What to do with indexed pages?

[mrhunter89]

Hello,

I have an old website which is not responsive and doesn't have any SSL certficate.

I was about to install the SSL and create a fresh and responsive design using Wordpress but I noticed that there are many pages(.html) already indexed on Google and I don't want to lose them.

What are the best practices for not losing the current index of the pages?

Thanks in advance!

 

[backbonee4all]

Simple solution
Make 301 redirect for all indexed result pages(.html) ..

 

[tazarbm]

recreate the pages (URL + content) and redirect them to their corresponding URL if they're worth the redirection, otherwise still redirect them but to the homepage... actually, to the page that is the most relevant to them. If there's no relevant page then redirect them to the homepage

 

[mrhunter89]

Simple solution
Make 301 redirect for all indexed result pages(.html) ..

Great, thanks!

Is there any other best practice I should keep in mind when redesigning the new website?

recreate the pages (URL + content) and redirect them to their corresponding URL if they're worth the redirection, otherwise still redirect them but to the homepage... actually, to the page that is the most relevant to them. If there's no relevant page then redirect them to the homepage

My idea was to recreate all the indexed pages on Wordpress but this will change the URLs to something like mydomain.com/my-new-page instead of mydomain.com/myoldpage.html.

From what I understand, making a Redirect 301 pointing from myoldpage.html to /my-new-page will keep the page indexed on Google.

Correct?

 

[backbonee4all]

My idea was to recreate all the indexed pages on Wordpress but this will change the URLs to something like mydomain.com/my-new-page instead of mydomain.com/myoldpage.html.

From what I understand, making a Redirect 301 pointing from myoldpage.html to /my-new-page will keep the page indexed on Google.

Correct?

Correct

 

[GreatSensie]

html files won't be affected when you install wordpress.

 

[Black Belt Spodermen]

Use the 301 redirection which will pass the link juice and your rankings will come back in a week or two. Use Redirection plugin for the same.

 

[mrhunter89]

Thank you all for your help, I really appreciate that!

 

[zackh]

My idea was to recreate all the indexed pages on Wordpress but this will change the URLs to something like mydomain.com/my-new-page instead of mydomain.com/myoldpage.html.

If you want to keep the exact URL, i.e using .html at the end of the URL, go to setting -> permalink -> choose Custom Structure
On the box provided use this: /%postname%.html
It will affect all of your URLs, old and new.

 

[backbonee4all]

Great, thanks!

Is there any other best practice I should keep in mind when redesigning the new website?

1. Create new site offline, migrate all contents, take care of all URLs from old site.
2. When the site is ready, upload it to the server
3. Secure the new site
4. Monitor any 404 errors and fix them.
5. if SSL enable redirect http to https
6. ALL done remove the old backup files

 

[mrhunter89]

1. Create new site offline, migrate all contents, take care of all URLs from old site.
2. When the site is ready, upload it to the server
3. Secure the new site
4. Monitor any 404 errors and fix them.
5. if SSL enable redirect http to https
6. ALL done remove the old backup files

Fantastic!

So I can remove the old pages .html after redirecting in the .htaccess or I keep a copy on the server?

 

[backbonee4all]

Fantastic!

So I can remove the old pages .html after redirecting in the .htaccess or I keep a copy on the server?

1.You can use 301 redirect plugin simple way
2.no Need to keep copy ..
3.just redirect old page url to redesign new url page ..

ping me any Query @backbonee4all

 

[tazarbm]

From what I understand, making a Redirect 301 pointing from myoldpage.html to /my-new-page will keep the page indexed on Google.

Correct?

yes

 

[Clay_P]

Great question! When changing your website, you should adhere to the following best practices to prevent losing the existing index of your pages:

Use 301 redirects: You must redirect the old URLs to the new ones when switching from HTTP to HTTPS and when changing URLs. You can do this using 301 redirects. Search engines will now be informed that the page has migrated permanently, and any link from the old URL will now be transferred to the new one.

Submit an updated sitemap: After modifying your website, use Google Search Console to submit a new sitemap to Google. This will accelerate the crawling and indexing of your new pages by Google.

Update internal links: Make sure to update any internal links on your website to point to the new URLs. This will ensure that users can still navigate your website correctly.

Monitor Google Search Console: Watch Google Search Console for any crawl or indexing errors that may occur. You'll get an adequate hint of how Google is indexing and crawling your new website from this.

You can avoid losing the current index of your pages after changing your website by adhering to these best practices.

Good luck!