Important Notice: Our web hosting provider recently started charging us for additional visits, which was unexpected. In response, we're seeking donations. Depending on the situation, we may explore different monetization options for our Community and Expert Contributors. It's crucial to provide more returns for their expertise and offer more Expert Validated Answers or AI Validated Answers. Learn more about our hosting issue here.

Ive finally redesigned my circa-1997 Web site, and all the file names have changed. What should I do to ensure that the search engines index my new pages?

April 26, 2017changed ensure file index names Redesigned search engines web site

0

Posted

Ive finally redesigned my circa-1997 Web site, and all the file names have changed. What should I do to ensure that the search engines index my new pages?

1 Answer

0

Posted

You should redirect all the old URLs to the new ones, via a 301-permanent redirect. If you’re on an apache server, this can be done via the .htaccess file. There’s more information in our 301-redirect forum. You may also want to submit a sitemap to Google with the new URLs. Or, you could try Greg Boser’s method of redirecting the old files to the new ones via a 301, and then actually submitting a sitemap to Google with the old URLs. This apparently causes Google to try to reindex them, and the 301 immediately tells them their new location.