Export the old URLs while the old site still works
A redirect map is much easier to build before launch. Export URLs from the current Sitemap, crawl data, analytics landing pages, Search Console, and any important campaign lists. No single source contains everything.
Add the planned destination beside each old URL. The best destination serves the same intent; sending every removed page to the homepage is convenient for the migration team but rarely helpful to the visitor.
Prefer one permanent hop
Old URL to new URL is the clean pattern. Chains such as old to temporary to new add latency and make future maintenance harder. Update internal links so visitors and crawlers go directly to the final address.
Test query strings, uppercase variants, trailing slashes, and the HTTP-to-HTTPS or host change. Migrations often fail at the edges rather than on the handful of URLs everyone checks manually.
Launch is the start of monitoring
After launch, crawl the old URL list and verify final status, destination, canonical, and indexability. Submit the new Sitemap and inspect high-value URLs in Search Console.
Keep the redirects long enough for old links and bookmarks to remain useful. Watch 404 logs and search performance, but avoid changing the map every time daily traffic moves; migrations need a stable period for recrawling.
Practical checklist
- Combine old URLs from Sitemaps, analytics, links, and crawls.
- Map each valuable old page to the closest relevant destination.
- Avoid redirect chains and homepage catch-alls.
- Update internal links, canonicals, and hreflang references.
- Crawl the old URL list again after launch.