There are many reasons to redesign a website – improving conversion performance,
rebranding a company or product, to give the site a more modern feel, or to
improve search engine ranking are some of the more common. For a website that
has already achieved some positive results, it’s necessary to at least keep
an eye on the impact any changes might have to the search results. Unexpected
result changes can occur but it’s possible to minimise them or even ensure
that the design change will facilitate improved rankings.

Site Accessibility

Accessibility needs to be quantified, benchmarked, and measured. Using W3C
coding and offering alternatives to disabled visitors as well as visitors using
alternative browsers and operating systems will help a website’s performance
in many ways. Every page of a site needs to be as accessible as possible and
alternatives should always be provided.

Page Load Times

Slow page load times will also detract from the overall user experience although
a page has to load very slowly before it faces a ranking deficit for its trouble.
Other websites will be less inclined to link to pages that take too long to
load but the biggest problem with providing slow loading pages is that those
pages will receive a high bounce rate. This means that visitors will enter
and leave on those pages without taking any action and without navigating to
another page of the site.

Effective And Simple Navigation

Navigation should be simple and effective. Including a static text link on
the home page that directs to an XML or similar sitemap ensures that visitors
and search engine spiders can easily gain access to all of your web pages.
Sitemaps are also an effective way of getting a site indexed and informing
the search engines of any changes to a site.

Redirecting Search Engines And Visitors

A redesign may impact URL paths for all of your pages. Using redirects ensures
that visitors are not lead on a drawn out process of clicking links and the
redirected page is indexed properly by the search engines. Customising your
404 error page so that it either redirects or contains helpful and relevant
content will also assist for any broken links to pages you haven’t accounted
for.

Redirecting Links

By using redirects you can still take advantage of existing links to your
pages. The link continues to point to the original page that no longer exists
but the redirect ensures that visitors and search engine spiders view, index,
and rank the appropriate page. Looking after your links and further developing
your link profile will assure you of the best possible search rankings for
your site. It also negates the need to contact everybody providing you with
a link and asking them to update it.

SEO And The Site Redesign

Redesigning a site is a big step in the evolution of any online business.
For the existing website, it brings with it the added complication of ensuring
no unexpected loss in conversions, revenue, or profits. For the SEO, it’s important
to consider accessibility, good navigation, quick loading pages, and using
redirects to continue benefiting from your previous link building efforts.

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