How to Preserve Important URLs During a Website Redesign

A redesign can change the pages that customers, search engines and other sites already link to. Start with the existing URLs and decide what each one should do after launch. That gives the team a plan for preserving useful links and finding migration errors.

Build an inventory of current URLs

Combine a crawl of the current site with your sitemap, CMS export and analytics or search data. Include pages, articles, product records and files that people reach directly. Note which addresses receive traffic, backlinks or enquiries so you can prioritise those in testing.

Map old addresses to relevant destinations

Use a spreadsheet or database with an old URL and an intended outcome for each row. Keep an existing address when it can continue to serve the same purpose. If a page moves or merges into another page, choose the destination that best serves the original visitor’s need.

For a removed page with no relevant replacement, record the removal and return a 404 or 410. A blanket redirect to the home page can leave visitors without the content they were looking for and may be treated as a soft 404.

Implement direct permanent redirects

Use a permanent redirect such as a 301 when an address has moved permanently. Put the rule in the server, platform or redirect manager the team can maintain. Test that each old address reaches the final destination directly and that the destination loads.

For a large catalogue, import or generate rules from the approved map and test them in batches. Review exceptions separately. Look for redirect chains, loops and destinations that point to unrelated or missing pages.

Update internal links and the sitemap

Change navigation, article links and product links to point straight to their final URLs. Update the sitemap with the new addresses. Prioritise templates and high-traffic pages when working through a large site, then crawl the result to find old references and broken links.

Test at launch and monitor afterwards

Before launch, run the migration map against the test site where possible. After launch, check the actual responses and destinations for priority URLs. Use a crawler, server logs and Search Console to find errors that the team missed.

Assign someone to check errors and traffic after launch. Keep the redirect map and record fixes as they are made. Search engines need time to process a move, so use the checks to track what has happened and investigate unexpected changes.

Worked example: a retailer changes its categories

Imagine a retailer moving a product from /products/shoes/nike-air to /shop/shoes/nike-air-max. The team confirms that the new page serves the same product, records the pair in the map, adds a permanent redirect and updates category pages to link directly to the new address. On launch day it tests both addresses, then monitors crawl errors and traffic in the following weeks.

Check these items before handover

• Every important URL has a destination or a recorded removal decision.
• Redirects reach their final destinations directly.
• Internal links and the sitemap use the current URLs.
• The team knows who will review errors and when.

For the technical steps, see Google Search Central’s guide to site moves with URL changes. If you are preparing a redesign, bring your current sitemap to a conversation with Ravand.