Synthetic redirect map: twelve old addresses, four traps and the result each row must give

The invented sheet

This sheet is synthetic. It describes a pretend business called Harbour Bakes and uses invented addresses; it comes from no client and no real site. Each row has an old address, where it should go, a note and the result the test must show.

If the matrix is wider than the box, scroll horizontally to read every column. Keyboard: focus the matrix and use Left/Right.

row | old address                    | new address or GONE       | note                                  | expected result
 1  | /                                | (home page)               | cannot be redirected on Squarespace   | no redirect; page opens
 2  | /about-us                        | /about                    | renamed                               | 301 to /about, 1 hop
 3  | /services/web-design             | /services                 | pages merged                          | 301 to /services, 1 hop
 4  | /services/web-design-old         | /services                 | old duplicate; row 3 already maps on | 301 straight to /services, 1 hop
 5  | /blog/2019/tips-for-new-owners   | /blog/tips-for-new-owners | date folder removed                   | 301, 1 hop
 6  | /blog/category/news              | /blog                     | category page                         | 301 to /blog, 1 hop
 7  | /blog?category=news              | /blog                     | contains a question mark              | tool may refuse; record the outcome
 8  | /images/logo-2018.png            | /assets/logo.png          | image address                         | may not be redirectable; list as limit
 9  | /contact-us                      | /contact                  | renamed                               | 301 to /contact, 1 hop
10  | /shop/old-product                | GONE                      | product withdrawn                     | approved not-found page, status 404
11  | /summer-sale-2018                | GONE                      | not sent to the home page             | approved not-found page, status 404
12  | /team/jane-doe                   | /about                    | person page removed, about page covers| 301 to /about, 1 hop

What each trap tests

Row 4 tests chains. If row 4 pointed at row 3's old address, a visitor would pass through two redirects; the sheet sends it straight to the final address, which matches Google's advice to prefer direct redirects. Rows 7 and 8 test builder limits: Squarespace says most redirects cannot use a question mark and that image and file addresses cannot be redirected, so those rows may be recorded as limits rather than fixed.

Rows 10 and 11 test the opposite temptation. Google advises against sending many old addresses to an unrelated page such as the home page, so addresses with no counterpart return a real not-found page that you have approved.

• Count hops for every row, not only the first.
• Record limits honestly; do not leave a row blank.
• Approve the not-found page before any gone row is loaded.

How the sheet is checked

After loading, every old address is requested and the status code, the final address and the number of hops are written beside the expected result. A row passes only when all three agree. Any row that loops, chains or lands on the wrong page fails and is fixed, then the whole list is run again, because one correction can change another row.

A passed sheet shows the redirect map works as written. It does not show that search engines will treat the new pages as equal to the old, and it makes no promise about rankings.

• Run the full list again after any fix.
• Keep the sheet for at least as long as the redirects stay in place.
• Test from a clean browser window.

Using this as the start of a priced enquiry

If you have an old address list and a new site, the redirect map and metadata carry-over job covers up to 60 addresses at £295 as an untested proposal, paid only after you sign off. Send the old and new site addresses and a rough count of pages, never logins. This example illustrates a method; it is not a delivery for any client.