Use Redirects Correctly When Replacing an Old Website in Baring

A redirect is appropriate when an old resource moved or has a genuine replacement.

It is not a cleanup tool for sending every missing URL to the homepage.

Redirect when the destination makes sense

Good redirect cases include:

• a page moved to a new URL;
• two pages were consolidated into one stronger page;
• an old resource has a clear replacement;
• the site moved to a new domain or URL structure.

The destination should satisfy roughly the same user need.

Let genuinely removed content be gone

If a page was intentionally retired and there is no meaningful replacement, a normal 404 or 410 response can be more accurate than redirecting the visitor somewhere unrelated.

Google warns that sending many old URLs to one irrelevant destination, such as the homepage, can be confusing and may be treated as a soft 404.

Use direct permanent redirects

For permanent moves, Google recommends server-side permanent redirects such as 301 or 308 where possible.

Map:

old URL -> final new URL

rather than:

old URL -> intermediate URL -> another URL -> final URL

Shorter redirect paths are easier for users and easier to maintain.

Update the links you control

A replacement site should not depend on its own redirects for ordinary navigation.

Update internal links, menus, canonical references, and sitemap entries so they point directly to current URLs.

Redirects remain useful for old external links, bookmarks, and legacy addresses.

Verify after launch

Test representative old URLs and confirm:

• the status code is correct;
• the destination is correct;
• there are no loops;
• important retired URLs behave intentionally;
• the new site is not still linking to obsolete addresses.

For a related next step, see Clean Up Duplicate Content on an Older Website in LaGrange and Change Website URLs Without Throwing Away Search Visibility in Alexandria.

For authoritative guidance on this subject, see Google's guidance on site moves.

See Also

• Improve Search Visibility After a Website Redesign in Wayland

Switchboard can help Baring and Northeast Missouri businesses build and test a clean redirect map during a website replacement instead of turning every old address into a homepage redirect.