Quick answer
A website redesign checklist is a list of steps that protects traffic, rankings and leads during a new design. It covers recording current performance, keeping valuable content, planning 301 redirects, testing on a staging site and monitoring results after launch.
Key takeaways
- Record your current performance before you start.
- Keep the pages and content that bring traffic.
- Redirect every changed address.
- Monitor Search Console closely after launch.
What should you do before the redesign?
- Export a list of all current URLs.
- Record traffic, rankings and conversions.
- Identify your best pages and keywords.
- List what must be kept, improved or removed.
- Back up the old site.
What do you need to protect?
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Page URLs | Changing them without redirects loses rankings |
| Title tags and headings | Core relevance signals |
| Internal links | Help search engines crawl |
| Structured data | Supports rich results |
| Page speed | Affects experience and rankings |
How do you handle redirects?
Create a spreadsheet matching every old URL to its closest new one, then set up permanent 301 redirects.
Avoid sending everything to the home page, as this wastes the value of old links.
What should you test before launch?
- Every key form, call to action and phone link.
- Mobile layout on real devices.
- Page speed and Core Web Vitals.
- Staging site blocked from search engines, then unblocked at launch.
- Analytics and conversion tracking.
What should you do after launch?
Submit the new sitemap, check Search Console for crawl errors and compare traffic weekly. Fix broken links quickly. Keep this website redesign checklist handy for the first few weeks, as small issues are easiest to fix early.
A launch day mini list
- Remove the noindex tag from the staging site.
- Check redirects on your top 20 pages.
- Submit the new sitemap.
- Test forms and tracking.
- Watch Search Console for crawl errors.
Keep this list pinned to the screen and tick each item as you go.
Bottom line
Use a website redesign checklist to know what is working before you change anything, map every old page to a new one and test thoroughly before launch. A redesign should add to your results, not reset them.
Sources and further reading
Checked against the sources above and our own project experience. Last reviewed 7 October 2026.
