--- title: "Planning a Website Relaunch: The arocom Guide" lang: en type: knowledge canonical: https://www.arocom.de/en/knowledge/development/relaunch alternate: https://www.arocom.de/wissen/entwicklung/relaunch author: "Axel Roth" last_updated: 2026-07-29 --- # Planning a Website Relaunch: The arocom Guide A website relaunch is the redesign of an existing website in structure, technology and content. Unlike a redesign, the [information architecture](https://www.arocom.de/en/knowledge/seo-geo/information-architecture) changes fundamentally. Since 2012, arocom has accompanied over 160 Drupal relaunches and knows: the most common mistake is missing planning for redirects, content migration and SEO. A well-planned relaunch improves rankings, performance and user experience. A poorly planned one destroys years of built-up visibility. ## Planning a Website Relaunch: The arocom Guide A relaunch is not a redesign. In a redesign, the website gets a new look. In a relaunch, structure, technology and often content change too. This offers opportunities, and risks. The biggest opportunities: replace outdated technology, clean up SEO legacy issues, adapt the information architecture to current requirements. The biggest risks: ranking losses from missing redirects, forgotten content and inadequate testing. ## When a Relaunch Makes Sense, and When It Doesn't A relaunch makes sense when: The technology is outdated and an upgrade (e.g. Drupal 7 to 11) is no longer economically viable within the old structure. The information architecture no longer fits the organization, after restructuring, internationalization or strategy change. Performance and SEO stagnate despite optimizations. Editors cannot work efficiently because the backend has become overly complex. A relaunch does not make sense when a redesign is enough: new design, same structure, same technology. In this case, a theme update is the more efficient solution. arocom honestly advises upfront whether a relaunch is necessary or whether targeted optimization is sufficient. ## 5 Steps to a Successful Relaunch Step 1, Assessment: which content exists, which is used, which can go? Which URLs have backlinks and rankings? The Drupal Future Check provides this analysis. Step 2, Information architecture: define new page structure, navigation, content types and taxonomies. Wireframes before design, function before aesthetics. Step 3, Redirect map: every old URL is mapped to a new one. Close 301 redirects. No URL may lead to nowhere. This is the most important step for SEO. Step 4, Content migration: revise content, don't just move it. Update outdated texts, consolidate thin content, create new content for gaps. Step 5, Testing and go-live: test staging environment, verify redirects, measure performance, inform search engines. After go-live: 404 monitoring and ranking tracking. ## SEO During Relaunch: Protecting Rankings A relaunch without SEO strategy can destroy rankings you have built over years. The most important measures: Complete redirect map: every indexed URL needs a 301 redirect to the matching new URL. No redirects to the homepage. Canonical tags: every page has exactly one canonical URL. Avoid duplicate content. Update sitemaps: submit new XML sitemap in Search Console. Remove old sitemap. Post-go-live monitoring: check rankings, organic traffic and 404 errors daily. React quickly when rankings drop. arocom monitors SEO performance after every relaunch and proactively corrects problems. ### Your next step Planning a relaunch and want to know how your current platform stands? The [Drupal Future Check](https://www.arocom.de/en/future-check) gives you the data basis for informed decisions, before you start planning. - [Request Drupal Upgrade](https://www.arocom.de/en/services/drupal-upgrade) **From arocom projects:** - Drupal as a dashboard platform? For marego it was exactly the right choice: editable data structures, granular roles, integrated Excel/PDF pipelines. The tool now consolidates reporting that used to live in five different tools. - For [d&b audiotechnik](https://www.arocom.de/en/references/db-audiotechnik) (Backnang) we built several configurators, process tools, and intranet solutions on/with Drupal, the architecture we put in place back in 2018 still holds today without refactoring and keeps up with every new major version. ### How long does a website relaunch with Drupal take? 3-6 months for medium projects, 6-12 months for complex platforms with migrations and integrations. Duration depends on scope, content volume and decision speed. ### Will we lose our Google rankings during a relaunch? With a correct redirect strategy and clean SEO planning, you keep your rankings. A temporary decline of 2-4 weeks is normal. Without a redirect strategy, you can permanently lose rankings. ### What does a Drupal relaunch cost? A relaunch starts at approximately EUR 30,000 for medium projects. Complex platforms with migrations, integrations and multilingual content range from EUR 80,000-150,000. arocom gives you a binding estimate after the Future Check. ### Can we perform the relaunch in phases? Yes, and arocom recommends it. An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) goes live quickly, further features follow in phases. This reduces risk and delivers results sooner. ## Read more - [Domain Strategy](https://www.arocom.de/en/knowledge/development/domain): What to clarify before the relaunch - [Digital Transformation](https://www.arocom.de/en/knowledge/development/digital-transformation): Relaunch as a transformation project - [Agile Fixed Price](https://www.arocom.de/en/knowledge/development/agile-fixed-price): The matching contract model for the relaunch