{"id":686,"slug":"redirect-map-deliverable-spec","title":"Redirect map deliverable spec — CSV of old→new URL with notes; sources are XML sitemap + Screaming Frog + GSC + Ahrefs/Semrush","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["claude-code","candid-team"],"topics":["migration-mechanics","redirect-mapping"],"reference_body":"**The redirect map is the single most consequential deliverable in a same-domain migration.**\n\n**Format:** CSV with columns `old_url, new_url, status_code, notes`. Default `status_code = 301`.\n\n**Build it by combining four sources:**\n\n1. **WordPress XML sitemap** (`/sitemap_index.xml` from Yoast/Rank Math/AIOSEO).\n2. **Screaming Frog crawl** of the live site.\n3. **Google Search Console Performance report** — top URLs by impressions over the last 12 months.\n4. **Ahrefs/Semrush** — URLs with external backlinks.\n\n**Edge cases that consistently cause traffic loss (per [[migration-hidden-killers-catalogue]]):**\n\n- **Attachment pages** (WordPress auto-creates one indexable page per uploaded image) — 301 to parent post or 410 if no parent.\n- **Author archives** (`/author/janedoe/`) — usually safe to 301 to `/about/` or 410.\n- **Date archives** (`/2019/03/`) — almost never have inbound links; 410 is appropriate.\n- **Category pagination** (`/category/news/page/4/`) — preserve at least first 2-3 pages.\n- **Feed URLs** (`/feed/`, `/category/news/feed/`) — preserve at root level (`/rss.xml` is modern convention; `/feed/` should redirect).\n\n**Sitemap continuity:** keep the old sitemap.xml resolving (with 301'd URLs) for at least 30 days post-cutover. Submit the new sitemap immediately. Because the domain is unchanged, **do not** use Search Console's Change of Address tool — Google's docs say explicitly: *\"Don't use the Change of Address tool for the following moves: Changing address from http to https… Moving some pages from one location to another within your site.\"*\n\n**Retention rule:** maintain redirects for at least 180 days. Google: *\"Maintain the redirects for at least 180 days — longer if you still see any traffic to them from Google Search.\"* GreenGeeks puts it more sharply: *\"Industry standard is 12 months minimum.\"* See [[rule-keep-migration-redirects-12-months]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"rule-keep-migration-redirects-12-months","title":"RULE: Keep migration 301 redirects in place for at least 12 months; never less than 180 days (Google's explicit floor)","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"migration-hidden-killers-catalogue","title":"Migration hidden-killers catalogue — the seven failure modes that appear in every post-mortem","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"same-domain-migration-recovery-timeline","title":"Same-domain CMS migration with proper 1:1 redirects: 2-4 weeks of crawl turbulence; 4-8 weeks to full stability. The 523-day stat is domain-to-domain.","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"migration-hidden-killers-catalogue","title":"Migration hidden-killers catalogue — the seven failure modes that appear in every post-mortem","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"cutover-pattern-low-risk-same-domain","title":"Low-risk cutover pattern for same-domain CMS migration — 2-week pre-flight, DNS TTL 300s, monitor 48h, keep WP firewalled 30 days","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T21:24:18.416Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T21:24:18.416Z"}