Glossary
What is a 301 redirect?
A 301 redirect is a server response that tells browsers and search engines a page has moved permanently to a new URL, sends visitors there automatically, and passes the old page’s search signals to the new address.
Also called permanent redirect
How it works
When someone requests an old URL, the server answers with the HTTP status code 301 (Moved Permanently) and the new address. The browser loads the new page without the visitor doing anything. Search engines take it as a sign to replace the old URL with the new one in their index over time.
Other redirect codes exist. A 302 means the move is temporary, so search engines may keep the old URL indexed. A 308 is also permanent and keeps the request method unchanged, which matters for forms and APIs more than for normal pages.
Why it matters for B2B websites
Old URLs are valuable. They sit in other sites’ articles, partner pages, email signatures, sales decks and search results. If a redesign changes URLs without redirects, those links lead to a 404 page and the rankings built up over years can drop.
A redirect map, a list of every old URL and the new page it should go to, is the single most important document in a website migration.
Good practice
- Redirect each old URL to the closest matching new page, not everything to the home page
- Avoid chains: old URL to new URL in one step, not through two or three hops
- Update internal links to point straight at the new URLs
- Keep redirects in place for the long term; links to old URLs keep arriving for years
- Check Search Console for 404 errors in the weeks after launch
Example
A company renames its “Solutions” section to “Services”. /solutions/data-pipelines should 301 to /services/data-pipelines, not to /services. Anyone who bookmarked or linked the old page lands on the same topic, and search engines move its rankings across.
How we handle it
On every redesign or migration we collect old URLs from the live sitemap, Search Console and known links, map each one to a page, and test every redirect before the domain switches. When we moved pentaclay.com itself to a new build in November 2026, we did the same for our own site.
Last updated 15 November 2026
