Websites
Keep useful old links working during a website redesign
Build an old-to-new URL map, test redirects and preserve a recovery path so a redesign does not abandon existing visitors.
By Bridge Builder editorial 3 min read
A redesign changes more than the homepage. Customers may still use saved links, search results, email signatures and old campaign URLs. Before changing the site, decide where those visitors should land.
A redirect sends a request for an old address to a new one. It is useful when a page moves, but it should reflect the relationship between the two pages rather than sending every old link to the homepage.
In this article
Inventory the pages that exist now
Collect the current page list from the site, its sitemap and available search or analytics reports. Add important links used in printed materials, customer emails, profile listings and active campaigns. A page receiving little search traffic may still be important to customers who have its address.
Create a simple sheet with old URL, current purpose, new destination and reason for the change. Mark pages that will stay at the same address. Keeping a useful address can avoid unnecessary work when the service and purpose remain the same. Do not rename every page simply because a new platform permits it.
Map by meaning
An old kitchen-remodel page should lead to the new kitchen-remodel information when that is still offered. If several weak pages are being combined into a complete service page, record the consolidation. If a service is discontinued, decide what truthful explanation or appropriate unavailable-page response the visitor needs.
Google's migration guidance recommends mapping old URLs to relevant new ones, using server-side permanent redirects where appropriate and avoiding unnecessary redirect chains. Ask the builder to implement the map at the hosting or application layer and show the actual behavior, rather than relying only on links within the new design.
Verify before changing the public domain
Test every mapped route in a preview or isolated environment. Check the response, final destination, title and contact action. A redirect that reaches a page with the wrong service still fails the customer's task even if its technical status is correct.
Update navigation and in-page links to the final addresses. Check the sitemap and canonical settings too, so the new site is not continuing to recommend old locations. Include images and documents that customers rely on; a lost PDF can break a useful sales resource even when all the main pages load.
- No redirect loops.
- No avoidable sequence of multiple redirects.
- No important old service sent to an unrelated homepage.
- No preview domain in public links or canonical settings.
- A real not-found response for a genuinely unknown address.
Keep a recovery plan and observe the move
Save the prior deployment and domain configuration before the approved launch. Assign one person to perform the change and one to verify the result. Preserve email-related DNS records when moving the website; website routing and business email are separate concerns.
After launch, check the important old URLs on the public domain and monitor reported failures. Search engines need time to process changes, so a successful deployment is not proof that indexing has finished. Record the release date and follow-up checks instead of promising the move cannot affect traffic.
Your next step
Make the old-to-new URL map before launch. Verify that each important old link still takes a customer somewhere useful.