Web design in Menorca: how to redesign an old website without losing customers or Google rankings

Plenty of businesses in Menorca have a website that was built years ago and still, more or less, does its job. It shows up on Google when someone searches for the service in Mahón or Ciutadella, a few emails and calls come in, and nobody dares to touch it. The trouble starts when it looks wrong on a phone, is a pain to update, or simply no longer reflects the business.

Most articles about web design in Menorca focus on what a brand-new site should look like. This one is about something trickier: how to redesign a site that already exists without the launch wiping out the visitors who arrived from Google, the links other sites had given you and the enquiries that were coming in every week. Everything below applies just as well to businesses in Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera.

Why a redesign can sink a site that was working

Google doesn't rank "your website" as a whole. It ranks specific pages at specific addresses. If your services page lived at one address and that address disappears in the redesign, Google sees a page that has vanished. The same goes for content: a prettier page that no longer answers what people were searching for stops being the best result.

The usual redesign mistakes look very similar from one project to the next:

• Changing every URL without redirecting the old ones.
• Cutting copy "to keep it clean" and removing exactly the paragraphs that brought in searches.
• Merging several pages into one, or deleting old blog posts that were still getting visits.
• Changing the contact form or phone number and never checking that messages arrive.
• Launching with the "don't index" setting that was switched on during testing.

None of this is visible on launch day. You notice weeks later, when the phone goes quiet and nobody knows why.

Before you touch anything: take stock of what works

A good redesign doesn't start with colours. It starts with knowing what you have. Set aside a morning for this:

1. List every page on the current site. A sitemap is the easiest starting point; if there isn't one, click through the whole site and note each address.
2. Check which pages get visits from Google. If Google Search Console is set up, the performance report shows which pages and searches bring clicks. If it isn't, set it up now: even a few weeks of data gives you something to compare against later.
3. Note which pages generate enquiries. Forms, call buttons, WhatsApp links, booking buttons. Ask your team too: what do customers say they saw on the website?
4. Look at who links to you. Local associations, town halls, island guides, local press, directories. Those links point to specific addresses, and you want them to keep working.
5. Save a copy of the current copy. Even if you rewrite it, you'll want to know what each page used to say.

You'll end up with a simple sheet: the page, whether it brings visits or enquiries, and what you'll do with it.

A worked example

Picture, as a hypothetical example, a holiday-rental management company based in Mahón with a website from 2017. It has a home page, a page per property, an "owners" page for people who want to hand over their home, and a handful of old blog posts. The inventory shows that the owners page brings in most of the valuable enquiries, and that an old post about renting a holiday home legally in Menorca still gets steady search traffic.

That changes the brief. The owners page keeps its address and gets expanded rather than squeezed into a slider on the home page. The old post is updated instead of deleted. Properties no longer on the books are redirected to a page listing similar ones in the same area, not to an error.

Four decisions for every page

With the inventory in front of you, each page falls into one of four groups:

• Keep and improve. Pages that bring visits or enquiries. Redesign them, but keep the address where possible and keep the content that answers the search. Add to them; don't hollow them out.
• Merge. Several thin pages on the same topic become one stronger page, and the old addresses redirect to it.
• Redirect. Products or services you no longer offer. Send them to the closest equivalent, not automatically to the home page.
• Remove. Only pages with no visits, no links and no purpose. Even then, a redirect costs nothing.

The rule of thumb: no old address that gets visits or has links should end in a 404 error.

Redirects: the part nobody sees

A 301 redirect tells Google and browsers that a page has moved permanently. Done properly, it carries over most of what the old page had earned.

1. Build a two-column table: old address, new address.
2. Cover every page in the inventory, including other language versions. Many Menorca sites run in Spanish, Catalan and English, and each language has its own addresses.
3. Avoid chains where A goes to B and B goes to C. Every old address should point straight to its final destination.
4. Have the redirects set up on the server, not with workarounds inside the page.

Content: a redesign isn't a cut

If a page ranked for "boat repairs in Mahón" because it explained what work is done, when, and how to book, and the new version is a photo and a slogan, Google has no reason to keep showing it. Reorganise the copy, add subheadings, FAQs or your own photos, but keep the information that answered the search, along with page titles and descriptions that were working.

Launch day checklist

Launch at a quiet moment. For many Menorca businesses, autumn and winter are ideal: less traffic and time to fix things before the season. On the day, check that:

• The "don't index" setting is off.
• Several important old addresses redirect to the right new pages.
• The contact form sends and the message reaches the right inbox. Do a real test.
• Phone and WhatsApp links work on mobile and are correct.
• HTTPS works on every page.
• The new sitemap has been submitted in Google Search Console.
• The site loads well on mobile data, not just on the office wifi.

The weeks after

Small swings in Google during the first weeks are normal; a sustained drop is not. For the first six weeks, check once a week for 404 errors in Search Console, how your previous top pages and searches are doing, and how many enquiries arrive compared with the same period before. If an important page drops, compare it with the old version: usually a redirect is missing or content has gone.

Do you actually need a full redesign?

If the site performs on Google but just looks dated, a visual refresh that respects the structure and copy may be enough. If it also fails on mobile or you can't update it yourself, it's time for a full project, done this way.

Want to redesign your Menorca website without starting from zero on Google?

At Derek Solutions we handle web design for businesses in Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera, and every redesign starts with the inventory and the redirect plan, not the colour palette. If you then want to build visibility, we combine it with online marketing and SEO. Email derek@dereksolutions.com or call +34 680 283 973 and we'll review your current site with you.