How to Redesign Your Website Without Breaking Old Links

A website redesign can make your business easier to understand and your services easier to find. But there is a less visible detail worth protecting: the links people already use to reach you.

Customers may have bookmarked a service page. Your social profiles may link to an appointment page. A printed QR code may point to an address you set up years ago. Those links should still lead somewhere useful after the redesign.

The safest starting point is to keep existing page addresses whenever they still make sense, then redirect the ones that must change. You do not need to handle the technical work yourself, but you should know what to ask for and how to check it.

1. Make a list of your current page addresses

A page’s URL is its web address, such as https://example.com/services/window-cleaning. Changing a page’s colors, photographs, or layout does not necessarily require changing that address.

Before anyone replaces the old website, make a simple inventory. For a small site, a spreadsheet is enough. Start with:

• Pages in your main navigation and footer
• Individual service or product pages
• Blog posts and helpful resources
• Booking, quote-request, and inquiry pages
• PDFs or downloads linked from the site
• Landing pages used in ads, emails, or social profiles

Do not rely only on the navigation menu. Some useful pages may be linked from older posts or campaigns without appearing in the menu.

Ask your current website provider whether they can export a page list. An existing sitemap can also help you find addresses. Google explains how a site's old URLs can be gathered and mapped in its guidance for site moves with URL changes.

Add any addresses used outside your website, too. Check your Google Business Profile, social bios, email signature, business cards, brochures, and QR codes. For each one, record the exact destination—not just “the booking page.”

Your deliverable: one list of old URLs, saved before the old website disappears.

2. Decide what stays, what moves, and what retires

Next, give every old address a clear destination or decision. A useful spreadsheet has four columns:

These are planning examples, not a recommendation to rename your pages.

Use three questions to make each decision:

Does this page still serve the same purpose? Keep its address if you can. A redesign alone is not a reason to rename every page.

Is there a genuinely equivalent new page? Plan a redirect to that page. If an old service page becomes part of a broader service page, make sure the new page actually covers what the visitor expects.

Has the content ended with no useful replacement? It may be appropriate to retire the page rather than send visitors somewhere unrelated. Google's site-move guidance recommends a 404 or 410 response for removed content without a replacement. Your developer can handle that setting.

Avoid sending every removed page to the homepage. Someone following a link to a specific service still needs information about that service. Google also warns against redirecting many old URLs to an irrelevant destination.

If you are planning Website design, include this mapping work in the project scope—not as an afterthought once the new site is ready.

3. Arrange permanent redirects for changed addresses

A redirect automatically takes someone from an old address to a new one. For a permanent page move, ask your website provider to use a permanent server-side redirect, commonly called a 301 redirect.

Google's redirect documentation explains the different types and recommends server-side redirects where possible. You do not need to choose the technical implementation yourself; the important thing is to make the intended move clear.

Give your provider the spreadsheet and ask:

• Can this website platform redirect every address marked “Move”?
• Will the redirects work immediately when the new site launches?
• Will each old address go directly to its final destination?
• Who will maintain these rules after launch?

Going directly matters. Avoid unnecessary routes such as old page → temporary page → renamed page → final page. Google recommends redirecting to the final destination rather than building redirect chains.

If you are also changing your domain name, ask who will keep the old domain registered and maintain its redirects. Do not assume the old address will keep forwarding after you cancel services.

Google advises keeping redirects for as long as possible, generally at least one year, in its site-move guidance. For addresses printed on materials you still distribute, keeping them working longer may also make practical sense.

4. Update links you control instead of relying on redirects

Redirects protect old links, but your new website should link directly to its current pages.

Before launch, review:

• Navigation menus and footer links
• Buttons within service pages
• Links inside blog posts
• Image links and downloadable resources
• Booking and inquiry links
• The logo link back to the homepage

Then update destinations outside the website wherever you have access. That includes social profiles, business listings, email templates, and active advertising campaigns.

Printed materials need a different approach. You cannot edit a brochure that is already in someone's hands. Test its QR code or printed URL and make sure it still leads to the intended content. Update the destination on future print runs when appropriate.

Also ask your provider to update the website's XML sitemap to reflect the new URLs. A sitemap is a file that helps search engines discover pages; it is not a promise that every page will be indexed. Google's sitemap guidance explains what to include and how to submit it.

5. Test customer journeys, not just the homepage

A polished homepage does not tell you whether the rest of the launch worked. Test the paths a customer would actually follow.

Before launch, review the new pages on the preview site. Once the new site is live, test the old public URLs against your spreadsheet.

For each important address:

1. Paste the old URL directly into your browser.
2. Confirm it reaches the intended new page.
3. Check that the page answers the same basic need.
4. Try the main action, such as requesting a quote or booking.
5. Repeat the key checks on a phone.

Ask your provider to verify the technical redirect responses as well. Seeing a page load is useful, but it does not confirm that the correct redirect type was used.

Prioritize pages tied to inquiries, sales, appointments, downloads, or active promotions. Submit a test inquiry and confirm that it reaches the right inbox. Follow booking links far enough to verify the destination without creating unwanted appointments.

Keep a short issue list with the address, what happened, and what should happen. “Old service link goes to homepage” is much easier to fix than “some links seem wrong.”

6. Leave launch with an owner and a follow-up plan

Agree on who will check for problems after launch and how you should report them. A redesign is easier to manage when responsibilities are written down.

Ask for a handoff that includes:

• The completed URL map
• Confirmation that redirects were tested
• The location of the redirect settings
• Any unresolved issues
• The person responsible for follow-up checks

If you use Google Search Console, ask your provider to review indexing and redirect issues after the change. Google notes that significant site moves can cause temporary search visibility fluctuations while pages are processed. A careful plan reduces avoidable mistakes; it does not guarantee unchanged rankings.

If ongoing checks are outside the redesign scope, decide whether you will handle them or arrange Website care.

Icy Owl Design can help small businesses in Ludington and beyond plan a redesign with these details included. If you are unsure what should happen to your existing pages, Contact us before replacing the old site. A page list and a clear handoff are good places to start.