For a renamed or removed page, the core choice is 301/308 vs. 302/307 vs. 404/410. Use this checklist when replacing an outdated small-business site, cleaning up service pages, changing product or menu URLs, or launching a rebuilt site with a cleaner structure. The goal is not to preserve every old address forever; it is to send visitors and crawlers to the closest honest destination.
Byline: Written and reviewed by the Deep Digital Ventures web migration team. Testing notes are based on small-site migrations and interface checks in Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, Webflow, Carrd, and WordPress redirect settings.
Last reviewed April 23, 2026: builder redirect limits and automatic-redirect behavior can change, so confirm the current platform limits before launch.
Quick Decision Checklist
Choose the redirect status before editing the page, choose the destination before publishing it, and update internal links after the redirect works. Google Search Central’s redirect documentation treats permanent redirects such as HTTP 301 and 308 as stronger canonical signals than temporary redirects such as 302 and 307.
- Use 301 or 308 when the old page is gone for good and a close replacement exists.
- Use 302 or 307 when the old URL is expected to return, such as a seasonal menu or short-term landing page.
- Use 404 when there is no useful replacement. Use 410 when content was intentionally removed and you are comfortable making that stronger gone signal permanent.
Inventory The Old URLs
Start with a URL inventory before changing a page slug, deleting an old service page, hiding a Shopify product, moving a Webflow Collection item, or changing WordPress permalinks. WordPress.org’s permalink documentation describes permalinks as the permanent URLs for posts, pages, categories, and archives, which is a good reminder: write down the current address before you make it disappear.
Google’s sitemap guidance sets two hard limits for one sitemap file: 50 MB uncompressed or 50,000 URLs. For a small business site, that usually means the XML sitemap can be the master crawl list, but sitemap URLs should be fully qualified absolute URLs, not short relative paths.
- Search and traffic data: check Google Analytics 4 landing pages, Google Search Console performance URLs, Search Console links, and any page that receives form submissions, bookings, calls, or orders.
- Business links: check Google Business Profile, Instagram and Facebook bios, email signatures, QR codes on menus or flyers, paid ads, newsletter links, and PDF menus or portfolios.
The inventory needs a decision column, not just an old-URL column. A low-traffic page can still matter if it is printed on a takeout menu, linked from a wedding photographer’s portfolio, used in a Meta ad, or saved in a customer’s bookmark.
Inventory actions:
- Export or copy every live URL before changing slugs.
- Record where the URL was found so later reviewers know why the rule exists.
Platform Notes To Confirm
Builder choice changes the redirect work, but the limits are easier to use as a table than as a long platform sentence. Confirm these notes inside the account before launch.
| Platform | Redirect notes to confirm |
|---|---|
| Wix | 301 redirects require a custom domain. Wix can automatically create 301 redirects when supported page slugs change, but Wix Blog pages need manual redirects, and the URL Redirect Manager does not create homepage redirects. |
| Squarespace | URL mappings have a 400 KB field limit, often around 2,500 redirect lines, and mappings are prioritized from top to bottom. |
| Shopify | Redirects only work from broken URLs. If the old URL still loads a valid page, the redirect will not work. Shopify also lists reserved paths and a 100,000 redirect limit unless the store is on Plus. |
| Webflow | Webflow supports 301 rules and recommends keeping rule count under 1,000 as a best practice. |
| Carrd | Carrd redirects require Pro Plus or higher and are handled as 301 redirects. |
| WordPress | Changing permalink structure changes durable page addresses, so redirect coverage should be planned before the new permalink format is published. |
Platform actions:
- Check whether the old URL is already broken before adding a rule, especially in Shopify.
- Separate automatically created rules from manual rules so no Wix Blog or migration URL is assumed covered.
Choose The Best Destination
The best redirect target is the closest useful replacement. If /wedding-cakes becomes /custom-cakes, a permanent redirect makes sense. If three short service pages become one stronger /services page with matching sections, redirect each old page to the relevant new service page or section. If an expired coupon has no equivalent offer, forcing it to the homepage can confuse visitors and search engines.
Use a permanent 301 or 308 when the old page is gone for good and the new page should be treated as the replacement. Use a temporary 302 or 307 when the old URL is expected to come back, such as a restaurant hiding a seasonal menu while pointing visitors to the current menu. Use a real 404 when the request has no honest replacement, and consider 410 only for content that was deliberately removed and should stay gone.
A custom 404 page is still worth building. It should explain that the page is unavailable, offer search or navigation, and point visitors toward major service, menu, product, portfolio, or contact pages without pretending every missing URL has a matching replacement.
- Use 301 for a durable rename:
/about-usto/about,/services/roof-repairto/roof-repair, or/portfolio-oldto/portfolio. - Use 302 for a short-term substitution:
/holiday-menuto/menuwhile the holiday page is disabled and expected to return. - Use 404 or 410 when there is no matching page: an expired one-day event, a discontinued coupon, or a test landing page that should not be visited again.
Here is a worked migration example for a 12-page local-service site replacing an old site with a cleaner structure.
| Old URL group | Count | Decision | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renamed service pages | 5 URLs | 301 to the matching new service pages | The service still exists and the intent is the same. |
| Short blog posts merged into one guide | 3 URLs | 301 to the combined guide | The new page is the closest complete replacement. |
| Expired events with no future version | 2 URLs | Return 404 or 410 | There is no honest destination for the visitor’s request. |
| Seasonal menu page | 1 URL | 302 to the current menu | The page is expected to come back later. |
| Old PDF menu URL | 1 URL | Replace links or redirect to the current menu | The visitor wants the menu, not a generic homepage. |
The result is 8 permanent redirects, 1 temporary redirect, 2 intentional not-found or gone responses, and 1 file cleanup task. That is a better plan than 12 homepage redirects because every rule has a reason.
One Shopify cleanup exposed the same issue from the other direction: product URLs that still loaded could not be used as redirect sources, so the page state had to be handled before the rule would work. One Wix slug check also showed why automatic redirects need review: supported pages could create automatic 301s, while Wix Blog URLs still needed manual rules.
Destination actions:
- Map every old URL to one final URL, 404, 410, or file replacement.
- Use the homepage only when it is truly the closest useful destination.
- Collapse renamed URLs so old URL A points directly to final URL C, not through URL B.
Test After Launch
After redirects go live, test the old URL, the final destination, the navigation link, and the sitemap entry. Google’s HTTP status documentation says Googlebot follows up to 10 redirect hops; if it does not receive content within 10 hops, Search Console can show a redirect error in the Page Indexing report.
Your local rule should be stricter than Google’s crawl limit: send old URL A directly to final URL C instead of sending A to B and B to C. Redirect chains waste time, make troubleshooting harder, and are easy to create when a page has been renamed more than once.
Launch-day testing catches browser-visible mistakes such as loops and wrong destinations. Search Console testing catches crawler-visible mistakes after indexing data updates, including redirect errors, submitted old URLs, and sitemap entries that still point at removed pages.
Test actions:
- Open the old URL in a private browser window and confirm it lands on the intended final page.
- Check that HTTPS loads on the final URL and that the page is not password-protected, noindexed, disabled, or set to draft.
- Click the site’s menu, footer, buttons, and important blog links so internal links point directly to the final destination.
Document The Change
Keep a redirect log with the old URL, new URL or status, redirect type, reason, source, owner, and launch date. This matters when a future site owner asks why /book points to /appointments, why a Shopify product URL cannot be redirected because it is still live, or why a Webflow rule was collapsed into a wildcard.
| Field | What to record | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Old URL | The exact address visitors or crawlers may still request. | /services/family-photos |
| New URL or status | The final page, 404, or 410 if no replacement exists. | /photography/family-sessions |
| Type | 301, 302, 308, 307, 404, 410, or file replacement. | 301 |
| Reason | The business reason for the change. | Service renamed, same intent. |
| Source | Where the old URL was found. | Sitemap, Search Console, Instagram bio. |
| Owner | The person who can approve or remove the rule later. | Owner, marketer, developer, agency. |
Review the log before adding new redirects. Platform limits make this practical, not theoretical: Squarespace prioritizes URL mappings from top to bottom, Webflow recommends keeping rule count under 1,000, and Shopify documents reserved paths that cannot be used for redirects.
A redirect is correct when a visitor who asked for the old URL lands on a page that satisfies the same intent. If you cannot name that intent, do not hide the problem with a homepage rule.
Documentation actions:
- Review old rules before adding new ones so duplicates, chains, and stale campaign URLs do not pile up.
- Give each rule an owner who can approve changes after launch.
FAQ
Should every removed page redirect?
No. Redirect pages that have a close replacement, useful external links, search traffic, ad traffic, customer bookmarks, or printed URLs. Let a removed page return 404 when the content is gone and there is no useful substitute. Use 410 only when the removal is deliberate, permanent, and documented.
Is it okay to redirect old pages to the homepage?
Only when the homepage is truly the closest useful destination. A removed contact page, menu page, product page, or service page usually has a better target than the homepage.
Do redirects replace internal link cleanup?
No. Redirects protect old paths, but your live site should link directly to the final URLs. Update navigation, buttons, blog links, product links, sitemap entries, ad URLs, email templates, and Google Business Profile links where you control them.
What if the builder does not support the redirect I need?
Keep URL changes smaller, choose stable slugs before launch, or confirm redirect support with the builder, host, CDN, or domain provider before moving the old site. If redirects are important to a migration, treat redirect control as part of platform choice, not as cleanup after launch.
Do I need a custom 404 page?
Yes, if the builder allows it. A useful 404 page gives visitors a path back to services, menus, products, booking, search, or contact without sending every missing URL through a misleading redirect.
Related Resource
If you are rebuilding a small site and want help choosing stable page names before the redirect map is finalized, Website Builder can help draft the replacement structure before launch.
Sources
- WordPress.org, permalink documentation: https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/customize-permalinks/
- Squarespace Help Center, URL mappings: https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/205815308-URL-mappings