Website Redesign Checklist: Changing Agencies Without Losing Your Current Google Rankings

Handing a redesign from one agency to another happens often, and it goes well when the SEO groundwork is done first. Think of it as a physical move. Google ranks pages, code and content, not design files, so every address has to land where it should. This checklist is for owners, marketing directors and founders passing a web design Melbourne project from Agency A to Agency B, and it covers what to record, protect, test and watch.

Phase 1: Pre-Migration Audit & Baseline

Before anyone touches design or code, write down how the current site performs. That record is what the new site gets measured against later.

Exporting Your SEO & Traffic Data

• Data Baseline: Export 12 months of organic traffic and conversion data from Google Analytics 4. A full year covers busy and quiet seasons, so the comparison after launch is fair. Include conversion events such as form submissions, phone calls and purchases, and keep a copy of the file somewhere your own team can reach it.
• Keyword Tracking: In Google Search Console, list your top ranking keywords next to the exact page each one lands on. Add the current position and click numbers for each. Those pages are the ones to look after most carefully during the build.

Mapping the Existing Site Architecture

The new team needs a full picture of what exists today.

• Site Crawl: Crawl the site with a tool like Screaming Frog and log every live URL, title tag, meta description and H1. The export becomes the reference sheet both agencies work from, and it is also the list you will check the new site against.
• Backlink Inventory: Find the URLs with the most external backlinks. A page that dozens of other sites link to carries real authority. A links report in Search Console or an SEO tool will show you which pages those are, and they go to the top of the priority list.

Phase 2: Agency Transition & Scope Protection

Handovers run best when responsibilities are on paper. Decide who owns each SEO task, then share the audit files with the incoming team in the first week.

Establishing SEO Accountability

• Contractual Deliverables: State in the scope of work which agency owns the redirect map and which one runs the testing on staging. One named owner per task is enough, and it avoids the situation where each agency assumes the other has it covered.
• The Content Audit: Sort every page into one of four groups: Keep, Rewrite, Merge or Retire. Pages that bring in traffic stay as they are. Strong pages with old information get a refresh. Near-duplicates combine into one page, and retired pages get a redirect. A spreadsheet with one row per page makes the decisions easy to review together.

Phase 3: Technical & On-Page SEO Mapping

This is where most of the ranking value gets protected. The aim is to carry what already works into the new site.

Preserving URL Structures & Metadata

• URL Stability: Keep high-ranking URL paths exactly as they are wherever you can. A page that keeps its address keeps its history with Google, and you have fewer redirects to manage. Where the structure has to change, the redirect map below covers it.
• Metadata Porting: Carry over title tags and meta descriptions on pages that already earn clicks, along with schema markup such as business details and reviews. If the wording works, leave it alone. A new design does not need new titles on every page.

Building the 301 Redirect Map

• 1-to-1 Mapping: Match every changed or removed URL to its closest equivalent on the new site. Visitors who click an old link land on the page they expected, and Google passes the old page’s value across to its replacement.
• Avoiding Soft 404s: Send each old page to a relevant destination, not the homepage. A redirect that matches the topic keeps visitors reading and tells Google what the new page is about. A two-column sheet with the old URL on the left and the new one on the right is all you need to build it.

Phase 4: Launch-Day Execution

Launch day goes best with a short, ordered list. Pick a quieter point in your trading week so the team has time to test properly.

Flipping the Switch & Unlocking Visibility

• Search Engine Crawling: Remove noindex tags and robots.txt blocks from the live site. This is the step that lets Google start indexing the new pages, so tick it off first and check the live source code to confirm.
• Sitemap Submission: Generate a fresh XML sitemap and submit it in Google Search Console. It hands Google a clean list of every page you want found.

Quality Assurance Testing

• Post-Launch Crawl: Crawl the live site straight away and look for 404 errors and broken internal links. Anything you find on day one is quick to fix, and the earlier crawl gives you a handy comparison.
• Conversion Tracking Verification: Test every form, tracking pixel and checkout, from both a phone and a desktop. Confirm that each enquiry and sale shows up in your reports before you call the launch finished.

Phase 5: Post-Launch Monitoring

Google needs a few weeks to learn the new structure. Regular check-ins show how the site is settling.

Google Search Console Audits

• Indexing Reports: Open the “Page indexing” report in Search Console each week. Watch for sudden changes in crawl activity or errors, and pass anything unusual to your agency while it is still fresh.
• Rank Tracking: Small ranking movements are normal in the first weeks while Google reprocesses the site. Compare against the baseline from Phase 1 to tell those apart from a lasting change in a keyword’s position.

Long-Term Redirection Maintenance

• Redirect Lifespan: Keep 301 redirects live for at least 12 months, and longer where possible. Old links, bookmarks and backlinks keep sending visitors for years. Review the list once a year to keep it tidy.

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Conclusion

A redesign is a move, and a careful one keeps your rankings with you. Work through the five phases in order and keep both agencies informed. If you would like a team to guide the process, Make My Website offers web design and development for Melbourne businesses. Visit the website or get in touch today to discuss your redesign.