Whoever does the redesign should hand you a redirect plan before launch: a spreadsheet that lists every old URL, the new page each one goes to, and the redirect type. Google's site-move guidance says to use permanent server-side redirects, map each old URL to its closest new equivalent, test the redirects, and generally keep them for at least a year. If a provider cannot show you that list, the redesign can leave your old pages, and the searchers who find them, with nowhere to go.
How it works. By Chleb AI Editorial (AI-assisted). Published 2026-11-01. 5 min read.
A redesign often changes page addresses. /services/ac-repair becomes /hvac-repair, or the whole site moves to a new platform with a different URL pattern. Google has indexed and ranked the old addresses. When a visitor or Googlebot requests one and the new site has nothing there, the old page eventually drops out of search results. Google says that for URLs that now return a 4xx error such as 404, its systems remove the URL from the index if it was previously indexed and stop using it over time.
The fix is not complicated, but it has to be planned before launch. Google's page on site moves with URL changes lays out the sequence: prepare and test the new site, map old URLs to new ones, set up redirects, check canonical tags and robots rules, and monitor traffic on both. It also warns to expect temporary fluctuation in ranking during the move, so a small dip after launch is not by itself proof something went wrong.
Ask for permanent, server-side redirects. Google's redirect documentation says permanent redirects signal that the target should be the canonical page, and it names 301 and 308 as the permanent status codes. It says a server-side redirect has the highest chance of being interpreted correctly by Google. Temporary redirects (302, 303 and 307) do not make the target canonical, so the old page may stay in results, which is the wrong outcome for a redesign.
Some website builders cannot do server-side redirects. Google lists a meta refresh as a fallback and a JavaScript redirect as a last resort, and says to use JavaScript only if the other two are not possible. If your platform limits you to the weaker options, ask the provider to say so before you sign, and ask what they would do instead.
A redirect plan is a table with one row per old address. Google suggests finding old URLs through your sitemaps, server logs, analytics and the Search Console links report, and including images, videos, JavaScript and CSS files where they matter.
For each row, the new address should be the closest equivalent page. Google says to avoid sending many old URLs to one irrelevant page such as the new homepage. If your old site has a page for water heater repair and the new site merged it into a general plumbing page, point the old address to that plumbing page, not to the home page.
Pages with no equivalent are a separate decision. Google's site-move steps say to prepare 404 or 410 responses for removed content. Google says deleted or merged content should correctly return an HTTP 404 or 410 on the new site. A page that returns a normal success status but looks like an error can be reported in Search Console as a soft 404.
These questions are our suggested checklist, built from the Google pages cited below. They are not a standard.
1. Can I see the URL map before launch? It should list every old URL, the new target and the redirect type.
2. Which redirect type will you use, and does the platform support server-side redirects?
3. How did you build the list of old URLs? Look for sitemaps, analytics and Search Console, not only a crawl of the current menu.
4. How will you avoid redirect chains? Google says to redirect directly to the final destination and to keep any chain short.
5. Will the canonical tags, internal links and sitemap use the new addresses? Google lists all three as items to update.
6. Who tests the redirects, and when? Testing should happen before launch and again after, with a written list of any failures.
7. Who keeps the redirects in place, and for how long? Google says to keep them generally at least one year, and says that from a user's perspective you may want to keep them indefinitely. Make sure the redirect rules stay in your hosting or platform settings, not in a tool you will cancel.
Google's guidance says that for a medium-sized site it can take a few weeks or more for new URLs to show gradually, and that Googlebot has to visit every old and new URL at least once for the move to be complete. It names the Search Console reports to use: the sitemaps report, the Index Coverage report, URL Inspection and the search queries report. Submit the new sitemap, and once the old URLs have dropped out of the index you can remove the old sitemap.
Your own checks can be simpler. Click ten of your best old addresses, the ones customers bookmarked or that appear on printed material and your Google Business Profile, and confirm each lands on the page you expected. Check the phone number and booking form on each landing page, since a redirect that works but lands on a page with a broken form still loses the lead.
One boundary: the Change of Address tool in Search Console is for moving from one domain or subdomain to another. Google says not to use it for HTTP-to-HTTPS or www changes on the same domain. If your redesign keeps the same domain, you do not use it.
Chleb AI builds websites as well as selling an AI receptionist and CRM, so it has an interest in this topic. Its Solutions page says custom website design and development, and ongoing care, are scoped in a written proposal. It does not publish a redirect process or a price for a redesign on that page. If you ask any provider, Chleb AI included, to redesign a site, put the URL map, the redirect type and the redirect retention period into that proposal.
Written with AI assistance. Every factual claim links to its source above. Illustrations are AI-generated, not photographs; cover cards are set in type; charts and diagrams are built from the public data they cite. This is general information, not legal, financial or tax advice. Found an error? Tell us at chleb@chleb.ai or through the contact page and we will correct it and note the correction on this page.
No. Google's site-move guidance says to avoid sending many URLs to one irrelevant page such as the new homepage. Map each old URL to its closest equivalent.
A permanent server-side redirect, 301 or 308, according to Google's documentation. Temporary redirects do not make the new page canonical.
Google says generally at least one year, and notes that for visitors you may want to keep them indefinitely.
Google says to expect temporary fluctuation in ranking during a move, and that new URLs can take a few weeks or more to show on a medium-sized site.