Before a site launch, test redirects with a script that compares the old sitemap to the new site, rather than relying on static redirect spreadsheets.

A sample output highlights common failures like trailing-slash chains, noindex on live pages, redirect loops, and incorrect final destinations.

Three takeaways: staging is often noindex and should be tested against production; canonical checks should compare paths, not domains; and a sitemap may miss important pages, so export top-linking or most-visited pages for extra testing.

Remediation should direct old URLs to their final, indexable pages, avoid multi-hop chains, and use 301/308 redirects for permanent moves.

The guide explains how to run the script locally, provides commands and a sample test site output, and suggests integrating the check into CI as a deploy gate.

Redesigns commonly disrupt organic traffic when old URLs break due to unmapped redirects, or when 302/temporary redirects or noindex tags from staging persist.

The script reads the old sitemap, follows redirects to a set hop limit, and flags redirect chains, loops, 302/307 usage, noindex directives, and misaligned canonical tags.

Note that the URL-side check does not validate content changes or analytics tracking; a broader redesign checklist is needed for a complete process.

Conclude by urging readers to run the script on staging before launch and to share longer redirect chains observed in the wild.