“Before replacing a website, create a register connecting every important existing address to its future destination.
Before replacing a website, create a register connecting every important existing address to its future destination. This turns migration into a controlled content decision and helps preserve access to useful pages when navigation, naming, or page structure changes.
Inventory addresses that people actually use
Collect published pages, campaign destinations, downloads, and links used in email or printed material. Include addresses found through crawl results and search data where available. Mark the owner and purpose of each entry so unused pages are not retained without thought.
Choose a meaningful destination
Match an old page to the closest relevant new content, not automatically to the homepage. If the service continues, preserve the visitor task. If it has ended, decide whether a useful explanatory page or a proper removed-page response is appropriate.
Verify the actual response chain
Check old addresses after deployment to confirm the status code, destination, and number of redirect hops. A spreadsheet alone does not prove implementation. Test both language variants, trailing slash behavior, and links with campaign parameters used by the business.
Keep the register after launch
Retain migration records with the website documentation and review reported broken links. Update internal links to their final destination rather than depending on redirects indefinitely. Assign an owner for missed addresses so post-launch discoveries become fixes instead of scattered messages.
Exercise: resolve three different old addresses
Consider a hypothetical redesign with an old service page, a discontinued campaign page, and a brochure download used in printed materials. Give each a separate migration row. The continuing service may have a corresponding new destination. The campaign needs an explicit decision about useful remaining information. The brochure needs a maintained file or an explanatory destination that respects the promise made in print. Do not assign all three to the homepage simply to clear the register.
For every row, write the proposed response, responsible owner, and a test that confirms the intended behavior. After implementation, open the old address directly and record the actual status and final destination. Follow one old brochure link from its published context as well. A technical redirect can function while still disappointing the visitor’s task; checking both response and meaning makes the migration register more useful than a list of mechanically replaced strings.
For a project that needs these decisions translated into working deliverables, explore Gameel’s website design and development services. Bring the existing materials and the specific task your audience needs to complete so the brief can be grounded in actual use.