Common problems
- Chains
- Loops
- Unrelated destinations
- Mass redirects to the homepage
- Temporary redirects for permanent changes
- Internal links that still point to old URLs
Migration workflow
- 01
Inventory old URLs
Use crawls, analytics, search data, backlinks, sitemaps, and logs.
- 02
Map each valuable URL
Choose the closest relevant new destination.
- 03
Implement server-side redirects
Avoid client-side redirects when the server can respond directly.
- 04
Update internal references
Change links, canonicals, sitemaps, and structured data.
- 05
Test and monitor
Verify status, destination, chains, indexing, and traffic.
Apply Redirects to a real website decision
Use redirects as a decision framework rather than a detached definition. Start with the user or business task, collect discovery paths, response codes, rendering, directives, canonicals, internal links, sitemaps, duplication, and selected URLs, document uncertainty, and decide what action is justified by the evidence.
Evidence
Page-template and url-pattern evidence rather than isolated examples.
Interpretation
Explain how the observed condition affects the intended outcome: make the intended pages discoverable, interpretable, internally connected, and maintainable.
Verification
Recrawl the affected patterns, inspect rendered output and directives, and monitor indexation and search behaviour over time.
Questions to answer about Redirects
- What user, search, commercial, compliance, or operational task does redirects affect?
- Which templates, URLs, entities, environments, or journeys are actually in scope?
- What evidence would distinguish a confirmed problem from the risk of changing directives or canonicals without understanding the intended URL model?
- Who owns the decision, implementation, approval, and follow-up?
- What measurement or retest will prove the change improved the intended outcome?
Turn redirects into an accountable record.
A documented decision or practice for redirects that can be applied to a real website.