Redirect mapping so indexed WordPress URLs survive a rebuild.
A WordPress to Next.js cutover starts with a map: every indexed path keeps its slug, 301s to the offer URL that replaced it, or 301s to the closest real page. We do not dump the crawl onto the homepage. Based in San Diego, California.
Method mock — not a client crawl. Paths are the jobs we already name on trades and clinics.
The map
Inventory, decide, ship 301s, then inspect.
01
Inventory the ranked paths
Export the live WordPress URLs from Search Console and a crawl. Indexed paths are the map — not a designer’s new sitemap.
02
Keep, map, or retire
Keep the slug when it already ranks. Map it to the offer URL that replaced that job. Retire thin Welcome URLs to the closest real page. Never 301 the crawl onto /.
03
Ship 301s before DNS
The Next.js redirect table goes live before nameservers switch. A pretty theme with dead paths is not a launch.
04
Inspect after cutover
Check the old URL. It should 301 once to the live page, then 200. Chains, loops, and leftover 404s get fixed in the first week.
This sits in the Build phase of how we work. The rebuild lane is website design.
Not this
A new look with dead paths is not a launch.
Theme shops often change every slug. Rankings were on the old ones. The 301 table is the job, not a nice-to-have after DNS.
You keep
- The domain. Registrar and DNS stay in your name.
- Search Console. We inspect there. We do not hold the property.
- The ranked paths. Via 301s — not a promise of a ranking number.
Other methods
Redirects are one procedure. GBP and form events are the others.
This methodRedirect mappingIndexed WordPress paths become 301s. Nothing dumps to the homepage.
- MethodGBP alignmentThe profile, the service page, and the offer URL name the same job.Open →
- MethodForm eventsSubmit on the lander fires in GA4. Ads can import the same event.Open →
FAQ
Before the first call
WordPress rebuilds as a lane: website design. Timing and who owns the accounts: how we work.
01
Do you 301 every old URL to the homepage?
No. That is how rankings die. Each indexed path maps to the page that replaced that job, or keeps the same slug. A homepage dump is not a redirect map.
02
What if a WordPress slug is ugly?
Keep it if it ranks. A prettier path is not worth a ranking reset. We only change a URL when the offer page is the better match and the 301 is in the table first.
03
What happens to blog posts that already rank?
They keep a live path, or 301 to the offer page if the post was a thin stand-in for a job you sell. We do not delete a ranking URL to clean up the nav.
04
How do you know a redirect worked?
After launch we inspect the old URL. One 301, then 200 on the live page. Chains and loops get rewritten. Search Console stays in your property.
Start
Ready to keep the paths that already rank?
Bring Search Console if it exists, plus the live WordPress site. First conversation is 30 minutes.