Site Redesign: 302 Query

[Hemblem]

Hi there,

We'll be redesigning our website www.example.com and as such want to 302 users from www.example.com and all other pages to a new URL www.example.com/landingpage while we go through the redesign. The new landing page will have copy and a sign up form on it and once the redesign is completed, we plan on removing the 302 and sending all traffic back to the original url www.example.com.

I'd just like to check that a 302 is the most relevant option here? Obviously, once redesign is completed we'll 301 any old URLs to their new locations once completed.

[GlobeRunner]

Hemblem,

Although you're redesigning the site, I actually don't recommend using a 302 redirect during the 'redesign' process, as it can have disastrous effects on search engine rankings. I would prefer that you keep the current website up and running: and then 301 redirecting the appropriate pages when the site is ready to go live.

I realize that you want to do, but I have seen too many websites have problems getting things straightened out with the search engines to do what you're suggesting.

[ThompsonPaul]

Is there a reason you don't want the existing site to be available to users while the redesign is going on? the usual process in this kind of situation is to leave the current site alone, and built the redesign site on a dev subdomain which you block from the search engines via password or IP exclusions. Then when the redesign is done, you promote the dev version to live with all the new 301 redirects already in place.

An alternative, if the site won't be out of commission for very long, is to have the site return a 503 server header code. This simply tells the search engines the site is temporarily unavailable and NOT to index anything until the 503 is removed. This ensures that the temporary landing page doesn't get indexed as the new content for the site's pages.

But still, option number 1 is preferable. Would it work in this instance?

Paul

[CommT]

It sounds like a temporary redirect so, yes a 302 would be correct. Remember 302's do not pass link juice though.