Index Page Changing - Will it effect SERPs

[bigcat1967]

I have someone that is going to replace the index page with a new design/page and I believe more text is added and the functionality is a little different. The site is ranked number 2 on the first page for a decently competitive niche.

Just wondering, if he keeps the title tag the same and the KWs the same (I believe he has) - will his site be in danger of losing any ground in the SERPs because of the design and text change of his index page?

 

[djbaxter]

If the filename remains the same, there should be no immediate effect. If he's adding more content to the page, this may affect ranking down the road, either for better or for worse depending on what he adds and whether it strengthens his current search terms or deletes them.

If he's changing the title of the page (e.g., from index.html to index.php or default.html), that may affect rankings in the short term but this can be handled by a 301 permanent redirect - with that, everything should catch up within a few weeks to a couple of months max.