A website redesign is one of the riskiest stages for SEO: it involves changing the design, templates, structure, and sometimes even the content. However, with proper preparation, you can update your site without losing Google rankings. The main goal is to ensure that search engines continue to find the same pages at the same URLs and understand that this is an update, not a "new site." To maintain your position, start with an audit of your current state: which URLs are driving organic traffic, which pages are indexed, where the links are coming from, and which templates support the most important elements (headings, metadata, internal links). Without this, a redesign turns into a series of guesses, and SEO risks usually only surface after the release. 1) Protect the URL and structure The safest option is to leave the URL and overall section structure unchanged. If a redesign is unavoidable, use 301 redirects from each old page to the corresponding new one (not to the "homepage" for everyone). It's important to match meaning: the source page should lead to the closest equivalent in intent and content. Check your navigation and breadcrumbs separately: sometimes, during a redesign, they "creep" and the internal link equity is distributed differently. Google will notice this, especially on sites with large catalogs. 2) Prepare content and metadata in advance During a redesign, it's easy to lose what worked: H1-H3 headings, text blocks, alt attributes, human-readable category descriptions, and unique meta tags. It's recommended to establish an "SEO contract" for key templates and verify it before development. Also, establish content update guidelines in advance: if you change text, ensure the improvement is truly useful (expanding, clarifying, adding texture), and not simply a reshuffle. For product cards and materials, ensure uniqueness—duplications often appear unnoticed after a redesign through new templates. 3) Technical check: indexing and performance Before publishing to production, check how indexing works: check for any accidental restrictions (robots.txt, noindex, incorrect settings), ensure the sitemap.xml is being served correctly, and is it accessible in Search Console. If the site uses SSR/CSR logic, ensure that SEO-critical content is accessible to the search robot. Don't forget about speed: redesigns often increase page weight (animations, new scripts, large images). A drop in performance is reflected in user behavior metrics and can indirectly impact visibility. Image compression, correct formats (e.g., WebP/AVIF), lazy loading where appropriate, and JavaScript bundle management help maintain performance. 4) Launch plan and post-release control It's best to launch the redesign in stages: first, a test environment with indexing and key URL verification, then a limited release (if possible), and only then a full publication. At each step, record checkpoints: status codes, content availability, matching headers and metadata, and correct redirects. After the release, monitor index coverage and error messages in Search Console. It's helpful to compare trends: not only traffic, but also the number of indexed pages, as well as the robot's access to new URLs. If you see anomalies, the quickest way to diagnose them is to pinpoint which pages are returning incorrect results or have lost content. Redesigning without losing rankings isn't a matter of luck, but rather a disciplined process: maintaining URLs, using correct redirects, maintaining SEO keywords in templates, checking indexing, and careful post-publishing monitoring. Following this approach, you'll update your site and maintain Google's trust in the structure and relevance of your pages.