Redirects during a site move: the 301 map that protects your traffic

By Axyra Nova Editorial · 8 September 2026 · 5 min read · Migrations

When a website moves to a new platform, a new structure or a new domain, the old addresses do not disappear from the world. They live on in search results, bookmarks, emails, social posts and links from other sites. If those addresses suddenly return "page not found", visitors leave and search engines gradually drop the pages.

301 redirects solve this. A 301 tells browsers and search engines that a page has moved permanently and where it went. Done carefully, a redirect map carries most of your existing traffic and search visibility across to the new site.

What a 301 redirect does

A 301 is an HTTP status code meaning "moved permanently". The browser automatically goes to the new address, and search engines learn to show the new address instead of the old one. MDN's reference for the 301 status code explains the technical detail.

A 302, by contrast, means "temporarily moved". Use 301 for migrations, because the change is meant to last.

Step 1: Collect every old URL

You cannot redirect what you have not listed. Gather URLs from:

• The old site's sitemap.
• Google Search Console, which shows pages with impressions and clicks.
• Analytics, for pages with visits in the last year.
• A crawl of the old site using any site crawler.
• Backlinks, from Search Console's links report.

Combine them into one spreadsheet and remove duplicates.

Step 2: Map old to new

For each old URL, add the best matching new URL in the next column. Rules of thumb:

• One-to-one wherever possible. An old service page should point to the new version of that service page, not the home page.
• Merge thoughtfully. If several old pages become one, point them all to the new combined page.
• Retired content should redirect to the closest relevant page. If nothing is relevant, a helpful 404 page is better than a misleading redirect.
• Keep query strings in mind if old URLs used them for meaningful content.

Step 3: Put the redirects in place

How you add redirects depends on the platform:

• WordPress: a redirection plugin lets you import a CSV of rules. Some SEO plugins include redirect managers.
• Server configuration: rules in the web server configuration are fast and do not depend on WordPress loading.
• Hosting dashboards and CDNs: many hosts and CDNs offer redirect rules in their control panels.

Use whichever your team can maintain. Speed differences are small compared with the cost of missing redirects.

Step 4: Avoid chains and loops

A redirect chain happens when A redirects to B, which redirects to C. Each hop adds delay and can dilute signals. Point A straight to C.

A redirect loop happens when A redirects to B and B redirects back to A. Browsers give up with an error. Test for loops after every batch of rules.

Step 5: Update internal links

Redirects catch old links, but your own site should link directly to the new addresses. After the move, update menus, buttons and in-content links so internal navigation never relies on redirects.

Step 6: Test every rule

Before launch, on staging, and again after launch:

1. Run your full list of old URLs through a redirect checker or a simple script.
2. Confirm each returns a 301 and lands on the intended page with a 200 status.
3. Fix anything returning 404, 302, or multiple hops.

Step 7: Tell Google

Submit the new sitemap in Search Console. If the domain changed, use Search Console's change of address tool. Google's guide to site moves with URL changes explains the full process.

Step 8: Monitor for a few months

• Watch Search Console for 404 errors and add redirects for any missed URLs.
• Compare traffic by page between old and new sites.
• Keep the redirect rules in place for at least a year; ideally keep them indefinitely.

Common mistakes

• Redirecting everything to the home page. Visitors looking for a specific page get lost, and search engines may treat these as soft 404s.
• Forgetting image and PDF URLs that receive links or traffic.
• Mixing HTTP, HTTPS and www versions inconsistently. Pick one canonical version and redirect the others to it.
• Removing redirects too soon.

Where this fits in a migration

Redirects are one step of a larger move. If you are moving from an AI builder, see Lovable to WordPress or moving a Base44 app to WordPress. If you are moving from Squarespace, see Squarespace to WordPress.

Our automated site checks also flag broken links and pages that return errors, which helps catch missing redirects after launch.

A worked example

A small online furniture shop moved from one ecommerce platform to another. The old platform used URLs like /products/oak-dining-table-123, and the new one used /shop/oak-dining-table.

The team exported every product URL from the old sitemap, about four hundred in total, and added category pages, blog posts and policy pages from a crawl. They matched each product to its new URL by product name in a spreadsheet, then checked by hand the thirty products that did not match automatically. Discontinued products were mapped to their category pages.

They imported the rules into a redirect tool, ran a script that requested every old URL and recorded the status code and final destination, and fixed the dozen rules that pointed to the wrong place or produced two hops.

After launch, they checked Search Console daily for two weeks, adding redirects for a handful of old URLs nobody had remembered, such as an old size guide PDF that several blogs linked to. Traffic dipped for a short time and then returned to its previous level.

A simple redirect testing script idea

You do not need special software to test redirects. A short script in any language can:

1. Read old URLs from a file.
2. Request each one without following redirects automatically.
3. Record the status code and the Location header.
4. Follow each hop until a final page is reached.
5. Flag anything that is not a single 301 to a page returning 200.

Running it before and after launch turns redirect testing from guesswork into a checklist.

Frequently asked questions

How long should I keep 301 redirects?

At least a year, and ideally for as long as the old URLs might be linked from anywhere. Keeping them costs very little.

Do 301 redirects lose SEO value?

Properly implemented 301s pass signals to the new URL. Problems come from missing redirects, chains and irrelevant targets.

Should I redirect deleted pages?

Redirect them to the most relevant existing page. If nothing is relevant, return a 404 with helpful navigation.

Can I use a plugin for redirects?

Yes. A redirect plugin is a practical choice for WordPress sites, especially when you need to import many rules from a spreadsheet.