How to plan your store’s links when changing platforms

A new store can be ready to take orders while customers are still getting lost at old addresses. Links in ads, bookmarks, messages and other websites continue to be used after a platform change. Without a plan, those visits may end at a missing page or an entirely different product.

URL planning should be part of the migration before launch. The key task is to decide what happens to each important address and check the result. The goal is not to promise Google rankings, but to preserve useful customer journeys and help the new pages be identified.

Build an inventory that reflects your business

Start with addresses the business actually uses. Collect product, category, content and campaign pages that remain relevant. Include links in ads, automated messages and material staff share with customers.

The inventory can combine platform exports, sitemap files and access records. No single source has to be treated as complete. A page important to customer support may receive little traffic and still deserve an explicit decision.

Record the current address, page type, content identifier and the person who will validate its destination. That separates a content decision from a technical issue. If nobody knows which product replaces an old item, writing a redirect rule will not settle the commercial question.

Decide which addresses actually need to change

A platform migration does not require changing every link. Assess which URLs can be kept and which will follow a different structure. Consider the new system's routes and how products, categories and languages will be identified.

For a move to PrestaShop, for instance, check the address format and configuration in the destination store. Importing a product does not establish that its previous address will still work. Test the published behavior rather than assuming compatibility because the product titles look similar.

Avoid deciding the final structure while several teams are already creating campaign links. Agree on the pattern and record later changes. If the destination remains under discussion, marketing material prepared early may contain an address that changes before launch.

Match each old page to its appropriate destination

Build a mapping from the old URL to the final page serving the same intent. Products still sold should lead to the right product. Reorganized categories require an editorial decision, especially when categories have been split or merged.

For an illustrative example, an old “Gifts” category becomes “Personalized gifts” and “Ready-made sets.” Not every old link should automatically point to the first category. The team should assess the original content and choose the destination that best represents that page.

Make separate decisions for discontinued items. A replacement product may be suitable in some cases; in others, no equivalent page exists. Sending everything to the home page hides those distinctions and forces the customer to search again for what they expected to find.

Choose a redirect appropriate to the change

Google recommends permanent server-side redirects, such as 301 or 308, for definitive address changes where technically possible. Aim at the final page rather than sending visitors through unnecessary intermediate destinations.

Operationally, somebody needs to implement the rules, test the results and confirm where those rules will be maintained. A spreadsheet in a project folder is not an implementation. Configuration may depend on the server, platform or a dedicated tool.

A missing page normally returns HTTP status 404. When removed content has no useful replacement, an appropriate missing-content response can be more honest than an irrelevant destination. The error page can help visitors navigate, but should not conceal what happened to the requested address.

Update links generated by the store itself

Redirects help visitors arriving at old addresses. The new store's menus, banners, content and generated messages should use current destinations. Check material outside the platform too, such as email templates and advertising campaigns.

A sitemap should reflect the addresses the store wants search engines to discover. A canonical URL identifies a preferred version among similar pages; it does not replace the redirect needed to take a visitor to a new address.

For a multilingual operation, check corresponding pages in each language. An English product link should not automatically finish on the Portuguese version without an appropriate navigation decision. This review needs to follow the content, not just the domain name.

Validate the launch as a customer would

Before the move, select a varied sample of old links and define the expected outcome. After setting the destinations, test each path and verify the content received.

A product still sold, with its correct options.
A reorganized category and a retained content page.
An address used in an ad or customer-support message.
Removed content without an equivalent replacement.
A link belonging to one language version of the store.
An old address redirected to its final destination.

Also check that preparation restrictions were removed where appropriate. A noindex instruction prevents a page from being indexed; leaving it on the public version may contradict the launch plan. A person familiar with the configuration should validate release conditions rather than removing protections indiscriminately.

Follow up after the switch

During the first days, provide a way for staff to report addresses that do not reach their expected destination. Record the link, where it was found and the outcome observed. That makes it possible to prioritize concrete corrections.

Keep traffic reporting separate from order validation. A decline in visits alone does not identify its cause, and one completed purchase does not prove that every link migrated correctly. Search visibility may also fluctuate during a move, so immediate stability should not be promised.

Assign responsibility for maintaining the rules and reviewing new cases. The plan becomes useful when it delivers a verifiable set of destinations, completed checks and open issues with clear owners.

AGTI works on creating and evolving e-commerce operations. If you are changing platforms, include existing links in the initial assessment alongside your catalog and business processes. Describe the pages and channels that matter to your store at https://www.agti.eng.br/.

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