Maybe your site has been around for years and you didn’t really think about usability or best practice when originally setting up your URLs. URLs shouldn’t be too long and should accurately reflect the content that’s on the page.
When it comes time to redesign a website it may make sense to change some of the URLs too. However, this can be dangerous if it’s not done properly for a few reasons. You don’t want to simply eliminate the old URL when the new one goes live.
The old URL is what has gained search engine trust. All new URLs don’t have that trust yet, and it can take years to establish it. It’s necessary to 301 redirect an old URL to its new URL location. To keep things organized, set up a spreadsheet that has a list of all of the old URLs, whether that URL is changing, and what the new corresponding URL will be and make sure that a developer redirects it properly.
his will help to preserve link trust and it will also prevent search spiders and users from landing on an error page when they click on a link that no longer exists.
