My website traffic dropped after a redesign
Compare what changed with where the decline occurred before rewriting the site again. Your AI should distinguish missing measurement from a search decline, then compare affected pages, old addresses and their current destinations. A working homepage is not evidence that every valuable page survived.
Written by KAEL-01, an agent-authored persona.
Ask your AI to work through it
Designed first for US local service businesses. Connect the cookbook, then paste the request into your own AI and replace the bracketed details. Keep your business facts and private evidence in that conversation. Your AI retrieves general guidance from FidelicAI and uses its own permitted tools to do the work. A prompt alone does not connect the cookbook.
Use the FidelicAI cookbook to investigate why traffic to [URL] fell after our redesign on [date]. Check affected pages, redirects and measurement. Give me the first repairs to approve and a way to check each one.
Have these details ready
- The current website, change date and previous page addresses or sitemap.
- Comparable before-and-after Search Console or analytics records, if available.
- Which services, calls, forms or bookings appear to have been affected.
What a useful result contains
- A record of affected URLs and their observed destinations, content and indexing controls.
- A before-and-after comparison that states dates, segments and unavailable evidence.
- A repair queue with a confirming test and a later traffic review for each affected group.
A service page now redirects to the homepage
A service page at an old address now redirects to the homepage. Ask whether the new service page is the relevant destination, whether its useful content survived, and whether the old page had search visits. Verify any approved redirect repair separately from later traffic recovery.
Illustrative situation; not a customer result.
Relevant cookbook entries
Your connected AI can search the problem or read these entries by ID. These are inventory links; the methods and their current sources are retrieved through the connected service. Your AI should report unavailable guidance explicitly.
Draws on: Diagnose search changes before prescribing fixes; Keep a trustworthy baseline and recovery route; 2 more chapters.
- Request updated:
- Recipe editorial reviews:
- Oct 16 to Oct 26, 2026
- Supporting sources checked:
- Oct 14 to Oct 26, 2026
Chapters, sections and audit scope
- Diagnose search changes before prescribing fixes
Sections: Overview, Evidence, Procedure, Exceptions, Verification, Artifact, Examples.
Recipe reviewed Oct 26, 2026; review due Nov 13, 2026.
6 supporting source records, checked Oct 14 to Oct 26, 2026.
Publishers: Bing Webmaster Tools, Google Business Profile Help, Google Search Console.
- Keep a trustworthy baseline and recovery route
Inventory, baseline and recovery.
Sections: Overview, Procedure, Exceptions, Verification, Evidence, Artifact, Examples.
Recipe reviewed Oct 23, 2026; review due Nov 13, 2026.
6 supporting source records, checked Oct 14 to Oct 16, 2026.
Publishers: Google Search Central, Google Search Console.
- Preserve URL identity during transfer
Preserve URLs and map redirects.
Sections: Overview, Procedure, Exceptions, Verification, Evidence, Artifact, Examples.
Recipe reviewed Oct 16, 2026; review due Nov 13, 2026.
5 supporting source records, checked Oct 14 to Oct 16, 2026.
Publishers: Google Search Central, Vercel.
- Verify production and leave a maintainable site
Verify production and maintain the result.
Sections: Overview, Procedure, Exceptions, Verification, Evidence, Artifact, Examples.
Recipe reviewed Oct 23, 2026; review due Nov 13, 2026.
6 supporting source records, checked Oct 14 to Oct 16, 2026.
Publishers: Google Search Central, Google Search Console.
Recipe editorial review dates and supporting-source check dates are separate records. A date does not establish independent review, legal certification or business results.
The latest October 28 service checks confirmed the 217-entry catalog and read five representative current recipes through each of two supported test clients. An earlier October 28 sweep read all 217 entries through both clients. These checks establish service delivery, not consumer-host compatibility or business outcomes.
Review standardsLimits to keep in view
Google notes that search visibility can fluctuate during a move. A corrected redirect does not prove recovered rankings or explain every change in demand.
You approve public changes, account permissions and spending. Missing access should produce a specific next step or an explicit gap. A completed technical check does not establish higher rankings, more AI recommendations or additional customers.
Related situations
Use the FidelicAI cookbook to find why the form at [URL] says sent but messages do not reach [destination]. Ask before sending a test, then trace it to the receiving inbox. Show me the fault or remaining gap and how to verify the repair.
Use the FidelicAI cookbook to review [URL] against our current priorities and previous work record. Check changed business facts, search evidence and important customer paths. Give me the next useful improvement, how to verify it and what can wait.
Sources
- Google Search Central: site moves
URL mapping, redirects, monitoring and possible search fluctuations.
- Search Console: traffic drops
Distinguishing changes in impressions, clicks and search position.