For theatres, orchestras, cathedrals, and classical music organisations engaged in arts and culture.
A website redesign should feel like progress.
Clearer navigation. Better storytelling. A site that finally reflects who you are today, not who you were five or ten years ago.
But for many arts and culture organisations, a redesign quietly triggers something else:
a dip in search traffic, fewer event page visits, and a nagging sense that the website has become harder to find.
This isn’t because SEO was ignored entirely.
It’s because it was treated as a technical baseline, not a strategic consideration.
And in the cultural sector, where discoverability, access, and public engagement are part of the mission, that distinction matters.
Why SEO Matters So Much in Arts & Culture
Search is one of the primary ways people discover culture today.
It’s how audiences find:
- performances they weren’t actively searching for
- educational resources used by schools and communities
- cathedrals and heritage sites as living cultural spaces
- opportunities to donate, volunteer, or participate
For many organisations, organic search quietly underpins:
- first-time attendance
- audience diversification
- community reach
- long-term visibility beyond marketing campaigns
A redesign doesn’t just change how your site looks.
It changes how search engines understand your organisation.
The Common Misconception: “SEO Comes as Standard”
Most website rebuilds include SEO basics:
- mobile responsiveness
- faster load times
- clean URLs
- page titles and meta descriptions
These are essential, but they are not enough to protect years of accumulated visibility.
What’s often missing is the deeper work:
- understanding what people already find you for
- preserving established authority
- ensuring continuity between old and new content
- aligning search behaviour with evolving audience strategy
That work isn’t “out of the box”.
It requires time, care, and intention.
Where SEO Quietly Breaks During Redesigns
In the arts and culture space, we see the same issues appear again and again.
1. Valuable Content Is Removed or Disconnected
Archive pages, past events, education resources, press content – often removed because they feel “old” or don’t fit the new structure.
Search engines don’t care about freshness in the same way humans do.
They care about usefulness.
When valuable pages disappear, visibility can disappear with them.
2. Content Flow Is Disrupted
Much like us, SEO thrives on clarity and relationships.
When content is reorganised without considering logical flow, search engines lose their understanding of:
- what matters most
- how pages relate to one another
- where authority sits
In creative arts organisations, this often happens when:
- programmes are separated from context
- education and outreach content is buried
- participation and access work is treated as secondary
A clear content flow helps:
- audiences understand your story
- search engines understand your purpose
- authority build around key themes
Good SEO mirrors how people think – not just how internal teams are structured.
3. URL Changes Aren’t Properly Managed
Every existing URL represents:
- past audiences
- shared links
- press coverage
- educational references
- meaningful experiences
- years of trust
Without a considered 301 redirect strategy, search engines treat those URLs as lost – even if the content still exists elsewhere.
For cultural organisations, this often affects:
- historic event listings
- programme notes
- education resources
- long-standing landing pages
- old media files
Redirects aren’t admin.
They’re conservation.
A good redirect plan ensures continuity – for both audiences and search engines.
Accessibility and SEO: Where They Align
Arts and cultural websites are inherently visual – performance photography, architecture, people, and atmosphere.
But images only contribute to SEO and accessibility if they’re described properly.
Descriptive Image Tags (Alt Text)
Good alt text:
- supports screen readers
- helps search engines understand context
- reinforces page themes naturally
Not:
alt=”image1″
But:
alt=”Choral evensong at Bristol Cathedral with candlelit choir stalls”
This is one of the rare practices that improves:
- accessibility
- search visibility
- storytelling
All at once.
SEO as Part of an Evolving Mission
Redesigns usually happen because organisations are changing:
- broader community focus
- more inclusive programming
- stronger education or participation work
SEO should evolve alongside that mission.
That means:
- revisiting how audiences search
- reflecting inclusive, accessible language
- supporting discovery beyond traditional cultural terms
Search isn’t just marketing.
It’s how people find their way into culture.
What Safeguarding SEO Actually Requires
Protecting (and improving) SEO during a redesign isn’t complicated – but it is deliberate.
It usually includes:
- a pre-design SEO audit
- identifying high-performing and high-value pages
- intentional content decisions rather than blanket removal
- a carefully mapped redirect plan
- thoughtful content structure and flow
- accessibility-aware image and content practices
None of this happens automatically.
But done well, it ensures your redesign builds on what already works – rather than starting from zero.
Measuring Success Beyond Rankings
For arts and cultural organisations, SEO success isn’t about being “number one”.
It’s about:
- increased discovery of events and resources
- deeper engagement with content
- better visibility for underrepresented programmes
- smoother journeys from curiosity to attendance
Good SEO supports impact, not just traffic.
Search Is Changing – But the Fundamentals Still Matter
Search is evolving.
AI-powered tools increasingly summarise, recommend, and contextualise content – not just rank it. But these systems still rely on the same signals search always has: clarity, structure, and meaning.
At Chaptr, we always say: write, design, and build for humans. Search engines and AI-powered tools reward that approach – and your audience will love you for it.
Websites that:
- organise content logically
- use clear headings and language
- preserve authority and context
- describe images and relationships clearly
are far more likely to be surfaced, quoted, or referenced – whether that’s in a traditional search result, an AI-generated summary, or a conversational interface.
In other words, safeguarding SEO during a redesign isn’t just about protecting today’s rankings. It’s about ensuring your organisation remains understandable – and discoverable – as search continues to evolve.
The Takeaway
A website redesign is one of the most significant digital moments an arts organisation will undertake.
Handled thoughtfully, it can:
- preserve years of cultural visibility
- expand reach and inclusion
- support education, participation, and engagement
Handled casually, it can quietly undo progress.
SEO beyond the basics isn’t included by default – but it is worth investing in.
Because being found is often the first step to being experienced…
Let’s Chat
If you’re curious about how your site is performing from an SEO perspective, or how a redesign might affect it, feel free to drop us a line at [email protected]. We’re always happy to talk things through.