Redirection in two phases
-
Hi,
One of my client want a website revamp in two phases.
The first phase would be to move the CMS from Sharepoint to Drupal keeping the same content and URLs but the page extension will change (it could become php or just the name of the page without any extension)
The second phase will be a content revamp with URL change.
The first phase will last 3 weeks and then we will push the second phase with the new content and the new URL.
Some shortcuts to make it a more readable:
- old url = OURL
- old url with new extension = OURLEX
- new URL = NURL
My problem is how can I manage the redirections. Should I:
- Phase 1: create one rule that will redirect all the OURL to the OURLEX
- Phase 2: keep the rule I created in phase 1 and add rules for OURLEX to NURL
Or
- Phase 1: create one rule that will redirect all the OURL to the OURLEX
- Phase 2: keep the rule I created in phase 1 and add redirect OURL to NURL
Or
- Phase 1: create one rule that will redirect all the OURL to the OURLEX
- Phase 2: remove the rule I created in phase 1 and add redirect OURL to NURL
Or
- Phase 1: create a rules for each OURL that will redirect all the pages to OURLEX
- Phase 2: remove the rules I created in phase 1 and redirect the OURL to NURL
Or
- Phase 1: create a rules for each OURL that will redirect all the pages to the OURLEX
- Phase 2: keep the rules I created in phase 1 and add rules to redirect the OURLEX to the NURL
Or
- something else you think is better
Difficult to explain, let me know if it's understandable.
Thanks for you help!
GaB
-
Hi Sha,
I'm changing all the file names and we do have a DB behind the site infrastructure (Drupal) but no unique ID so I guess we'll have to do many rules.
Thanks for your help Sha.
-
Hi GaB,
Sorry, I missed your reference to the URL changes in the original question.
It will depend on exactly what the changes are as to how many Rules will be needed to create the 301 redirects.
If you are retaining file names, but moving whole directories to a new location, then this can be achieved with a single Rule.For example, to 301 Redirect all filenames in Useless Folder 1 to the identical filenames in Relevant Folder 2 can be achieved with a single Rule.
For URLs where the actual filenames will change, or where only some files are relocated you would need to implement individual Rules for each URL.
However, if your site is large, there is another alternative, provided that your URL structure supports it. That would be the use of Database Rewrites to implement the 301 redirects as URL's are requested from the server.
There are some requirements for this to be a viable option:
- There must be a Database behind your site infrastructure
- There must be some identifier in the URLs that will remain constant with the change in site structure. Most commonly this would be a unique product ID number or product name
Basically what happens with Database Rewrites is that when the server receives a request for a URL, the identifier is matched against those in the Database and when the match is found the 301 Redirect is written and the new URL served.
For very large sites Database Rewrites would be the most suitable solution as very long lists of Rules in the .htaccess will eventually impact processing and load times.
Hope that helps,
Sha
-
Thanks Sha,
You are right, I will do a rewrite for phase 1 but for phase 2 I will need a lot of rewrite rules because the URL structure will change since I optimize it (removing useless folder, adding keywords, etc...) for pretty much every pages.
I don't think I have a choice here.
-
GaB, go with Sha's answer. It is a superior solution to my suggestion. I had a bit of tunnel vision and the rewrite idea did not come to mind.
-
Hi GaB,
I would suggest a completely different solution.
I would not use 301 Redirects for the Phase 1 change. Rather, I would use a Rewrite Rule to serve the file with the new extension. The Rewrite Rule is basically telling the server to serve OURLEX when a request is made for OURL. The nett result of this is that as far as the Search Engine is concerned, nothing changes.
Here is a Code example which will serve the .php when the .aspx is requested:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^(.*).aspx$ $1.php [L]Then, when Phase 2 is complete, I would implement the 301 redirects using a single Rule once again to permanently redirect all OURL's to NURL's. So, the solution I would recommend is the last one on your list.
Option 6 - Something else I think is better:
- Phase 1: Use Rewrite Rule to satisfy all requests for the OURL by serving the OURLEX
- Phase 2: create one rule that will 301 redirect all the OURL to the NURL
It is best to keep in mind that a 301 redirect should only be used when you intend the redirect to be permanent. Also while Google's stated position is that googlebot will follow multiple 301 redirects, it has also said that "daisy chaining" them is not generally a good practice. There are two reasons for this:
- Google's Matt Cutts has indicated that "at some point we will stop following them if there are a lot of them"
Should you happen to have other domains that are already 301'd to the site, the daisy chain effect is amplified. - As Ryan mentioned, the small amount of link juice that is lost with a 301 Redirect does accumulate over multiple redirects and can have a negative impact.
Hope that helps,
Sha
-
You are absolutely correct. I failed to mentioned a 3rd step required for that solution:
one rule to redirect all OURLEX to NURL
-
Thanks for your answer.
I'm trying to push a one phase approach but since I'm not sure we will be allowed to do it I prefer to have a back-up plan.
With the methode you mention woudn't it be a problem if the robot index the temporary OURLEX during the 3 weeks (my redirections will all be 301)?
-
Generally speaking, I would not recommend this two phase approach but instead completing the work in a single phase. I'll set that idea aside and presume the two-phased approach is a requirement.
the same content and URLs but the page extension will change (it could become php or just the name of the page without any extension)
I would strongly recommend using the page name without any extension. It not only looks better but it will save you work and benefit your SEO the next time you change systems.
The approach I would recommend is your 3rd option:
- Phase 1: create one rule that will redirect all the OURL to the OURLEX
- Phase 2: remove the rule I created in phase 1 and add redirect OURL to NURL
You want to redirect your site with as few rules as possible to minimize the effort, reduce errors, and minimize server overhead. Additionally, you want to redirect pages with a single redirect. It is a bad practice to allow pages to endure multiple redirects as you will lose a lot of link juice.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Redirect Chain Issue
I just found I'm having a redirect chain issue for http://ifixappliancesla.com (301 Moved Permanently). According to Moz, "Your page is redirecting to a page that is redirecting to a page that is redirecting to a page... and so on" These are the pages involved: 301 Moved Permanently
Technical SEO | | VELV
http://ifixappliancesla.com
https://ifixappliancesla.com https://www.ifixappliancesla.com/ This is what Yoast support told me: "The redirect adds the https and then the www, ending at: https://www.ifixappliancesla.com/. You want all variants of your site's domain to end up at: https://www.ifixappliancesla.com/ " - which is totally true. But I would also like not to have the redirect chain issue! Could you please give me an advise on how to properly redirect my pages so I don't have that issue anymore?0 -
How do you fix redirect chains and temporary redirects?
Hi, I have a lot of issues popping up with temporary redirects and redirect chains. I'm still confused as to what exactly redirect chains are and I don't know how to find where the "chains" are or how to fix them. I'm having two issues mainly:1. Temporary RedirectsI have around 100 pages on our www.twowayradiosfor.com website that are being flagged as temporary redirects. All of them have one thing in common: they are review pages (basically, when a customer clicks on the Review button to review a certain product, they are redirected to a review page for that product).URL Example: https://www.twowayradiosfor.com/reviewhelpful.asp?ProductCode=CLS1410-COMBO&ID=44&yes=noI went into our website and set any URL containing the following as noindex:/review.aspWill that fix the issue? If yes, will I also need to do that for any URL containing /reviewhelpful.asp?2. Redirect ChainsIt seems like basically every product page on my website has this issue (over 100 pages). Here's an example of one:https://www.twowayradiosfor.com/Motorola-CLS1110-p/cls1110.htmI don't see any broken links on this page or links that redirect to another page that redirects, etc. What is causing this? Is it something on my header bar that is redirecting (since that header bar appears on every page, maybe that is why this issue shows up on a lot of pages)?I am new to Moz and still trying to figure this stuff out. I really appreciate any help. Thanks, Sawyer
Technical SEO | | AllChargedUp0 -
Redirect to get better ranking
I have three pages of my website ranking for a keyword: landing page and two blogposts. They all rank on top of page 2 (positions 11-13).If I redirect these articles to the landing page, will it help to bring it up in rankings?
Technical SEO | | imoney0 -
Increase 404 errors or 301 redirects?
Hi all, I'm working on an e-commerce site that sells products that may only be available for a certain period of time. Eg. A product may only be selling for 1 year and then be permanently out of stock. When a product goes out of stock, the page is removed from the site regardless of any links it may have gotten over time. I am trying to figure out the best way to handle these permanently out of stock pages. At the moment, the site is set up to return a 404 page for each of these products. There are currently 600 (and increasing) instances of this appearing on Google Webmasters. I have read that too many 404 errors may have a negative impact on your site, and so thought I might 301 redirect these URLs to a more appropriate page. However I've also read that too many 301 redirects may have a negative impact on your site. I foresee this to be an issue several years down the road when the site has thousands of expired products which will result in thousands of 404 errors or 301 redirects depending on which route I take. Which would be the better route? Is there a better solution?
Technical SEO | | Oxfordcomma0 -
CPanel Redirects: Know How Needed
I have ran into something I have not ran into in the past. cpanel, setting a 301 redirect. --Drop down domain choice ----- / ---- ?attachment_id=539 http://ipromotis.com (Only box marked is redirect with or without www) Produces 301 Redirect http://ipromotis.com to http://ipromotis.com
Technical SEO | | yeagerd0 -
How do I fix a 301 Redirect Loop?
Saturday I waas doing some correcting of some duplicate titles, including nofollowing tags, etc. (my main problem was duplicate titles due to tags and categories being indexed). Now this morning I see that one of my pages refuses to load, citing a 301 redirect loop. http://www.incredibleinfant.com/feeding/switching-baby-formula/ Originally, the page was posted under the wrong category. http://www.incredibleinfant.com/uncategorized/switching-baby-formula I resaved it under the correct category (feeding) and now it won't load. Can someone help me figure out how to correct this mess? Thanks so much Heather
Technical SEO | | Gotmoxie0 -
Redirect or not to redirect
We are rebuilding a website and try to get rid of errors. The content remains exactly the same but we correct the code and make it load faster. The site has quite many backlinks and I can't decide whether to remove .html endings from the urls and 301 redirect to the new ones or leave them with the older ending. If I remove the endings how much of the link juice will be passed? Anyone any idea?
Technical SEO | | sesertin0 -
Rel - canonical vs 301 redirect
I have multiple product pages on my site - what is better for rankings in your experiance? If I 301 the pages to 1 correct version of the product page - or if I rel caanonical to the one correct page?
Technical SEO | | DavidS-2820610