The Ultimate Website Redesign SEO Checklist

This week I had a call with a small business owner who is launching a website redesign in WordPress. He asked me how can we best preserve his existing SEO and makes sure he doesn’t lose any search ranking in the transition.

Right away I replied that this was a fabulous question. We then chatted about common mistakes that occur and how we can prevent them from happening with this website redesign project.

Here is the scary part about this conversation: I rarely am asked about this until the website is redesigned and launched and the damage is done. It’s only then that I receive a website inquiry orFacebook post asking for assistance.

Sadly, that is way too late in the process to protect your SEO, your ranking in search, and your website traffic. By the time you notice a dip in ranking and traffic, the damage is done and it’s really hard to fully recover.

Since this is such an important topic and one that is many times ignored, I thought I would write about it and create a handy website redesign SEO checklist template that can be downloaded and used by website owners and developers.

My Website Redesign SEO Checklist

The best SEO checklist will blend content planning and execution with technical aspects like code and schema. You can’t have solid SEO without combining traditional content marketing with a solid process and a very strong codebase.

You’ll see my below list combines multiple elements before and after the go-live to make sure website owners have thoroughly reviewed the new website and validated that the existing SEO will survive the transition.

Initial Website Set Up

• Set development website to no follow, no index
• Validate search engine friendly URLs are in place

Content Planning

• Use Dyno Mapper to crawl the existing website to obtain a complete URL list
• Review Google Search Console or SEMrush to document list of top landing pages
• Map focused or targeted keywords to URLs and create an SEO sitemap
• Review content silos and validate proper parent/children relationships exist

Content Creation

• Write updated content that is a minimum of 1,000 words
• Proofread new content for spelling errors and grammar
• Style new content for readability (i.e. small paragraphs, subheaders, bullets)
• Review content for proper meta title and description usage
• Double check top landing pages to validate quality content and SEO is in place

Technical SEO Review

• Review header usage to ensure a proper outline structure exists for search engines and human visitors
• Check website across mobile devices to validate responsive design and coding is in place and working properly
• Validate template coding to W3 standards
• Check code to text ratio on live pages
• Check and validate schema and structured data
• Check images for proper usage of alt text
• Optimize images for load times
• Update internal links to accommodate the new URL structure
• Create 301 redirects for any URL changes to existing content
• Create a new XML sitemap
• Check the Robots.txt file and validate

Website Go-Live

• Remove no follow, no index on the live site
• Review Google Analytics goals to validate the URL structure and flow match new website
• Upload the new XML sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
• Check Google Search Console for any errors and address as needed
• Use Dyno Mapper to crawl the new website and report errors

Hopefully my website redesign SEO checklist didn’t frighten you and you noticed it was filled with standard items that virtually any developer or website owner can execute.

Many of these steps are done by a human or with a free SEO tool like Google Search Console. I like free and I like the human touch when working with something as critical as SEO and website traffic.

How Website Design and Development Goes Terribly Wrong

I’ve been working with internet marketing for about fifteen years and I’ve owned a website design agency for almost eight. In that time I’ve witnessed a lot of good, bad, and really ugly when it comes to process flow for SEO and website development.

In most cases, the process fails not due to someone being lazy or malicious. The process fails due to lack of education and lack of communication.

Here are some real-world examples of where I’ve experienced SEO derailing due to a website redesign:

• The wrong people are involved in the website redesign project. By the wrong people I mean either the project is left to the IT department or marketing management and the actual employees who work on SEO are completely left out of the process. You can only protect your SEO if the people responsible for the SEO are active participants in the redesign process.
• Pretty was deemed more important that usability and information. I’ve watched companies hire a high priced web developer who only focused on large images, white space, and today’s trends in design. In doing so they literally removed ¾ of the content, which left nothing for search engines or human visitors to read and digest. Pretty is great, but it only really works if people can actually find and visit the website.
• A firm who relied heavily on SEO hired a New York based design agency that dealt largely with big brands. These brands had decades of exposure and didn’t rely on SEO. Due to this enterprise client list, the agency completely forgot about SEO and hard coded critical elements like meta titles and descriptions. Not every website needs SEO but if your lead funnel depends on it, you have to select a design firm that understands what SEO is and how their tasks plays a critical role in protecting it.
• The agency created a template based on the client PSD files and moved into a soft launch where the client took over the development website and made content updates. The agency created 301 redirects but these were irrelevant once the client modified the URL structure during soft launch. This meant the hard launch at go-live missed a lot of 301 redirects which resulted in 404s and a loss of search ranking and referral traffic.
• In another soft launch scenario the client used a page builder to create lots of pages but in doing so created a mess of subheaders and massive confusion for content hierarchy. If you decided to use page builders or even H1 headers in your CMS editor, make sure you are adhering to best practices and you are using headers to set up an outline for your human visitors and search engines.
• The website design and build process was handed off to someone who didn’t fully understand the CMS software used – in this case WordPress. The freelancer added in page builders and oodles of plugins that overwrote the stock theme’s solid coding and created a cluster of code and low quality SEO. Page content was very heavy in code with little content, CSS formatting was overrode which created accessibility issues, and multiple SEO plugins were creating conflicting information for search engines. Don’t just go for the cheapest freelancer you can find. If SEO helps drive your revenue stream make sure your freelancer understands SEO and the impact their actions will have on your ranking and website traffic.

Did my examples scare you or make you cringe a little? Excellent! Than I have done my job and I’ve educated you enough to ensure you’ll watch your SEO closely and you won’t repeat the sins of other website owners.

Are You Considering a Website Redesign?

If you’re considering a website redesign we’d love to help. We’re able to create a professionally designed website while still making sure the SEO checklist is in place to protect your existing rank in search.

Source: https://www.web-savvy-marketing.com/2017/05/ultimate-website-redesign-seo-checklist/

The Value of Content Before Website Design

I’m a strong believer in preparing website content before initiating graphic design and this applies to both websites and blogs. Some will argue with me, but I’ll fight this battle and dig in because I know content before website design is the right approach.

I believe:

Strong website design extends past colors, fonts, and layout boxes.
Strong design focuses on the user.

Website design should be crafted around the user, their needs, and the desired outcome of a website visit. It should be focused on the user’s challenges and the website’s ability to solve these issues.

It should not be focused on coding trends and prepackaged templates.

Design Trends Come and Go, But a Focus on the User Should Not

I’ll receive emails from people discussing their website design requirements and many times these lists will be focusing on specific project criteria like infinite scroll, hamburger menus, hero images, video backgrounds, and motion.

Rarely do people approach a design firm and present data based on their visitors, the user’s needs, and the ultimate goals of a website visit.

Website owners get caught up in design trends, their competitors’ websites, and what they believe is modern and current design elements. In doing so, they lose track of the actual website visitor.

All too often people select a website template or blog theme and get caught up in the graphical presentation or bells and whistles it offers. It’s an emotional buy that supersedes the desire to help the actual website visitors.

Once they buy the stock theme, they force their content to fit within the template’s available content blocks. Or worse yet, they force a custom design to adhere to the same style and presentation of a top competitor’s website.

In most cases this leads to disappointment and buyer’s remorse.

The reason this occurs is this process follows the path of purchase, design, development, and finally content. That path is in the wrong order. The process is going backwards and it leads to frustration.

Content First Leads to Educated Design Decisions

Documenting your desired user flow, visitor paths, and call to actions is something that is typically done after the graphic design is completed. Unfortunately that’s the wrong approach because it forces you into matching content to the website theme or design. It should be just the opposite.

Before you find yourself falling in love with a competitor website, coveting a stock WordPress template, or reaching out to a graphic designer, you need think through the goals and objectives of your website or blog.

You need to document your user personas, their individual challenges, your solution offering, and the paths you’d like these visitors to take within the website.

While graphic design in very important, it must take place at the right time within the project to truly allow you to showcases the website, content, and offering in the best light possible.

One of my favorite quotes on this subject is:

“Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.” – Jeffrey Zeldman

Messaging and content are the building blocks and foundation of the website. This means they should be carefully thought through and documented well before any colors, fonts, and layouts are considered.

The design elements should complement, highlight, and showcase the key messaging and most important content.

Focus on the Right Content

While I am saying you should have content written before beginning design, I’m not saying that you have to have all your content written. That would be a difficult task to accomplish for most website owners and businesses.

I encourage clients to focus on core website sections and pages. During the sales process I usually go through their website and look for areas I think would benefit from custom design templates. These will vary based on the client, industry, and target demographic.

Here are some common areas that can benefit most from a content first strategy:

• Home
• Main about or company page
• Main services page and individual service pages

• Main storefront and individual product pages

• Resource section, categories, and/or resource items

• Personas

• Landing page templates
• Main blog page and individual blog posts
• Contact page

Sometimes I’ll suggest just a few custom design templates and other times I’ll suggest fifteen to twenty. It really depends on the complexity of the content and the variations in the content flow and call to actions.

As we progress into a project with a client, we like to have as much information as possible on core elements and how these might be altered based on different areas of the website.

Content elements that matter in a content before website design approach:

• Headlines and subheaders
• Core messaging
• Paragraph text
• User personas and visitor paths
• Call to actions
• Images
• Videos
• Navigation
• Social media accounts
• Search engine optimization

The more your graphic designer knows and has available, the more unique and targeted your design will become.

Finding Balance

Not all situations will allow a content before website design approach. You have to find balance and you have to pick and chose your battles.

If this approach is going to be difficult, I suggest starting with universal elements such as navigation, SEO, and call to actions. Then begin narrow down the focus by reviewing user personas and their visitors paths.

Focus on known elements and weave these into design by starting with the home page and then allow the design to build from his central hub. While moving through this process, stay focused on the visitor, what they need, and what action you ultimately want them to take.

The process can seem overwhelming, but like anything in life, you need to break it into chunks and evaluate the large list bit by bit.

Source: https://www.web-savvy-marketing.com/2016/10/content-before-website-design/

Phone 8 battery swelling case now reported in the United Statesi

A week after Apple said it is looking into incidents of iPhone 8 batteries swelling and phones being left split apart, the first such case has been reported in the US.
A Best Buy employee posted on Reddit to report that his store had received a bulging iPhone 8 as a return. He had also supplied an image along with his post, BGR reported late on 12 October.

It is likely that this may not be the last incident. The number of affected iPhone 8 handsets that have been reported is still statistically insignificant since millions of iPhone 8 handsets have already been sold, the report added.

Earlier, cases of swollen batteries were reported from Taiwan, Japan-China, Canada, and Greece.
The first incident was reported from Taiwan when a user claimed her iPhone 8 Plus split open while it was charging.
The tech giant would be praying that a full batch is not affected, which would mean recalling units, ruining the whole reputation built around iPhones for years.

iPhone 8 and 8 Plus went on sale on 22 September. Apple was yet to release figures for the early sales of iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

The pre-orders for “super-premium” iPhone X will begin on October 27, with shipping starting 3 November.

Last year, the batteries of the Rs 59,900 Galaxy Note 7 started exploding. Samsung counted several such incidents across the globe (over 90 Galaxy Note 7 smartphones owners in the US reported overheating).

Amid conspiracy theories, a global recall of 2.5 million devices was announced quickly and faster replacements were guaranteed.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/iphone-8-battery-swelling-up-case-now-reported-in-the-united-states-4141099.html

OxygenOS 4.5.13 OTA is rolling out with September security patch and bug fixes for OnePlus 5 users

OnePlus has released a new Over the Air (OTA) for its latest flagship, the OnePlus 5. The company announced the rollout of the latest version of its in-house operating system, OxygenOS 4.5.13 on OnePlus forums.
This new update comes two days after the previous update, OxygenOS 4.5.12 rollout to OnePlus 5 users. According to the forum post, the new OTA updates the Android security patch in the OxygenOS to September.

Apart from that, the latest update brings a number of bug fixes to the operating system along with better optimizations across the system. OnePlus claims that this new update improves the launch speed of the apps along with optimized adaptive brightness. We have added a complete changelog below so that users can see what changes OnePlus has made in the OTA update.

System

Customization of notification ringtone
Optimized adaptive brightness.
YouTube video lagging behind the audio issue has been fixed.
Fix for the issues of no 4G network in some region
Display issues of some UI elements fixed
OnePlus has confirmed that like all previous updates, the rollout one will also be incremental. This means the OS will reach a small percentage of users today, and the company will begin a broader roll-out over the next few days.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/oxygenos-4-5-13-ota-is-rolling-out-with-september-security-patch-and-bug-fixes-for-oneplus-5-users-4140671.html

Can ultimate flagship Nokia 9 beat Google Pixel 2 XL, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, iPhone X?

The device looks impressive in papers but will it be able to beat the biggest handsets like the Google Pixel 2, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, and iPhone X when it is released? We will know that only when it is launched early next year, but it will surely give the premium devices a run for their money if it is priced at $699 as reported. The fact is it is a take away compared to the iPhone X that is priced between $999 and $1149, the Galaxy Note 8 (price starts at $930), and Pixel 2 XL (price starts at $849).
It may be mentioned that Google Pixel 2 XL has a 6-inch P-OLED capacitive touchscreen with 1,440×2,880 pixels (538 ppi pixel density), a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, an Android 8.0 Oreo OS, a 4GB RAM, a 64GB/128GB storage (no microSD card slot), and a 3,520mAh battery with fast battery charging technology. In terms of camera, it has a 12.3MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), EIS (gyro), phase detection and laser autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash and 1/2.6″ sensor size, and an 8MP front-snapper with f/2.4 aperture and 1.4 μm pixel size.

On the other hand, the Galaxy Note 8 features a 6.3-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED screen with 2,960×1,440 pixels (521ppi pixel density), an Exynos 8895 Octa processor (for EMEA) / Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (for USA and China), an Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system (upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo), a 6GB RAM, a 64GB/128GB/256GB storage (with microSD card slot), and a 3,300mAh battery with wireless charging compatible and fast charging technology.

Source: http://www.ibtimes.co.in/can-ultimate-flagship-nokia-9-beat-google-pixel-2-xl-samsung-galaxy-note-8-iphone-x-745544