The Importance of Using Redirections When Removing Pages on a Small Business Website

When running a small business website, keeping your site up-to-date is crucial for both user experience and search engine performance. As your business evolves, some web pages may become redundant, outdated, or no longer serve their intended purpose. However, removing pages outright without considering the consequences can have a detrimental impact on your site’s search engine optimisation (SEO), user experience, and overall online performance.

This is where redirections come into play. Redirects are an essential tool that can help you manage your website effectively when you’re removing pages, while still maintaining a smooth and professional experience for both users and search engines. In this blog post, we’ll explore why redirections are important, the different types of redirections, and how small business owners can use them effectively when removing pages from their website. Of course, if you are using a professional or experienced web designer these redirections should be done by them, but it’s always worth checking that they have remembered and where the redirections point to make sure that you think they make sense.

Why Are Redirections Important?

When you delete or remove a page from your website, it creates a “404 error” (Page Not Found) if a user or search engine tries to access that page. A 404 error can negatively impact your website in a few ways:

1. User Experience: If customers or potential clients are trying to find specific content that no longer exists, they’ll be met with an error page. This creates frustration, increases the likelihood that they’ll leave your website, and reduces trust in your brand.
2. SEO Impact: When search engines like Google encounter a 404 error, it can impact your site’s rankings. The search engine may remove the page from its index, but worse, any inbound links to that page from other sites, social media, or even internal links on your own website can be rendered useless. This could lead to a loss of “link equity,” which is a ranking signal in SEO.
3. Broken Links: Removing a page without a redirection creates broken links on your site, which can cause navigation issues for users and search engine crawlers. Broken links can hurt your SEO by making it difficult for search engines to crawl and index your website efficiently.

To prevent these issues, setting up proper redirections allows you to guide both users and search engines from a deleted page to a relevant alternative page on your site. This not only ensures that your visitors have a seamless experience but also preserves the SEO benefits of your original page.

Types of Redirections

There are several types of redirections, but the two most commonly used for managing the removal of pages are 301 redirects and 302 redirects.

1. 301 Redirect (Permanent Redirect)

A 301 redirect is a permanent redirection from one URL to another. This type of redirect is useful when the page being removed will not return, and you want to send users to a new, relevant page instead. Importantly, a 301 redirect transfers most of the SEO value (link equity) from the old page to the new one, preserving your search engine rankings.

For instance, if you’re retiring a specific product and have created a new product that better suits your audience, you can redirect the old product page to the new one using a 301 redirect. This ensures that anyone trying to access the old product will be automatically taken to the new one, and search engines will understand that the old page has been permanently replaced.

2. 302 Redirect (Temporary Redirect)

A 302 redirect is used when a page is temporarily unavailable or under maintenance, and you want to send users to a different page in the meantime. This is less common when removing pages because although Google treats 301 and 302 redirects in the same way, some search engines don’t transfer SEO value for a 302 in the same way that 301 redirects do. Search engines interpret a 302 redirect as a signal that the original page will return, so it’s not suitable if you’re permanently removing a page from your site.

While 302 redirects have their use cases (e.g., for maintenance or temporary promotions), they should generally be avoided when deleting pages.

Best Practices for Using Redirections When Removing Pages

Now that we’ve covered the importance of redirections and the different types, let’s look at some best practices for implementing redirections effectively when removing pages from your small business website.

1. Redirect to a Relevant Page

Whenever possible, redirect users to a page that closely matches the content or purpose of the page being removed, don’t just redirect visitors to your home page. For example, if you’re retiring a specific blog post that’s no longer relevant, consider redirecting users to a related blog post or category page. This ensures that users still find the content they’re looking for, even if the specific page they wanted has been removed.

2. Avoid Redirect Loops and Chains

A redirect loop occurs when a URL redirects back to itself, creating an infinite loop that can cause your site to become inaccessible. A redirect chain happens when one URL redirects to another URL, which then redirects to another, and so on. Both of these situations can negatively affect user experience and hurt your SEO. To avoid these issues, always double-check that your redirects are direct and don’t create loops or long chains.

3. Update Internal Links

Once you’ve set up your redirects, don’t forget to update any internal links on your website that pointed to the removed page. Internal links are essential for guiding users and search engines through your site, and leaving broken links can harm your SEO performance. Updating these links ensures that users can continue to navigate smoothly through your site.

4. Monitor Your Redirects

Redirections should be regularly monitored to ensure they are functioning properly. Broken or improperly configured redirects can result in users still seeing 404 errors, which defeats the purpose of implementing the redirects in the first place. Use tools like Google Search Console or website audit tools to keep track of your redirects and spot any issues that may arise.

5. Use 410 Status Codes for Truly Gone Pages

In some cases, a page is completely gone and there is no appropriate replacement page to redirect users to. In such instances, it may be better to return a 410 status code, which tells search engines that the page is permanently gone and not coming back. This is a cleaner solution than returning a 404 error, as it provides more accurate information to search engines.

Conclusion

For small business websites, removing pages is a necessary part of maintaining an up-to-date and relevant online presence. However, it’s essential to handle page removals thoughtfully to avoid damaging your SEO and user experience. By using 301 redirects when removing pages, you can preserve your site’s link equity, avoid frustrating users with broken links, and ensure a seamless experience. Always ensure that your redirections are properly configured and that you follow best practices for managing your website, keeping your business competitive and your customers satisfied.