Launch new web site but avoid drop in search ranking..?

Question

I will shortly be redesigning and launching a new version of my business site.

I am currently in the top 5 search results for similar businesses in my line of work and in my area. I am concerned that the launch of my new site will result in a drop in rankings and a loss of business - Google has been good to me!

What can I do to minimise the drop in rankings during and after the launch, and how can I get my site back up to its current position as quickly as possible?

Thanks for any help.

EDIT: Sorry removed programming tags - still think it's a valid question, no?

Answer 1

Write the HTML better than you did for the last site and use 301 redirects if you've moved any pages. Ideally keep the same page urls just change the layout. Its the content it cares about so if that and the urls have not changed greatly you should be fine.

Answer 2

If you do a 301, Permanently Moved, google will act as if your new page is your old page, i.e. your new page will be assigned the same page rank as your old page.

Answer 3

• Setup 301 permanent re-directs to pages on the old site which do not map to the new site
• Submit your new sitemap to google via webmaster tools immediately
• Make sure your page titles and url/site structure is spot on before releasing so that you don't have to make any major structure changes (which would require more redirects) 2 months after an already major change, so google has a chance to get used to the new site gaining it history/age browny points