Google’s John Mueller was asked if there is a way to prevent search traffic loss while launching a new website revamp. This specific case has URL changes with folders and subfolders. John Mueller was quick to say no; there is no way to prevent loss of traffic.

In fact, John’s response was a simple “no.”

Here are those tweets:

Gary Illyes said something similar earlier this year, saying if you redesign your site, your rankings may go nuts. John also said earlier that website design changes often lead to content changes, even if that is not your intent.

This is not to say you shouldn’t redesign and improve your site – you should – as should I.

Some clarifying posts:

Forum discussion at X.