Map Website Redirects and Retired Content

SECTION 01

Build the inventory from more than the current menu

Ask the agency to combine the existing sitemap, internal links, published content records and available search or traffic data. Important URLs can be absent from navigation but still used by customers. Record the old page's purpose, proposed treatment, destination and reviewer. Preserve meaningful query behavior when relevant, while distinguishing tracking parameters from parameters that select real content.

Google's redirect guidance explains permanent and temporary moves, while its status-code documentation explains how crawlers interpret unavailable pages. Use these distinctions to support an explicit content decision. A redirect is appropriate when the replacement satisfies the old intent. It is not a substitute for deciding what happened to a service, downloadable guide or product that the business no longer provides.

SECTION 02

Illustrative example: combining two service explanations

Imagine a facilities company combining separate inspection and reporting pages into a substantial page describing the complete service. Each old page has a clear destination because the new page genuinely covers its purpose. An old short-lived event announcement is different: it might remain as a useful archive, or return a not-found response if it has no continuing value and no meaningful replacement.

The first release includes a reviewed mapping for high-value and known linked pages, plus an honest fallback for unknown URLs. Staff should not invent mappings from similar-looking slugs alone. A past event should not be sent to an unrelated paid service just to avoid an error count. This example concerns URL decisions, not a promise that a migration will preserve every search position.

SECTION 03

Accept the route from the old link to the answer

Test each mapped URL on the public domain, checking status, final destination and whether the expected content is actually present. Look for loops, long redirect chains, missing query details and links that still point through unnecessary intermediate routes. Verify the preferred domain and HTTPS behavior as part of the same journey rather than testing redirects only on a preview hostname.

Automatic pattern rules are useful for consistent structural moves, but individual exceptions need review. Handoff should include the mapping, evidence from the test run and an owner for later additions. Monitor newly discovered old URLs after launch and decide their treatment deliberately. Keep the prior URL inventory so future redesigns do not lose the reasoning behind earlier redirects or accidentally chain new moves through old ones.

SECTION 04

Frequently asked questions