Build a URL inventory before redesigning your website

Look beyond the visible menu

The navigation may not expose every existing address. Product details, old guides, campaigns and translated pages can remain useful even after disappearing from the menu. Sitemaps, known links and authorised Search Console access can help build the inventory. Record missing evidence rather than assuming the list is complete.

Create columns for the old URL, subject, content to retain, new target and decision. Include important contact or booking functions. This makes business-critical information visible while the visual layout changes. Keep customer details and private administration routes out of public migration reports.

Choose a justified decision for each URL

Consider retaining the address when the page continues to answer the same need. If the URL changes, map it to the closest relevant replacement. A retired page without equivalent new content needs a separate removal decision. A shorter navigation menu alone is not a reason to discard valuable pages.

Illustrative example: an old ‘service-a.html’ page and a new ‘/service-a/’ page covering the same service can form a sensible pair. Redirecting that service explanation to an unrelated homepage does not preserve what the visitor was looking for. This is a planning example, not a claim about an actual client migration.

Test redirects after publication

Google’s redirect documentation distinguishes permanent from temporary moves. Use an appropriate permanent redirect for a genuinely permanent URL change, with implementation adapted to the hosting platform. Recording a target in a spreadsheet is not proof that the live redirect works: open the old address and verify the destination and content.

Check the new page’s canonical, internal links and sitemap too. Resolve unnecessary chains or loops. Maintain language intent: sending an English service page to a Turkish homepage is not a useful content mapping simply because both belong to the same business.

Include a rollback route in the release plan

Date the inventory and mapping table. Keep the release files, required access and reference to the previous working version in the handover record. If a defect appears, this makes a scoped reversal possible. A careful migration checklist reduces avoidable mistakes; it does not guarantee unchanged rankings.

• Important old URLs and languages inventoried.
• Retention, mapping and retirement decisions justified.
• Replacement pages answer the same customer need.
• Old and new URLs checked on the live site.
• Previous version and rollback method recorded.