# Replatforming without losing search rankings: a checklist

Rankings are rarely lost because of the new platform. They are lost because URLs, content or redirects were not planned. This checklist covers what to protect and when.

- Page: https://www.cognivise.co.uk/blog/replatforming-seo-checklist
- Topic: Search and AI visibility
- Published: 2026-10-08
- Updated: 2026-10-08
- Author: Cognivise

## Key takeaways

- Record what ranks and brings traffic today, before any work starts, so you can compare afterwards.
- Map every old URL to its new equivalent and test the redirects before launch.
- Carry over titles, descriptions, headings, product copy and structured data, not only the design.
- Check crawling and indexing the day you launch and weekly for the first month.

## Why do rankings drop after a replatform?

Search engines have learned your old URLs, content and links. If the new site changes them without a plan, the pages are treated as new or missing, and the traffic they earned goes with them. A well-planned move can keep most of it, but nobody can promise zero change.

## What should you record before you start?

- a full crawl of the current site, with URLs, titles, headings, canonical tags and status codes
- Search Console data: which pages and queries bring clicks
- analytics data for your top landing pages and highest-revenue pages
- the list of pages with backlinks from other sites
- your current sitemap and robots.txt

Save these files. They are your baseline and your redirect map.

## How do you handle URLs and redirects?

1. List every old URL that has traffic, links or sales.
2. Map each to the closest equivalent on the new site, not to the homepage.
3. Use permanent (301) redirects, and avoid chains where one redirect leads to another.
4. Keep URL structures the same where you can, since the safest redirect is none.
5. Test the full map on a staging copy before launch.

## What content and markup must carry over?

- page titles and meta descriptions
- headings and product or category copy
- internal links between important pages
- image names and alt text
- structured data, such as product and breadcrumb markup
- canonical tags pointing to the right version

A design that looks identical can still lose rankings if the text underneath has changed.

## What technical checks apply on launch day?

- the site is not blocked by robots.txt or a leftover "noindex" setting
- the new sitemap is live and submitted in Search Console
- redirects work for a sample of old URLs
- pages load quickly and render on mobile
- tracking and analytics are firing

## What should you watch afterwards?

Check Search Console weekly for the first month: pages indexed, crawl errors, and clicks compared with your baseline. Fix redirect and indexing errors quickly, because they are the most common cause of avoidable losses.

> Fluctuation in the first weeks is normal. A steady decline on pages you carried over is a sign to investigate.

See our [ecommerce SEO checklist](https://www.cognivise.co.uk/blog/ecommerce-seo-checklist-uk) for ongoing checks, and [choosing a platform](https://www.cognivise.co.uk/blog/shopify-or-custom-store) if you are still deciding. If you want the migration planned with search in mind, our [ecommerce SEO services](https://www.cognivise.co.uk/services/ecommerce-seo-services) page explains how we help.

## Related

- [Ecommerce SEO services](https://www.cognivise.co.uk/services/ecommerce-seo-services)
- [Ecommerce SEO checklist for a UK online shop](https://www.cognivise.co.uk/blog/ecommerce-seo-checklist-uk)
- [Shopify or a custom online store](https://www.cognivise.co.uk/blog/shopify-or-custom-store)