How to plan website redirects before a redesign

A redesign changes more than the way a page looks. If its address changes, a bookmark, shared message or existing search result may send someone to a destination that no longer exists. Plan those destinations before the new site replaces the old one.

Make an inventory of current pages

Collect URLs from the existing navigation, sitemap and content system. If you have access to analytics or search reports, identify pages people actually use. Include downloadable brochures and useful image destinations when they are part of the customer journey.

For each address, record its purpose. An old treatment page may still answer a specific question even if it gets little traffic. Do not decide what to keep solely from the appearance of the old navigation.

Create a destination for each important URL

Use a sheet with four columns: old address, current purpose, new address and decision. Mark whether the page stays, changes address, merges into another page or is removed without a replacement.

Google's site-move guidance recommends mapping old URLs to their appropriate new destinations, updating URL references and testing redirects. It also explains that pages removed without a replacement should return an appropriate not-found response. Sending unrelated old pages to the homepage is not a useful substitute for a mapping.

Test from the old address

Open an old URL directly and check the final destination. Confirm it reaches the intended content rather than an error page or a chain of redirects. Try a brochure download, a service page and a page linked from an old customer message.

Ask whether query parameters carry information that needs to survive. A tracking parameter and an application-specific booking parameter may require different treatment. Record that requirement before writing a broad redirect rule.

Keep the content migration separate

Redirects do not replace missing information. If the new page drops opening hours, product details or enquiry instructions, reaching it successfully may still leave the customer stranded. Review the information being carried across as well as the address.

Prepare new internal links, canonical URLs and the sitemap around the final destinations. Keep a copy of the old-to-new map with the handover documents so a later editor understands why the rules exist.

Review after launch

Look for failed destinations and unexpected not-found requests. Check important pages after DNS or hosting changes, and keep the old domain under control when it is still needed for redirects. Search visibility can fluctuate during a migration; track what changed rather than promising an immediate recovery.

Use our technical launch checklist alongside the mapping. When discussing a website redesign, bring the existing domain, current sitemap and any page addresses your customers already use.