[WEB4LIB] Re: old web sites

[Thomas Dowling]

> It may be a bit kludgy, but it has worked so far, and I've noticed a
> definite drop in the access stats for the redirects, so our users are
> changing their bookmarks... I hope!
>

Something I've emphasized in several forums is the need to follow the
"Dear human: we have moved" phase with a period of time in which the old
location responds with HTTP status 301 (permanent relocation) and a
pointer to the new site.  This allows web indexers to find the new site
and update themselves automatically.  In addition to crawlers, though, IE
bookmarks will also update themselve automatically when they receive a 301
response.


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