Publisher Insight
How to Map News Website URLs Before a Migration
Protect reader paths and search discovery by mapping old article URLs directly to their relevant new destinations.
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Which URLs belong in the redirect map?
Start with indexed, linked, high-traffic, and editorially important pages. Include article archives, category pages, author pages, language editions, ePaper paths, campaign pages, and retired URLs with useful replacements.
Use a spreadsheet or migration tool with one row per old path, its intended destination, reason, status, and test result. Flag many-to-one mappings for editorial review instead of automatically sending every old page to the homepage.
How should a publisher choose a destination?
Map an old URL to the closest available page that serves the same reader need. Keep the URL unchanged when it remains useful and supported. If content is merged, select the destination that carries the strongest continuity and add context for readers where needed.
A redirect should not be used to disguise a missing page or send unrelated stories to a high-level section. If there is no meaningful destination, decide whether the old page should remain available or return an appropriate not-found response.
How do canonicals and internal links fit?
Every destination should identify its preferred canonical URL consistently. Update navigation, article links, related stories, structured data, and sitemap entries to use the final URL rather than relying on redirects.
Test for loops, chains, HTTP/HTTPS mismatches, trailing-slash differences, language mistakes, and redirects to pages that no longer exist. Google recommends permanent server-side redirects for URL changes when they are technically available.
What should be monitored after launch?
Check representative old URLs from every content type, then review server logs, Search Console indexing signals, crawl errors, canonical selection, and important landing-page traffic. Keep the map so the team can resolve newly discovered legacy URLs quickly.
Do not remove redirects simply because the first crawl is complete. Keep valuable reader paths working and replace internal links with direct destinations to reduce unnecessary hops.
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