Will redesigning our corporate site hurt SEO, and how can I prevent traffic loss?

You need to set up the redirects as permanent 301s at the server level. As the page structure changes, check the meta titles and canonical tags one by one. If you trim down the rich content on your old pages just to focus on aesthetics, search engine bots will flag the pages as thin content.

Last year during a similar redesign, our agency missed redirecting a 40-page product category. Within two weeks, our organic form submissions dropped from 18 down to 4. Once we mapped out the URLs and set up the 301 redirects, it took about 7 weeks for traffic to recover to its previous level.

Ask the agency for a "URL Redirect Matrix" before going live, right now. Insist that they deliver an Excel sheet listing each old URL mapped to its corresponding new URL. Do not sign off on any launch without seeing that first.

Is there an explicit clause in your contract with the agency covering "SEO Migration" or transition consulting? Agencies usually don't include this in standard web design, so you might face additional fees or a refusal to take responsibility later on.

edit: I wrote something wrong above, sorry about that.

our dev forgot to remove the noindex tag from staging when pushing to prod, woke up one morning and our site was gone from search results.. and anyway definitely check the robots meta tag in the source code first thing.

Does this 301 redirect thing keep working after the old site is taken down? Since our domain name will stay the same is it handled through server settings?

Here is the summary of what's been discussed: 1) Fully map out every old URL. 2) Implement 1:1 301 redirects, do not bulk-redirect to the homepage. 3) Don't thin out your page copy. 4) Monitor the search console regularly throughout the first month.

Thanks a lot, I'll try it today.

Let me clarify the technical side. Processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix.

Mistakes made on the site redesign seo loss side are usually reversible but expensive. This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

Correct.

I've been down this road, let me tell you. Don't trust anyone who gives guarantees; there are no guarantees in this business.

Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval. If I were you, I'd go this route.

If I understood correctly, you're saying: Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

thnaks for posting but when making decisions, write down the worst-case scenario too, not just the best.

if you have questions write them; I'll answer as best I can.

I feel the same way. Speed is a threshold issue; if you're already fast, making it faster changes nothing.

Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

Thanks, that was the answer I was looking for.

I agree.

i didn't know that. i mean everyone rushiing into site redesign seo loss gets stuck at the same point.

if you have questions, write them; Ill answer as best I can.

Good call starting this thread.