Rebranding Your Website: What to Update After a Name or Brand Change

On this page

1. Decide what's actually changing
2. Update the logo, design and brand assets
3. Find every mention of the old name
4. Keep the domain or change it?
5. Redirect any URLs that change
6. Google Business Profile and listings
7. Tell customers clearly
8. Protect your SEO through the switch

A rebrand touches almost everything customers see: your name, logo, colours, tone of voice and sometimes your domain. The website is where it all comes together, and it's also where a rushed rebrand does the most damage, through broken links, confused customers and lost Google rankings. Here's how to update your website after a rebrand or business name change, in a sensible order.

Decide what's actually changing

"Rebrand" can mean very different jobs, and each level adds work and risk:

Type of change	What it affects on the website	SEO risk
New logo and colours	Logo files, favicon, colours, social images	Low
New name, same domain	Site title, page text, structured data, legal pages, emails, listings	Moderate, mainly around brand searches
New name and new domain	All of the above, plus redirects and a full domain move	Highest

Before announcing a new name, check it isn't already used or trademarked by someone in your field (a trademark attorney can advise), and secure the matching domain and social handles. If you're also planning a redesign, consider staging the work, for example launching the new look on your current domain first and moving domains once it has settled.

Update the logo, design and brand assets

• Logo in the header, footer, emails and invoices, ideally as SVG plus transparent PNG versions
• Favicon and home-screen icons, which browsers cache stubbornly, so test in a private window
• Brand colours and fonts set as global styles, so the change applies everywhere at once
• The default social share image, so links shared on WhatsApp and LinkedIn show the new brand
• Banners, photos with old signage, and PDFs such as brochures, price lists and menus

For the files you'll need, see logo, favicon and brand basics. A new logo is also a good moment to decide whether the site needs a full redesign or just a refresh, rather than letting a simple logo swap turn into an unplanned rebuild.

Find every mention of the old name

Old names hide in more places than you'd expect:

• The site title and tagline in WordPress settings, and SEO title templates that add the business name to every page
• Headings, body text, image alt text, the About page and the footer copyright line
• Privacy policy, terms and refund policy, which name the business and its contact details; if the legal entity has changed too, ask your CA or lawyer what these should say
• Structured data: your organisation or local business name, logo and social profile links
• Form notifications, auto-replies, WooCommerce order emails and invoice templates; check with your CA which name and details invoices must show
• Email signatures, sender names, chat widgets and booking confirmations

A search of the site's database on a staging copy catches most of these, and a crawl of the live site catches the rest.

Keep the domain or change it?

A new name doesn't automatically mean a new domain.

• Keep the domain if it's neutral or still fits. Nothing needs redirecting and your rankings carry on as before.
• Change the domain if it contains the old name and would genuinely confuse customers. This is a project in its own right, with page-by-page 301 redirects and Search Console's Change of Address tool.
• Register the new domain anyway, even if you don't switch yet, so nobody else takes it.

If you do move, follow how to change your domain name without losing SEO, keep the old domain renewed for years, and keep forwarding email sent to old addresses so customer replies don't bounce.

Redirect any URLs that change

Even on the same domain, rebrands often change URLs: renamed services or products, a page that included the old name, or a restructured menu. Every URL that changes needs a 301 redirect to its closest new equivalent. List old and new URLs in a spreadsheet, avoid redirect chains, and don't rename working URLs just because they mention the old name unless it's genuinely confusing; a page with history is worth keeping. The guide to redesigning without losing rankings walks through URL mapping in detail.

Google Business Profile and listings

• Update your Google Business Profile name, logo, photos and website link. Use the real new name as it appears on your signage and documents, not a keyword-stuffed version. A name change may trigger a review or re-verification, so make it when you can respond quickly.
• Update social profile names, handles where possible, bios, profile pictures and website links
• Update directories and platforms such as Justdial, IndiaMART, industry associations and any booking or delivery apps you use
• Refresh ad text, display names and sitelinks in Google Ads and Meta ads
• Plan offline changes too: signage, visiting cards, vehicle branding, packaging and printed QR codes

Matching details everywhere help Google connect the new name to your existing reputation and reviews; see the Google Business Profile checklist.

Tell customers clearly

• A short homepage announcement or banner: "We're now New Name (formerly Old Name)"
• A paragraph on the About page explaining why the name changed and what stays the same, such as the team, address, service and warranties
• An email to existing customers and a message to WhatsApp contacts who have opted in
• If bank or UPI details change, announce it only through official channels and tell customers how to verify, because changed payment details are a common hook for fraud

Protect your SEO through the switch

• Benchmark first: note clicks, top pages, brand searches and monthly enquiries from Search Console and analytics
• Keep the old name visible: people will search for it for months or years, so mention "formerly Old Name" on the About page and footer, and add it as an alternate name in your structured data
• Test on staging and launch in a quieter season for your business
• Watch after launch: check Search Console for 404 errors, confirm searches for both names find you, and be patient while Google updates titles and your business profile

Planning a rebrand and want the website side handled carefully? See website redesign, or WordPress SEO services to protect your rankings through the change.