A business pays for a shiny new site, it launches, and within weeks the phone stops ringing because they dropped off the local map pack. This happens constantly, and it’s almost always self-inflicted during the redesign — not a Google penalty.
Broken URLs are the number one cause
The old site ranked on specific pages; the new site changed every URL and nobody set up redirects. Now every ranking page returns a 404, and all that accumulated authority evaporates. Before launch, map every old URL to its new equivalent and add 301 redirects. This single step prevents most redesign ranking losses.
Then protect NAP and content
Local ranking depends on consistency between the site and Google Business Profile. If the redesign drops the address from the footer, changes the phone format, or removes the embedded map, local relevance drops. Keep name, address, and phone consistent everywhere.
Redesigns also strip content. The old “services in [city]” page that ranked gets folded into a generic services page, and the local keywords go with it. Don’t delete location-specific content for a cleaner design.
Finally, check the new site isn’t accidentally noindexed (a staging setting left on) and that business schema carried over. A redesign should improve rankings, not reset them.