Redirecting URLs
Redirects ensure users don't find dead or error pages on Mass.gov. Learn how to set up a redirect in the CMS.
Redirects (also known as Drupal-to-Drupal redirects) allow you to steer traffic from a page that's been removed from Mass.gov to a new or existing page. If someone types in a URL for a page that no longer exists, they will automatically be redirected to a page you have specified.
The redirect process also preserves your content’s search engine ranking.
Redirect process
CMS users can trash and redirect pages to internal URLs. However, if you need to redirect a page to a place that is not on www.mass.gov, you will need to make a ServiceNow request.
*Important change: The pages do not need to be deleted by the CX team first.
Use the Pages Linking Here tool to see which pages the page you are removing is linked from. You'll need to manually remove links to the page you are eliminating from the site and replace those links with ones for the page to which you are redirecting traffic. Also, if the pages you're removing have Children, you will not be able to make the redirect until you move them to a new Parent page.
What to do
A redirect can originate in 2 ways.
One way is to first trash the page you wish to redirect. Choose "Trash" from the Change to dropdown menu at the bottom of the editing screen.
You will then see this message.
Click on “Redirect this trashed page.”
Alternatively, from the “Trash (content)” tab in the main navigation bar of the CMS, you can select a page that has been previously trashed and click on the Edit dropdown menu to find a “Redirects” option.
On the next screen, you will be asked to “Pick a target for the URL.” Use the autocomplete field to find the published page you want the trashed page to point to and then click the ADD REDIRECT button.
Selecting the “Redirects” tab (only visible on trashed pages) will bring you to a new screen summarizing the action and, if necessary, giving you the chance to remove the redirect.
Note
When you are on the “Pick a target for the URL” screen, if there are other redirects already in place (such as friendly URLs, manually redirected pages, or redirects from a page title change), you will see a list of those here.
You can change a redirect so that it points to a new target by removing the redirect and choosing a different published page as the target.
Also, you can republish a trashed page that has been redirected by opening it in the Edit menu and saving it as “Unpublished.” Then if you immediately reopen the page in Edit, you will have the option to choose “Published” from the Change to drop down. The republished page would take precedence over the redirect.
Follow-up
We suggest using the Siteimprove tool a couple of weeks after a redirect has been put in place to double check that no broken links have resulted on your pages.
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