Technical SEO
How to Build a Redirect Map for a Website Migration
The redirect map is the single most important document in a migration. Here’s how to build one.
Google’s site move guidance asks you to map every old URL to its new URL, using sources such as sitemaps, server logs, analytics, your CMS and Search Console’s Links report, and to include images, video, JavaScript and CSS files where they move too.
Get the map right and most of a migration’s risk goes away. Get it wrong and pages that earned traffic disappear.
Short answer: To build a redirect map: export every existing URL from your sitemaps, CMS, analytics, server logs and Search Console; add URLs with backlinks or traffic; match each old URL to its closest new equivalent (not the home page); mark removed content for 404 or 410; implement server-side 301 or 308 redirects that go straight to the final URL; test every row before and after launch; and keep redirects in place for at least a year.
Key Takeaways
- Collect URLs from several sources; no single source has them all.
- Map each URL to its closest equivalent, not the home page.
- Use server-side 301 or 308 redirects, straight to the final URL.
- Test the whole map before and after launch.
- Keep redirects for at least a year, Google recommends.
Step 1: Collect every old URL
| Source | Why |
|---|---|
| XML sitemaps | The URLs you intended to be indexed |
| CMS export | Pages, posts, products and categories |
| Analytics landing pages | URLs that actually receive visits |
| Search Console (Performance, Links) | URLs with impressions and with external links |
| Server logs or a site crawl | URLs Google and users request, including old ones |
Step 2: Map each URL
- Match on content, not just URL similarity.
- One-to-one where the content still exists.
- Merged content: redirect all old URLs to the page that now covers them.
- Removed content with no equivalent: return 404 or 410 rather than redirecting to the home page.
- Include images, PDFs and other files that move.
Step 3: Implement properly
- Use server-side permanent redirects (301 or 308).
- Redirect straight to the final URL; avoid chains.
- Update internal links to point to new URLs directly.
- Give new pages self-referencing canonicals and update hreflang if used.
Step 4: Test and monitor
- Test every row on staging: status code and final destination.
- Retest on launch day.
- Submit the new sitemap; keep the old one temporarily to watch redirects get processed.
- Watch Page indexing and Performance reports; see traffic drops after migration.
Redesigns count too
A redesign that changes URLs is a migration. Use the same process, and follow the website migration SEO checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Can I redirect everything to the home page?
Google advises against irrelevant redirects. Redirect each URL to its closest equivalent, or let it 404.
How long should redirects stay in place?
Google recommends at least a year.
What about URLs with no traffic?
Map them anyway if they have external links or appear in Search Console; otherwise a 404 is acceptable.
Planning a migration or redesign?
We build the redirect map, test it before launch and monitor indexing afterwards.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Site moves with URL changes
- Google Search Central: Redirects and Google Search
Last reviewed October 14, 2026.
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