A redesign changes a website’s appearance, but visitors and search engines continue using old links. Some URLs remain in bookmarks, adverts, emails and external publications. Plan the update as a transition between two versions, with a clear future for every important page. Visual design is only one part of that work.
Inventory the current site before designing layouts
Collect pages from the sitemap, internal links, analytics and available search reports. Include language versions, documents and older URLs that already redirect. Then decide for each URL whether to keep it, update it, merge it into a relevant page or remove it if the content is genuinely no longer needed.
Do not send every removed page to the homepage. Someone looking for a particular guide or service needs relevant content. If no replacement exists, an honest missing-page response can be clearer than an unrelated redirect.
URL mapping should be specific
A migration table can record the old URL, new URL, reason for change and test result. A permanent redirect should lead directly to the final page. Redirecting through an intermediate address creates an unnecessary chain. Update internal links to current destinations directly.
01
Preserve content and URLs
Record required text, images, documents and the previous version’s route list.
02
Prepare the new structure
Map pages, language pairs, canonicals and navigation, and approve migrated content.
03
Test the transition
Check old links, forms, redirects and key user journeys before switching the live version.
Two languages need a dedicated comparison
A new Ukrainian page should not silently lose its English counterpart. Check reciprocal language links, matching meaning and each version’s own canonical. If translation is unfinished, resolve it before the move rather than leaving a language switch that sends people to a generic homepage instead of the corresponding page.
What we checked on the current ALL IT Agency website
During work on this website, we separately checked old URLs, internal links, the sitemap, canonicals and language alternatives. In the regional section, Kamianets-Podilskyi retained its standalone page, with the older city route redirected to it. This illustrates a specific decision that must survive template changes.
Checks were performed locally before any future upload. This catches code issues, but the actual domain must be checked again after the move because hosting, cache and proxy settings also affect behaviour.
What to monitor after the move
Check key URL responses, enquiry submission, resource availability and accidental noindex directives on public pages. Then monitor crawl errors and indexing in search engine tools. Redirects and sitemaps help explain the changes, but they do not justify promises of unchanged rankings or immediate search updates.
Sources and further reading
