If you have an idea to redesign your website you must be alert of the fact that its new design will persuade not only its visual form but the rankings as well. Many webmasters hesitate upon the problem of making their renewed website as popular as it was before redesign. Of course, each particular case requires its specific solution but the suggestions listed below are the most common techniques which can help your redesigned website maintain high rankings.
Change the file names only if there is strong necessity and you don’t need to modify the hierarchy of the files. You might loose the customers who have bookmarked you web pages before they were re designed. But if you should compulsory rename your web page files it is better to make use of 301redirection. This solution will redirect all your customers and visitors to the new pages location in an automatic mode. Besides, 301 redirection will allow holding your website page rank and the existing rankings are transferred to the new pages.
Changing website domain name can harm your website rankings considerably even with proper 301 redirection. In calculation to the first point you should take into account your website structure which implies not only the file names but the domain name as well. In addition you should make sure that you also have 404 redirects.
You can make use of text links which direct to your homepage you must be sure that they are motivated to your redesigned website with previous relevancy.
By chance if you are going to focus to one of the Content Management Systems and build your website on its basis mind that it may destroy the rankings. To avoid such problems you must be sure first that all changed URL addresses are covered by means of 301 redirects properly. And do not forget to verify whether your system provides you with a facility to add page titles edit Meta tags and adjust alt tags.
If you have revitalized the entire written content of your website make sure that the keywords density remains as near the old one as possible. Be sure that the keywords heading tags and inline text links are placed in the top portions of your redesigned website.
You need to copy the titles and meta tags of your old web pages to the new ones. It will not only save your time but will also help your previous website rankings.
Be sure the XML sitemap is in order as its part in your redesigned website is significant. The thing is that Google indexes your web pages new location with the help of XML sitemap faster which means that your website will soon recover from the redesign.