Redesigning or Moving Your Website? How to Protect Your Google Rankings

A website that once did its job well can quietly become a problem. It loads slowly on a phone, you cannot change a price without calling someone, or the website builder you started with no longer does what your business needs.

The good news is that moving on is usually simpler than people expect. Here is how a website redesign and migration works, and how to protect the search rankings you have already built.

Signs it may be time for a website redesign

• Your website looks dated next to your competitors, or no longer reflects your business.
• It is awkward to use on a mobile phone, or slow to load.
• You have outgrown your Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy or Square Site website builder.
• You cannot edit your own pages, and every small change means asking a developer.
• You are unhappy with your current web designer’s service, speed of updates or results.

Redesign, migration or both?

These terms often get mixed up, and the right answer depends on what is holding your website back:

• Website redesign: a fresh look and better layout for your existing website, including an existing WordPress site, so it works harder for your business and your customers.
• Website migration: moving your site from one platform or supplier to another, for example from a website builder to WordPress, with your content carried across.
• Switching supplier: taking your website, hosting and email from another developer without chasing them for every detail.
• Making a static website editable: rebuilding an HTML site in WordPress or Craft CMS so you can edit pages, text and images yourself.

Many projects combine two or more of these. A website redesign and migration service in Swindon can handle the whole lot in one go, so you deal with one team from the first conversation to launch.

Moving from a website builder to WordPress

Website builders are a good way to get online, but they can become restrictive as a business grows. If you are thinking about moving from Wix, Squarespace or GoDaddy to WordPress, you can keep the design and style you already have or start fresh, with your content and functionality carried across and minimal downtime during the move.

If you would like to read more first, our guides explain why a professionally designed WordPress website can be a better choice than a website builder and how to switch from a website builder to WordPress.

Switching web developer without the drama

Changing supplier can feel awkward, but you are entitled to your website files, logins and domain details. When you switch to O’Brien Media from another web designer, we take care of the handover. We will:

• review your website, hosting, domain name and email set-up, and explain what you have;
• help you request the files, logins and domain details you are entitled to;
• move your website, hosting and email to us with minimal downtime;
• fix problems, update software and plugins, and take over ongoing support.

Will you lose your Google rankings when you move?

This is the question we hear most, and it is a sensible one. A badly handled move can lose traffic, because search engines have learned your page addresses and content over time. A well planned one gives your rankings the best chance of surviving.

That is why we plan the move before we touch anything:

• keep your existing page addresses wherever we can;
• set up 301 redirects for any page addresses that change, so visitors and search engines find the new page;
• carry your content, page titles and structure across rather than starting from scratch;
• check the new site once it is live.

No one can promise a particular ranking, but careful planning protects what you have already earned. Once the new site is live, our SEO services can help it get found by even more of the right customers.

Look after your new website once it is live

A new website is a good start, not the finish line. Our managed hosting and WordPress support and maintenance keep your site fast, secure and up to date, and you can use the same team for future changes.

What to have ready before you get in touch

You do not need to arrive with a detailed brief, but a few details help us give you a clear answer and price:

• the address of your current website and where it is hosted;
• what you like and dislike about it;
• anything you would like it to do that it cannot do now;
• who looks after your domain name and email.

If you are not sure about any of that, do not worry. We can work it out together.

Ready to redesign or move your website?

O’Brien Media has been designing and supporting websites for businesses in Swindon, Wiltshire and across the UK since 2006. If you are thinking about a redesign, a move from a website builder or a change of web developer, we would love to hear from you.

Email us at hello@obrienmedia.co.uk or get in touch through our contact page and tell us about your website. We will talk it through with you and give you a clear price.