How to Fix 404 Errors After a Site Migration

How to fix 404 errors after a site migration depends on whether the page moved, merged, changed slug, or was intentionally removed. The goal is not to redirect everything. The goal is to preserve useful paths for users and search engines without creating irrelevant redirect noise.

Start With the Highest-Risk 404s

• URLs with backlinks or organic landing-page history.
• Navigation, footer, and template links repeated across the site.
• Conversion pages, support pages, pricing pages, and docs hubs.
• Old PDFs, assets, or campaign pages still linked from live content.

Choose the Right Fix

1. Moved page: add a direct 301 redirect to the new URL.
2. Merged content: redirect to the most specific merged page.
3. Typo in source link: update the link in the CMS or code.
4. Deleted with no replacement: return 410 or remove links pointing to it.

Validate After Redirects Ship

Re-scan the migrated pages, then spot-check redirect targets in analytics and search-console reports. Use the internal broken link checker for same-domain cleanup and the broken backlink checker when old URLs still receive external links.