What are the best practices with website redesign & redirects?

[JHSpecialty]

I have a website that is not very pretty but has great rankings. I want to redesign the website and loose as little rankings as possible and still clean up the navigation. What are the best practices? Thanks in advance.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

Here are some great resources:
Web Fundamentals (Google)
Multi Design Layouts (Google)
The Basics of Search Engine Friendly Web Design & Development (Moz)
Designing for SEO (Moz)
Information Architecture for SEO (Moz)
The Process of Web Design: From Discovery to Prototype (Moz)

I would also make sure that you focus on user experience not just from the design aspect, but the content aspect as well. Here's another great resource on that.

When you are ready to move your site, make sure you review this resource from Google, as well as this migration guide from Moz.

All of the above should help you get started - make sure that you review with your web development team and review the following on your current site:

• All KPIs that matter most to your visibility / performance
• Your site's goals over time
• Google Search Console performance over time (impressions / rankings)
• Take a look at your competitors
• Check your on-site SEO
• Check your backlinks
• Check your content
• Check your information architecture
• Learn more about your audience
• Are you capturing your audience at the right points? Do you have content to do so?
• Are you doing everything you can do develop your brand(s) right now?

Sometimes it may be a matter of a redesign and not a new site overall. There's a great Whiteboard Friday that touches on elements of this topic called Should I Rebrand and Redirect My Site? Should I Consolidate Multiple Sites/Brands?

Hope this helps! Good luck!