked.
2. Plan the new structure: which pages will exist? Which content stays, which is merged, which is dropped?
3. Redirect list: define where each old address leads. Preferably to the matching new page, not wholesale to the home page. Avoid chains of several redirects.
4. Carry over and improve content: don't drop pages that used to rank well without replacement. How to write copy for visitors and search engines is covered in the article writing website copy.
5. Launch and check: activate redirects, test samples, submit the new sitemap in Search Console, switch internal links to the new addresses.
6. Monitor: follow the Search Console reports in the weeks after. The old addresses should disappear, the new ones appear. Fix unexpected errors immediately. How to set up Search Console is explained in the article set up Google Search Console.

What happens to pages that no longer exist

Not every old page has a new equivalent. Then the address may return an error code, such as 404 (not found) or 410 (permanently removed). Google treats these error codes the same and removes the address from the index over time (Google Search Central: HTTP status codes). That's better than redirecting hundreds of old addresses to the home page, where visitors don't find what they were looking for.

More SEO traps

• The test environment is blocked for search engines, and the block stays active after launch. Then the new website disappears from search.
• Page titles and descriptions are missing or the same on every page.
• Well-ranking content dropped because it didn't fit the new design.
• Internal links point to old addresses and run through redirects.
• Google Business Profile and directories still link the old address.
• The new website is slower than the old one, for example due to large images or many embedded services.

Our own relaunch

Our website used to run on WordPress, with shop addresses for product categories and downloads. After switching to a hand-coded website, we found in Search Console the old addresses Google still knew. For those with a matching new page we set up permanent redirects, for example from the old sticker category to the new sticker page, or from an old PDF guide on print files to the matching article. Addresses of products that no longer exist return code 410. That way visitors following old links land on the right page, and Google cleans up the rest.

Our view

A relaunch is more than a new design. The real work lies in the inventory, the redirect list and the checks afterwards. Skip that, and you often start from scratch on Google. That's why we always plan relaunches with a redirect concept and support the weeks after launch. More under web design. The bigger picture is described in the article professional graphic design.

Checklist: website relaunch

• Is it clear whether a relaunch is needed or a rework is enough?
• Is there a complete list of all old addresses?
• Does every old address have a target, or deliberately an error code?
• Are the redirects permanent and server-side?
• Is well-ranking content preserved?
• Has the test environment's search-engine block been lifted after launch?
• Has the new sitemap been submitted?
• Have Google profile and directories been switched to the new addresses?
• Is Search Console monitored in the weeks after?

Frequently asked questions

How do I know my website needs a relaunch?

Typical signs: the site is hard to use on a phone or loads slowly, content is tedious to change, the design no longer fits the business, the technology is no longer maintained, or hardly any enquiries come through the website. Often reworking individual pages is enough instead of a complete rebuild.

How do I avoid losing rankings during a relaunch?

Above all with a complete list of all old addresses and a permanent redirect from each old address to the matching new page. Google recommends permanent server-side redirects and advises keeping them as long as possible, generally at least a year. Add a new sitemap, updated internal links and monitoring in Search Console.

What happens to pages that no longer exist after the relaunch?

If there's a matching new page, redirect there. If there isn't, the old address may return an error code such as 404 or 410. Google treats these codes the same and removes the address from the index over time. Mass redirects to the home page, on the other hand, aren't a good solution.