Free tool
Website migration redirect map and rule generator
Paste old-to-new URL pairs from your crawl export or spreadsheet to generate Apache .htaccess, Nginx rewrite, or Cloudflare _redirects rules. The checker flags multi-hop redirect chains, self-redirect loops, and homepage catch-alls before launch.
Planning a replatforming, redesign, or domain move? See our SEO migration services.
Server redirect rules
The rules appear here as you type. This needs scripting on.
Migration QA and chain audit
HTTP redirect and removal status codes in Google Search
How each HTTP status code behaves during a site migration, sourced from IETF RFC 9110 (HTTP Semantics) and Google Search Central crawling and indexing documentation (all verified Nov 9, 2026).
| Status code or rule | RFC 9110 definition | Google Search Central indexing behavior | Source and read date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 301 Moved Permanently | Target resource has been assigned a new permanent URI; user agents may rewrite POST to GET (RFC 9110 Section 15.4.2). | Strong signal that the redirect target should be canonical; consolidates incoming link and ranking signals to the destination URL. | RFC 9110 (June 2022) and Google Search Central 301-redirects (read Nov 9, 2026) |
| 308 Permanent Redirect | Target resource has a new permanent URI; user agents must not change the request method on the redirected request (RFC 9110 Section 15.4.9). | Treated identically to 301 by Google Search for canonical selection and ranking signal consolidation. | Google Search Central http-status-codes (updated Feb 4, 2026, read Nov 9, 2026) |
| 302 Found / 307 Temporary | Target resource resides temporarily under a different URI (RFC 9110 Section 15.4.3 and 15.4.8). | Weak canonical signal; Google keeps the original URL indexed unless other signals or prolonged duration indicate the move is permanent. Avoid for permanent migrations. | Google Search Central 301-redirects (read Nov 9, 2026) |
| 404 Not Found / 410 Gone | 404 means no current representation exists; 410 means the condition is likely to be permanent (RFC 9110 Section 15.5.5 and 15.5.11). | Both remove the URL from Google Search once recrawled; 410 drops out slightly faster than 404. Never redirect truly removed pages to the homepage. | Google Search Central http-status-codes (updated Feb 4, 2026, read Nov 9, 2026) |
| Redirect chain limit | Clients should detect and stop infinite redirect loops (RFC 9110 Section 15.4). | Googlebot follows up to 10 redirect hops in a single crawl before failing with a redirect error in Search Console. Google recommends keeping redirects to a single hop. | Google Search Central http-status-codes and site-move-with-url-changes (updated Aug 20, 2026, read Nov 9, 2026) |
| Retention duration | Permanent redirects are cacheable by default unless overridden by Cache-Control headers. | Keep permanent migration redirects active for at least 1 year (or indefinitely if users and external links still request the old URLs) so Google can recrawl and transfer all signals. | Google Search Central site-move-with-url-changes (updated Aug 20, 2026, read Nov 9, 2026) |
Planning a full replatforming, redesign, or domain move?
Unmapped URLs with backlinks or staging noindex tags left in place can cost a site its organic traffic after launch. Our SEO migration services combine Search Console exports, server logs, backlink inventories, and full crawls into a verified redirect map tested against your staging build before cutover.
Read our SEO migration checklist, check your destination canonicals with the canonical tag generator, or return to all free SEO tools.
Questions about migration redirects
Should a permanent site migration use 301 or 308 redirects?
According to Google Search Central (Redirects and Google Search, developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/301-redirects, read Nov 9, 2026) and IETF RFC 9110 Section 15.4.2 and Section 15.4.9 (HTTP Semantics, June 2022, read Nov 9, 2026), both 301 (Moved Permanently) and 308 (Permanent Redirect) are permanent redirects that transfer indexing signals to the destination URL. The technical difference in RFC 9110 is that 308 forbids changing the HTTP request method from POST to GET, whereas 301 historically allowed user agents to rewrite POST to GET.
Why does redirecting old inner pages to the homepage cause soft 404 issues?
Google Search Central (Site Moves with URL Changes, developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes, updated Aug 20, 2026, read Nov 9, 2026) warns against redirecting all old URLs to the root homepage instead of matching page-to-page equivalents. When an inner page with specific topical content redirects to a generic homepage that does not answer the original query, Google can classify the redirect as a soft 404 and drop the original URL rankings.
How many redirect hops can Googlebot follow in a chain?
In Google Search Central documentation on HTTP status codes and redirects (developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/http-status-codes, updated Feb 4, 2026, read Nov 9, 2026), Googlebot can follow up to 10 hops in a redirect chain during a single crawl before reporting a redirect error in Search Console. Flattening every chain to a single direct hop reduces crawl latency and avoids lost hops when protocol or trailing-slash redirects are added.
When should a URL return 410 Gone instead of a 301 redirect?
If a discontinued page has no equivalent replacement page on the new site and no external links worth preserving, returning 404 (Not Found) or 410 (Gone) is cleaner than forcing an unrelated redirect. Under RFC 9110 Section 15.5.11 and Google HTTP status code documentation (read Nov 9, 2026), 410 indicates that the condition is permanent and causes Google to remove the URL from the index slightly faster than a standard 404.
Does this redirect generator upload my URL list to a server?
No. All parsing, chain detection, and rule formatting run inside your browser with JavaScript. Your staging URLs, path structures, and redirect rules never leave your device.
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