So, you've got a website.
It’s live. It’s working. All is well.
But now, you want a fresh new look.
Maybe it’s a new UI, a branding update, or just a cleaner design. Whatever the reason, you’re ready for a change.
Your first thought? Move everything to a new account and start fresh.
Wait. Stop. Don’t do it.
There’s a better way to upgrade your UI without canceling your subscription, disconnecting your domain, or messing up your SEO.
Why You Shouldn’t Move to a New Account
Before we dive deep into the how we need to understand the why not.
I get it. Moving everything to a new account sounds like a clean slate.
But here’s why it’s a bad idea:
Takes longer
Setting up everything from scratch is a headache.
Subscription issues
Canceling and renewing on a new account? Annoying.
SEO nightmare
Your old site has rankings. Moving to a new account can wreck that.
CMS collections pain
If you’ve got a CMS-based site, rebuilding collections is a time-consuming mess.
Step-by-Step Guide to Upgrading Your UI Without Moving Accounts
Let’s break this down.
1. Draft a New Page for Each Page You Want to Update
Say you want to revamp your About page.
Create a new page called /new-about.
Set it as a draft so it stays hidden.
Start working on your new UI.
2. Design and Build Your New UI in Peace
Since it’s a draft, no one can see it but you.
Tweak the layout, update the colors, rewrite the copy—take your time. No rush, no pressure.
3. Swap the Old Page with the New One
Once you’re happy with your design:
Rename the old /about page to /old-about.
Rename /new-about to /about.
Set old-about to draft and undraft the new /about.
Boom. New UI is live. No downtime. No broken links.
What About SEO? Will This Mess Things Up?
Nope! Here’s why:
No new URLs – You’re keeping the same slugs, so SEO remains intact.
No domain changes – No need to switch anything on Google Search Console.
No lost backlinks – Your existing backlinks still point to the same pages.
FAQs
Q: What if I want to test my new UI before going live?
A: One way is to preview it within the Framer canvas itself. If you have a Pro plan, you can set up a staging domain for previewing. If you're on any plan besides Pro, you can duplicate your current site and publish it to the .framer domain for testing.
Q: Will my users see my new page while I’m working on it?
A: Nope. Draft pages aren’t accessible to the public, so you can work on them privately.
Q: Can I do this for multiple pages at once?
A: Absolutely! Just create draft versions of all the pages you want to update and swap them when ready.
Q: What if I mess up?
A: No worries—your old pages are still there. If needed, you can switch back in seconds.
