The complete Wix redesign SEO preservation checklist

This capstone lesson combines every lesson in this module into a single, comprehensive checklist that you can use as your redesign project management tool. Print it, share it with your designer, and work through it systematically. Every item represents a potential ranking loss if missed. This checklist has been refined from dozens of real Wix redesign projects and covers every scenario that commonly causes ranking losses.

Phase 1: Pre-Redesign Audit (Before Any Changes)

• 1. Complete Screaming Frog crawl exported and saved
• 2. GSC Performance data exported (Pages and Queries, last 6 months)
• 3. GA4 landing page data exported (last 6 months)
• 4. Backlink analysis completed and exported
• 5. Core Web Vitals recorded for top 10 pages
• 6. All structured data documented with JSON-LD code saved
• 7. All Custom Code entries documented and saved
• 8. Robots.txt and XML sitemap copies saved
• 9. Existing URL redirects exported
• 10. Top 20 page content saved (text, headings, screenshots)
• 11. Master URL inventory created with traffic and backlink data
• 12. Risk assessment completed with risk level documented

Phase 2: URL Mapping and Redirect Planning

• 13. URL mapping spreadsheet created with every old URL and its new destination
• 14. Every URL categorised: unchanged, renamed, merged, or removed
• 15. 301 redirect plan documented for every changing URL
• 16. Redirect targets verified as topically appropriate (no blanket homepage redirects)
• 17. No redirect chains planned (all redirects go directly to final destination)
• 18. Blog post URLs included in the mapping (commonly forgotten)
• 19. Wix CMS dynamic page URLs included in the mapping
• 20. High-priority redirects identified (pages with traffic and backlinks)

Phase 3: Content Migration

• 21. Every page categorised: Group A (protect), B (improve), C (merge), D (remove)
• 22. Group A page content preservation documented (H1, meta, headings, word count)
• 23. Group B improvement plans created with specific enhancements listed
• 24. Group C merge targets identified with content combination plan
• 25. Group D redirect targets identified
• 26. No content removed from Group A pages
• 27. Group B pages enhanced with additional depth, FAQs, or missing topics
• 28. Image alt text preserved or improved for all migrated images

Phase 4: Technical SEO Preservation

• 29. All custom JSON-LD schema re-added to appropriate pages
• 30. All site-wide tracking code re-implemented (GA4, GTM, pixels)
• 31. Canonical tags verified on all pages (self-referencing to new URLs)
• 32. No accidental noindex tags on pages that should be indexed
• 33. Open Graph and Twitter Card meta tags present on key pages
• 34. XML sitemap updated with all new URLs and submitted to GSC
• 35. Robots.txt verified as correct (not blocking important pages)
• 36. Core Web Vitals tested and comparable to or better than pre-redesign
• 37. All Rich Results Test passing on pages with structured data
• 38. Mobile responsiveness verified on all key pages

Phase 5: Internal Linking

• 39. Navigation structure matches the planned architecture
• 40. All Group A pages have equal or more internal links than before
• 41. No important page is more than 3 clicks from the homepage
• 42. All internal links point to current URLs (not through redirects)
• 43. Breadcrumb navigation implemented and reflecting correct hierarchy
• 44. Contextual links within body content updated to new URLs
• 45. Zero orphan pages in the new site structure

Phase 6: Pre-Launch Verification

• 46. All 301 redirects implemented and tested
• 47. Every redirect verified by visiting the old URL in an incognito browser
• 48. No redirect chains exist (verified with Screaming Frog)
• 49. All pages load correctly on desktop and mobile
• 50. Contact forms, booking widgets, and eCommerce checkout working
• 51. SSL certificate active on all pages
• 52. Google Search Console still connected and verified
• 53. Google Analytics tracking confirmed working (real-time report shows data)

Phase 7: Post-Launch Monitoring (90 Days)

• 54. Daily monitoring running for first 7 days
• 55. Weekly monitoring running for weeks 2-4
• 56. Monthly monitoring running for months 2-3
• 57. Traffic comparison vs pre-redesign baseline documented
• 58. Ranking comparison vs pre-redesign baseline documented
• 59. Any ranking drops investigated and remediated
• 60. Final 90-day report created comparing all metrics to pre-redesign baseline

Scoring Your Redesign Preservation

• 55-60 points: Excellent preservation. Your redesign should maintain or improve rankings.
• 45-54 points: Good but gaps exist. Address missing items within 7 days of launch.
• 35-44 points: Significant risk. Multiple SEO elements are unprotected. Pause and address before proceeding.
• Below 35 points: High risk of ranking loss. Do not launch until the score reaches at least 45.

How to Complete the Pre-Launch Verification Phase on Wix

Phase 6 of the checklist — pre-launch verification — is the most critical phase and the one most commonly rushed. These steps must be completed on the new design in Wix Editor Preview before the site goes live. Do not skip a single step.

Complete the pre-launch verification phase for your Wix redesign

• Open your redesigned site in Wix Editor and switch to Preview mode. Navigate to every top-traffic page identified in your pre-redesign audit using your top-pages export from Google Search Console. Verify each page loads correctly and displays the content you intended.
• Open each top-traffic page URL in the Wix SEO Panel (Editor > click the page > SEO in the top panel). Verify the title tag matches your pre-redesign title, the meta description is present and accurate, and the canonical URL is set correctly.
• Test your full redirect list by opening each old URL after the redesign goes live. Use Screaming Frog or the Redirect Checker tool to bulk-verify all redirects. Every 404 error that was previously live content is a potential ranking loss.
• Run the Wix Site Inspection tool from your Wix Dashboard > Marketing and SEO > SEO Tools. After any major change, run a full inspection and check that no previously indexed pages are now showing errors.
• Test all schema markup on your key pages using Google Rich Results Test. Verify that your product pages, service pages, article pages, and FAQ sections pass with the same schema types as before the redesign.
• Test your site speed on the new design using Google PageSpeed Insights for both mobile and desktop. Your post-redesign scores should match or exceed your pre-redesign benchmark. If scores have dropped significantly, investigate which new elements are causing the slowdown before going live.
• Submit your XML sitemap to Google Search Console and verify it is accessible. In Wix, your sitemap is available at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Confirm all top-priority pages are included and no legacy deleted pages remain.
• Check your robots.txt file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt and verify it is not accidentally blocking any important pages. Wix auto-generates robots.txt but custom code additions can sometimes inadvertently add disallow rules.
• Do a final internal link audit by crawling the new site with Screaming Frog or Ahrefs Site Audit. Check for any broken internal links (404 responses) and orphan pages (pages with no internal links pointing to them).
• Complete a final manual review by asking someone unfamiliar with the site to find the three most important pages using only the navigation. If they struggle, your architecture needs adjustment before launch.

Complete How-To Guide: Using the Redesign Preservation Checklist

Follow these steps to use this checklist for your Wix redesign project

• Print the checklist or create a digital copy in your project management tool
• Work through Phase 1 completely before making any design changes
• Complete Phase 2 before implementing any URL changes
• Work through Phase 3 alongside the content migration process
• Complete Phase 4 after the redesign is built but before it goes live
• Verify Phase 5 after the new navigation is implemented
• Run Phase 6 as your final pre-launch quality assurance check
• Do not launch until your Phase 6 score is at least 45 out of 53
• After launch, execute Phase 7 monitoring on the documented schedule
• At Day 90, compile your final report comparing post-redesign metrics to the pre-redesign baseline
• Archive the entire project documentation for reference in future redesigns
• Share this checklist with any designer or developer involved in future Wix redesigns