Should You Keep Your Old Website Live After Launching a New One?

The instinct once a new site is live is to shut the old one down right away. That impulse is understandable, but doing it carelessly can quietly undo some of what the old site had already earned.

The risk of shutting it down immediately

Old links from Google's search index, other websites, bookmarks, and even printed business cards all point to URLs that suddenly go nowhere. Beyond the broken-link frustration, it can also cost you search ranking that took time to build.

The right way to retire an old site

Set up redirects from every old URL to its closest new equivalent — what's called a 301 redirect — so both visitors and search engines get automatically sent to the right place instead of hitting a dead end.

When a short overlap makes sense

For a bigger or more complex site, keeping both versions briefly accessible lets you catch anything broken before fully cutting over — a safety net rather than a permanent setup.

Before shutting it down for good

Confirm the redirects actually work, update any external links you control — your Google Business Profile, social media bios — and give search engines a little time to notice the change before considering it fully done.