You've been thinking about a new website. Your current site is outdated, slow, or just embarrassing. But there's that nagging question holding you back: If I get a new website, will I lose my Google rankings?
It's a fair question. And I'm not going to sugarcoat it—your concern is completely valid.
The Scary Truth About Website Redesigns
Here's what the data says: nearly 9 out of 10 website migrations fail to improve SEO. In fact, a poorly planned redesign can cause a traffic drop of up to 40%. And the average time to recover lost rankings? Nearly 18 months.
Yikes.
No wonder you're worried. But here's what's interesting: most of those failures aren't random bad luck. They're predictable mistakes. The same mistakes, over and over again.
Why People Lose Their Rankings
Let's talk about what actually goes wrong, because understanding the problem helps you avoid it.
The #1 mistake: Missing redirects. When you change your website, the addresses (URLs) of your pages often change. If you don't set up what's called a 301 redirect—basically a permanent forwarding address—Google treats the new page as a completely different page. All the ranking credit you built up? Gone. Start from zero.
The #2 mistake: Redirecting everything to the homepage. This is the lazy version of mistake #1. Instead of mapping each old page to its new equivalent, someone just sends all old traffic to the homepage. Google hates this. Visitors hate this. Your rankings tank.
The #3 mistake: Forgetting to flip the switch. During development, websites often have a "don't list me in Google" tag (called noindex) so the unfinished site doesn't appear in search results. But if someone forgets to remove this tag when the site goes live? Google simply won't show your website. At all. This is exactly why some sites never appear in search results—the switch never got flipped.
The #4 mistake: Losing important stuff. Titles, descriptions, image text, internal links—these are the signals Google uses to understand what your pages are about. When websites get rebuilt, these details often get lost in the shuffle.
Four mistakes. All preventable. All incredibly common. (If your current site has other ranking problems, see our guide on how to tell if your website is hurting your Google rankings.)
What Google Actually Says Happens
Here's the good news: Google's own documentation says that when redirects are done correctly, you don't lose your ranking power. The link equity (all that Google trust you've built) transfers from your old pages to your new ones.
But Google also says to expect some fluctuation. When you change your website significantly, Google needs to recrawl and reindex everything. For a typical small business website, this can take a few weeks. During that time, you might see rankings bounce around a bit.
That's normal. It's not permanent damage. It's Google figuring things out.
The difference between a temporary dip and a permanent disaster comes down to whether the work was done correctly.
When Things Go Right
Not every website redesign is a disaster. In fact, when done properly, a new website can dramatically improve your search performance.
One case study showed a properly executed redesign resulting in a 402% increase in overall traffic and a 540% increase in search engine traffic. Same business. Better website. Completely different outcome.
What made the difference?
- Every old URL was mapped to its new equivalent (not the homepage)
- All titles and descriptions were preserved or improved
- Internal links were updated to point to new URLs
- The new site was faster and more mobile-friendly (Google cares a lot about speed)
- Everything was tested before going live
Notice the pattern? Planning, attention to detail, and someone who understands both design and how Google works.
What to Expect If You Get a New Website
Let's be honest about what happens when you redesign your website the right way:
Weeks 1-2: Google discovers your new pages. You might see a small temporary dip in traffic—maybe 10-15%. This is normal as Google figures things out. Not a cause for panic.
Weeks 3-8: Your rankings stabilize. Traffic starts recovering. Google finishes processing the changes.
Months 2-3: You should be back to where you were—if not better. A faster, more user-friendly website often performs better than the old one over time.
The key phrase there is "done the right way."
So, Will You Lose Your Rankings?
Here's the honest answer:
If you redesign your website without planning for SEO—yes, you'll probably lose rankings. You might lose a lot. You might spend months or years recovering.
If you redesign your website with someone who understands search rankings and plans accordingly—you'll likely see a small temporary dip followed by recovery and improvement.
The difference isn't luck. It's not random. It's doing the work that most people skip.
Your rankings aren't fragile. They're not going to vanish because you changed your design. But they do depend on the technical details that happen behind the scenes—the redirects, the metadata, the structure. Get those right and you'll be fine.
What YouGrow Does Differently
When I build a website for a local business, SEO isn't an afterthought. It's part of the process from day one.
That means redirect mapping is done before any code is written. Your important pages are identified and preserved. Your new site is built to be fast and mobile-friendly (Google cares about both). And when your site launches, I verify that Google can find and index everything properly.
You don't have to understand redirects or metadata or any of the technical stuff. That's my job. But you do need to know that the person building your website is thinking about it—because most don't.
Here's what I bring to every redesign:
- Live in days, not months — No 8-week agency timelines. We build fast and launch faster.
- Proper SEO from the start — Redirects, titles, descriptions, sitemaps. All handled before launch.
- Local support you can reach — I'm in Arroyo Grande. Call or email. You get a person, not a ticket.
- Zero risk — Month-to-month pricing. Cancel anytime. No setup fee for founding members.
A new website shouldn't be a gamble. When it's done right, it's an upgrade that keeps your rankings intact while giving your customers a better experience.
Have questions about your specific situation? I'm happy to take a look at your current site and talk through what a redesign would look like—ranking-wise and everything else.
We build professional, SEO-ready websites for SLO County businesses for $79/month. No setup fee for founding members. Month-to-month, cancel anytime. Get Your Website.