Organizations choose to redesign their website for many necessary reasons. One important aspect of a post website redesign is the impact it has on analytics. Here is a quick list of those things in your web analytics platform that will probably look different after your website redesign project.
Content Consumption
Your newly redesigned site content will be read by many new and existing visitors. Changes in navigation, internal linking structure, and content will change the way users perceive your brand and move through the site. You should expect pages that were previously high in page views may drop in views depending on where they were moved in site navigation structure.
You should expect the path through your site from the home page to be different. Using the Google Analytics Visitor Flow Report, you can assess your user’s path through your website. Compare the path of users before and after redesign.
Google Analytics Report Location: Audience > Visitor Flow
Sample Google Analytics Visitor Flow Report
SEO
Navigation changes also affect your site URL structure. Pages that are moved deeper within the website navigation structure can experience a drop in traffic volumes. To account for changes and drops in search volume you will need an SEO plan, or an experienced agency partner. Major search engines must understand where your pages have moved and that the content is the same so your site does not lose relevance on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
Depending on your new site navigation structure, URL structure, and changes in content you may experience variation in your natural search keyword volume. You should expect changes to your keyword volumes.
Google Analytics Report Location: Traffic Sources > Search > Organic.
