How do I set up redirects when switching website builders?

When switching website builders, redirects matter if any page URLs are changing. If the domain and every page URL stay exactly the same, you usually don’t need redirects.

A practical migration process

1. Make a list of your current URLs.

   Export or crawl your site’s pages, including important blog posts, product pages, and landing pages.

1. Map each old URL to its closest equivalent new URL.

   For example:

Avoid sending every missing page to the homepage; send visitors to the most relevant replacement. If a page has no equivalent, consider leaving it unavailable rather than redirecting it somewhere unrelated.

1. Set up permanent redirects—usually 301s.

   Add them in the new builder’s URL-redirect settings, or wherever your domain/hosting is configured to handle redirects. A server-side 301 or 308 is generally preferred for a permanent move. (developers.google.com)

For example, redirect:

   https://example.com/about-us

to:

   https://example.com/about

1. Publish the new site, then test the old URLs.

   Check that each old address goes directly to the right new page—not to an error, an irrelevant page, or another redirect that creates a chain. Test both desktop and mobile if your builder handles them differently.

1. Update links and search-engine files.

   Change internal links, navigation, canonical URLs, and your sitemap to use the new URLs. Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console and monitor it for crawl errors.

1. If you’re also changing domains, verify both domains in Search Console and, after redirects are working, use Google’s Change of Address tool. It’s for domain or subdomain moves—not a builder change when the domain stays the same. (support.google.com)

Keep the old domain registered and the redirects active so old bookmarks, links, and search results continue to work. Google recommends maintaining redirects for as long as possible; changing a site’s URLs can take time for crawlers to process. (developers.google.com)

The exact steps depend on the two builders. If you tell me which builder you’re moving from and to, and whether your domain is changing, I can give you the specific setup steps.

Here's the usual process for moving to a new builder without losing search traffic. Most of it is the same regardless of platform. Only the place where you enter the redirects changes.

1. Inventory your old URLs. Crawl the current site (or export its page list) so you have every URL that people or search engines might reach. For every URL in the crawl that returns a 200 status, decide its destination on the new site.

2. Build a one-to-one map. Put old and new URLs in two columns of a spreadsheet. This becomes both your redirect rules and your post-launch QA checklist. Send each page to its closest counterpart. Redirecting many pages to the homepage is a common mistake. Google can treat homepage-only redirects as soft 404s and remove the inherited signal value. Pages with no equivalent can go to the nearest relevant category page, and pages you're deliberately dropping can return a 410.

3. Use 301 redirects. A 301 (Moved Permanently) is the right code for migrated content and renamed URLs. A 302 is for temporary changes. The most common migration SEO bug is accidentally using 302s, which many CMS UIs default to. Check the status code on your redirects after launch.

4. Set up the redirects in the new builder before switching DNS. Most builders have a URL redirect manager (Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, and Shopify all do, though the menu names differ). Import your map there. Format requirements vary: Webflow wants "Old Path → New Path", and Squarespace wants "/old -> /new 301" lines. Make sure each destination page is live first. A 301 redirect to a 404 page is worse than no redirect at all.

5. Test before and after launch. Check that each old URL returns a 301, that the destination returns a 200, and that there are no chains (redirect → redirect → page). Crawl your staging URL with Screaming Frog in "list mode" using your old-URL CSV to check them in bulk.

6. Keep the old site's DNS or hosting running. Redirects have to be served from somewhere. Do not cancel the old hosting the day you launch. If you're leaving a host that holds the redirect rules, keep it working until the redirects have been picked up.

7. Tell Google, if the change warrants it. For a full domain change, add and verify both properties in Search Console, then use the Change of Address tool on the old property. The tool is not for HTTPS, www or same-domain path changes. For those, rely on redirects and canonical tags instead. Also submit a new sitemap with the new URLs.

8. Update internal links and keep redirects long-term. Point your own links and navigation at the new URLs. Keep the redirects in place for a long time. Google's documentation recommends maintaining redirects for at least 180 days. Many SEOs suggest a year or longer if old URLs still get search traffic.

If you tell me which builders you're moving between (e.g., Wix to Webflow, or WordPress to Shopify), I can give you the specific steps for that pair.

Setting up redirects when switching website builders is a critical step in preserving your SEO rankings and ensuring a smooth user experience. If you do not redirect your old URLs to your new ones, visitors and search engines will encounter "404 Page Not Found" errors, which can lead to a significant loss of traffic and search authority.

Here is the step-by-step process for managing redirects during a platform migration.

1. Create a Redirect Map (Before You Move)

Do not wait until your new site is live to think about redirects. Create a spreadsheet that acts as your master plan.

• Inventory your old URLs: Crawl your current website to get a full list of every existing page. You can also use your sitemap (yoursite.com/sitemap.xml), Google Search Console, or your analytics data to ensure you don't miss any high-traffic pages.
• Map to new destinations: In your spreadsheet, create two columns: Old URL and New URL.
  • Match each old page to the most relevant equivalent on the new site.
  • If a page is being removed, find the next most logical page to redirect it to (e.g., a relevant category page) rather than just the homepage, which can be seen as a "soft 404".
• Prioritize: Focus on high-traffic pages and pages with many backlinks first.

2. Choose the Right Redirect Type

• Always use 301 redirects: A 301 redirect is a "permanent" redirect. It tells search engines that the page has moved for good and instructs them to pass the "link equity" (SEO authority) from the old page to the new one.
• Avoid 302 redirects: These are for "temporary" moves and do not pass SEO authority effectively.

3. Implement the Redirects

The method depends on your hosting and platform:

• Built-in Tools: Many modern website builders (like Wix, HubSpot, or Shopify) have a "URL Redirects" section in their settings. You can often upload your spreadsheet there via CSV to handle bulk redirects automatically.
• Server-Level (.htaccess): If you are moving from a platform like WordPress hosted on an Apache server, you can add 301 redirect rules directly into your .htaccess file. Warning: Always back up your file first, as a single typo can break your site.
• Domain Forwarding: If you are moving your entire domain to a new one, your domain registrar may offer a "domain forwarding" feature that handles the bulk of this, but you will still need to ensure individual page paths are mapped correctly if the URL structure has changed.

4. Best Practices for Success

• Avoid redirect chains: Always redirect an old URL directly to the final destination. Do not chain them (e.g., A → B → C), as this slows down your site and can confuse search engines.
• Test before launch: Test a sample of your redirects on a staging site or immediately after the move to ensure they land on the correct pages.
• Keep them permanent: Once you have moved, keep your redirects in place indefinitely. Removing them later will break the links you've worked so hard to preserve.
• Monitor post-launch: Check your 404 error logs in Google Search Console after the launch to identify and fix any URLs you might have missed.

When switching website builders, set up a permanent redirect for each old page that has moved. The main goal is to send visitors—and search engines—from every old URL to its closest equivalent on the new site, not simply to the new homepage.

A practical migration checklist

1. List your old URLs. Export or collect URLs from your old sitemap, analytics, and Search Console. Make a spreadsheet with columns for the old URL, its new destination, and redirect status. Google recommends preparing this URL map before the move. ¹

1. Keep URLs the same where you can. If a page’s URL changes, map it to the corresponding page on the new builder. For example:

   /services → /our-services
/blog/post-name → /articles/post-name

1. Create the redirects in the new builder. Look for a feature named URL Redirects, URL Redirect Manager, or 301 redirects. Add each old path and its new destination. Wix and Shopify both provide redirect tools; their dashboard steps differ, so check the builder’s help center for the exact workflow. ²³

1. Use permanent redirects for permanent moves. A 301 (or 308) is generally appropriate when a URL has permanently moved. Avoid redirect chains—old URL → intermediate URL → new URL—and point each old URL directly to its final destination. Google recommends server-side permanent redirects when available. ¹⁴

1. Test before and after launch. Check important URLs and a sample of the rest: each should land on the intended page, without a 404, loop, or chain. Also check mobile pages and links from your old domain.

1. Update the new site and Search Console. Update internal links so they point directly to the new URLs, publish the new sitemap, and monitor both sites for crawl errors and traffic changes. If you’re also changing domains, Google recommends using Search Console’s Change of Address tool when applicable. ¹⁵

1. Keep redirects in place. Google recommends keeping migration redirects for at least a year; keep them longer if people or search engines still use the old URLs. ¹

Important: If you’re keeping the same domain, you usually don’t need a domain-change redirect—just redirects for URLs that changed. If you’re changing domains too, make sure the old domain remains active and forwards page-by-page to the new domain.

Sources: ¹ Google: Site moves with URL changes · ² Wix: URL redirects when moving to Wix · ³ Shopify: URL redirects · ⁴ Google: Redirects and Google Search · ⁵ Google Search Console: Change of Address