[WEB4LIB] Page redirects (was LibraryLand Index update)

[Thomas Dowling]

> ...but many pages have been moved, renamed or removed.  I realized that
> this is going to cause broken links, and I have tried to outline
> steps to help minimize this (such as emailing Websites that link to
> us with the updated URL, updating our 404 error page, etc.).
>
> I have created html redirects for our most popular pages, but I'm
> still not sure that this is the best solution.  We use WebSTAR on a
> Mac server and I know that I have a few options.  I could create
> scripts that will redirect a request, use aliases to the new file, or
> use the old html redirects.   Does anyone know if there are other
> options for WebSTAR?
>


(IMO, of course..)  You'll want to accomplish a couple different things in
a couple different time frames.  The first is to let human web surfers
know that the page has changed; I'd recommend putting an HTML file at
old-file.html that says "Page has moved, here's the new location, update
your links/bookmarks."  Optionally throw in a meta refresh comment that
kicks in after, say, 15 seconds.  Since this is a real, available HTML
file, search engines will index it as such.

After a while (maybe 6 months?), you'll want to move on to letting the web
crawlers know your page has moved.  I don't know WebSTAR's gory details,
but what you want the server to do at that point is to send out a Status
301 (Moved Permanently) header with a Location header pointing to the new
location.  That should get the crawlers to change their links.  If you
give this another six months or so, you get a sense of the consequences of
poorly considered site reorganization.

I would not, at any point, put up a page that immediately used a meta
refresh or a javascript redirect without giving the user time to figure
out what was going on or providing an <a href=... link to the new
location.  This doesn't alert the user to the change and may not provide
search engines any link they can follow.


Thomas Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu