13 Horrific Web Redesign Mistakes That Kill SEO

In today’s digital landscape, a good web redesign is indispensable for businesses aiming to stay relevant and satisfy evolving customer demands. A web design revamp involves changing the appearance, functionality, and user experience to achieve measurable goals. However, amidst the excitement of a fresh new look, remember that maintaining search engine optimization (SEO) rankings is equally important.

Let’s dive into the factors influencing SEO rankings during a site overhaul, shedding light on the most common web redesign mistakes to avoid.

Web Redesign Mistakes That Hurt SEO Rankings

A single design error can pull your SEO rankings down. Your web design and development team must recognize and address all contributing factors to prevent a detrimental impact on your organic search performance. 

Key areas or factors that influence SEO rankings during a redesign include:

1. Not consulting your UX team (or not having one)

User experience (UX) plays a pivotal role in SEO, with 88 percent of consumers claiming they are unlikely to revisit a site with bad UX. Bypassing your UX team or lacking one altogether during a site redesign can hinder user engagement and, subsequently, your SEO rankings.

2. Focusing too much on design and not on usability

While aesthetics are important (75 percent of visitors judge a site’s credibility based on looks), you must balance design and usability. Prioritize a user-friendly interface that allows visitors to navigate your website with ease, ensuring positive user signals and better rankings.

3. Failing to preserve effective keyword strategies and on-page optimization

During a redesign, retaining your existing keyword strategy and on-page optimization is imperative.

Comprehensive keyword research helps identify your business’s most relevant and valuable keywords and phrases. Consider user search intent, competition, and search volume when selecting keywords to target. Also, optimize important on-page elements, including page titles, meta descriptions, headings, URL structures, and content, ensuring strategic keyword placement while maintaining readability and user-friendliness.

Disregarding the above elements can cause a loss in keyword rankings and organic traffic.

4. Neglecting to map out and redirect URLs

Restructuring your website without mapping out and redirecting URLs appropriately can result in broken links, 404 errors, and a loss of organic visibility. Assign members of your SEO and web development team to implement correct redirects and canonicals to maintain your search engine rankings.

5. Overlooking mobile responsiveness

Did you know 58.99 percent of the world’s website traffic comes from mobile devices? As much as 51 percent of smartphone users have also discovered a new product or company while conducting a search on their smartphones.

Failing to optimize your website for mobile phones can lead to lower search rankings and decreased visibility among mobile users. On the other hand, in a study commissioned by Google and prepared by Deloitte, investing in mobile-friendliness and reducing site load times (even by one-tenth of a second) can increase page views, conversion rates, and average order values.

6. Choosing ultra-HD images over website load times and site performance

Although high-quality images enhance visual appeal, they can impact both user experience and SEO rankings. They expand file sizes substantially, leading to slower load times and decreased site performance.

40 percent of consumers will click out if a page takes longer than three seconds to load. To reach a balance between website performance and image quality, consider the following tips and tricks:

• Change the format: Select the fitting format for your stock photos and images. For instance, PNG is ideal for images with transparent features and simpler graphics, while JPEG is best for high-quality digital pictures with intricate details and colors.
• Compress images: You can minimize file sizes without settling for lower-quality images. Photoshop is a leading example of a tool that can reduce a graphics file’s size in bytes without degrading quality to an unacceptable threshold.
• Use a content delivery network (CDN): Consider using a CDN to distribute your website’s content across multiple servers. If your business caters to customers from all over the world, CDNs store copies of your images in various locations, allowing faster delivery to users regardless of their geographical location.

7. Removing high-performing pages

Deleting or altering pages that drive significant traffic to your site can harm your SEO efforts. To determine which of your pages generate traffic and conversions, review your website’s analytics data to identify pages with high performance, ensuring to retain and optimize each one during the redesign process. (Move on to #8 for more information on analytics).

8. Not using analytics or failing to transition analytics to the new site

Analytics provide valuable insights into user behavior, traffic sources, conversions, and other key metrics that help optimize a website’s performance and measure its success. In particular, your team should leverage the power of analytics for the following:

• Data-driven decision-making: Data from analytics offers information about how visitors interact with your site, which pages are performing, and where there may be room for improvement. By utilizing analytics, you can make data-driven decisions during the redesign process, assuring that insights rather than assumptions back all changes.
• Tracking performance: Analytics allows you to track various performance metrics, including traffic, conversion rates, engagement, and bounce rates. These metrics paint a clear picture of how well your website is performing, helping you detect areas of strength and weakness. Without analytics, it becomes almost impossible to measure the impact of your redesign efforts and make well-informed adjustments.
• SEO monitoring: Analytics can monitor how your individual web page redesign affects your SEO performance. For instance, by tracking keyword rankings, organic search traffic, and other SEO-related metrics, you can pinpoint any negative effects on your search visibility and implement corrective actions.

9. Not transferring blogs, articles, or white papers to the new website and not updating content

73 percent of B2B marketers and 70 percent of B2C marketers integrate content marketing in their overall marketing plan.

Content is a crucial aspect of any website’s success. It engages users, provides value, and contributes to search engine visibility. Overlooking the importance of migrating valuable content to your new website, as well as having irrelevant and outdated content, can result in a loss of search visibility.

10. Not generating and uploading a new sitemap

A sitemap lists and organizes a website’s structure. Providing a hierarchical representation of its pages, sections, and content, it acts as a blueprint or “map” for users and search engines like Google to navigate through the site’s pages without difficulty.

Developing and uploading a new sitemap after a redesign is fundamental for maintaining SEO rankings. A comprehensive and up-to-date sitemap allows search engines to understand your website architecture and index pages more efficiently.

11. Forgetting to maintain or update important metadata and tags

Metadata, including meta titles and descriptions, help search engines read and comprehend the content of your pages. Applying a single meta title and description across all pages or omitting to update them can harm your SEO rankings.

12. No maintenance or ignoring your site after launch

Many website owners focus too much on the redesign process, overlooking the importance of ongoing support and maintenance. Ignoring your site after launch can cause several consequences. For example, broken links, outdated content, and technical glitches can impact user experience, deterring users from engaging with your site. Furthermore, failing to address security vulnerabilities can expose your website and users to potential risks.

Following the launch of your redesigned website, your team should update and maintain it regularly to uncover and address any issues that may arise, improve functionality, and keep up with evolving technologies and user expectations.

13. Thinking SEO ignorance is bliss

Facts and figures to keep in mind:

• 68 percent of online experiences start with a search engine
• 93 percent of global traffic stems from Google Search, Maps, and Images
• 60 percent of marketing professionals say that inbound (SEO, topical blogs, etc.) is their greatest source of leads

Not caring about SEO during a website redesign can lead to missed organic traffic, decreased search engine rankings, a lack of competitive edge, poor user experience, and inconsistencies in brand messaging. By prioritizing SEO throughout the redesign process, you can enhance your website’s visibility, attract targeted traffic, and achieve your online business goals more effectively.

The Bottom Line

Redesigning your website is an exciting opportunity to improve its appearance, functionality, and user experience. However, you must approach the process with careful consideration for SEO. By avoiding the common mistakes impacting SEO rankings, you can have a smooth transition while preserving your search visibility.

Experience a Flawless Website Redesign Process

Whether you’re planning a complete site overhaul or a minor revamp, choose a web design and development company that prioritizes SEO and its integration throughout the process. The team at PrimeView has mastered the art of SEO and web design, avoiding common pitfalls and staying focused on improving rankings. Contact us now to transform your website into a powerful tool for attracting and engaging users while achieving long-term success in the digital landscape.