Redirected backlinked URLs ending on a 404 or 410, by previous platform
| Previous platform | Sites | Redirected URLs | Ends on 404 or 410 | Ends on homepage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforce Commerce Cloud | 89 | 1,126 | 26.6% | 8.8% |
| Next.js | 76 | 815 | 24.2% | 7.2% |
| WordPress | 77 | 897 | 23.6% | 6.2% |
| PrestaShop | 78 | 911 | 22.3% | 6.8% |
| BigCommerce | 79 | 1,111 | 21.7% | 2.6% |
| Magento | 84 | 1,113 | 19.5% | 8.0% |
| WooCommerce | 64 | 667 | 15.3% | 8.7% |
| Other platforms | 86 | 915 | 16.5% | 8.0% |
| All | 633 | 7,555 | 21.5% | 6.9% |
Source: PageSpeed Matters, Oct 2026. Homepage URLs were excluded from the sample.
Summary
A redirect is supposed to send an old URL to its new home. After a platform change, many checks stop at confirming that old URLs redirect. But a redirect only helps if the page it lands on actually exists.
We checked where redirected old URLs end up. Of 7,555 backlinked, non-homepage URLs that now redirect on 633 sites that changed platform, 21.5% end on a page that returns a 404 or 410. About one in five redirects keeps the link alive for a moment, then drops the visitor on a dead page.
What we measured
We started from a sample of 720 sites that changed platform and took their old URLs that have backlinks, leaving out homepages. We requested each URL in October 2026, followed the redirects and recorded the final status. A redirect counts as a dead end when the final page returns a 404 or 410.
We also traced redirects one hop at a time to count chain length and redirect types. About two thirds of those requests were rate-limited by the destination, so the chain and redirect-type figures rest on the 1,170 to 2,568 redirects that answered. Treat them as secondary to the 21.5% headline.
These are URLs with backlinks. They matter most for link equity, but they are not a random sample of every old URL a site had.
One in five redirects ends on a dead page
Of the 7,555 redirected, backlinked URLs, 21.5% end on a page returning a 404 or 410. Another 6.9% end on the homepage, which rarely replaces the specific page a link pointed to.
A redirect that ends on a 404 can be harder to spot than a plain 404. A quick check of the old URL shows a 301, which looks fine in a crawl summary. Only by following the redirect to the end do you see that the page behind it is gone, and the link value goes with it.
21.5%
Share of redirected, backlinked old URLs on sites that changed platform that end on a page returning a 404 or 410.
Blanket redirects are the trap
The type of redirect matters more than anything else we measured. Of 1,611 redirected URLs whose redirect only changes the protocol, the www prefix or the trailing slash, 76.8% end on a 404 or 410. Of 5,944 that redirect to a different path, only 6.5% do.
A protocol, www or slash-only redirect keeps the old path exactly as it was. That is usually a site-wide rule, such as sending every http request to https, rather than a mapping from an old page to a new one. If the new platform no longer has that path, the visitor lands on a 404 one step later. Redirects that point at a different path were likely mapped page by page, and they mostly work.
Old file URLs break more than blog URLs
Old URLs ending in .html, .php and similar extensions are the most fragile. 30.9% of 1,368 such redirected URLs on 264 sites end on a 404 or 410. Redirected blog URLs fare much better, with 13.8% of 427 ending on a dead page.
Extension URLs usually need an explicit rule each, because most new platforms do not use the same file-style paths. Blog posts often keep a similar slug across platforms, which likely makes them easier to map.
The old platform makes some difference
Sites that left Salesforce Commerce Cloud have the most dead-end redirects, with 26.6% of 1,126 redirected URLs on 89 sites ending on a 404 or 410. Sites that left WooCommerce have the fewest, at 15.3% of 667 on 64 sites. Next.js (24.2%), WordPress (23.6%) and PrestaShop (22.3%) sit above the overall rate, BigCommerce (21.7%) sits at about the overall rate and Magento (19.5%) a little below it.
The spread is real but modest next to the gap between blanket and path-level redirects. Sites on every platform end up with dead-end redirects when the old paths are not mapped one by one.
Most chains are short, and most redirects are permanent
In the hop-by-hop trace of 1,170 redirect chains, 81.5% resolve in one hop, 15.0% take two and 3.6% take three or more. Longer chains break more often: 24.0% of 217 chains with two or more hops end on a 404 or 410, against 15.1% of 953 one-hop redirects.
Most redirects are the right kind. 95.7% of 2,568 traced redirects start with a permanent 301 or 308. 6.8% involve a temporary redirect somewhere in the chain, and 8.7% of 416 sites use at least one. These figures rest on the redirects that answered the trace, so read them as a guide rather than an exact rate.
What this means for your site
Checking that old URLs redirect is not enough. Check where they end.
- Follow every redirect from your old backlinked URLs to the final page, and flag any that end on a 404, 410 or the homepage.
- Do not rely on a site-wide protocol or www rule to cover old pages. Map each old path to its closest new page.
- Give old .html, .php and similar URLs their own rules.
- Point each redirect straight at the final URL, so a chain does not form when later rules are added.
- Use permanent 301 or 308 redirects for a platform move.
If you have already migrated, export your backlinked URLs, run them through a crawler that follows redirects, and fix the dead ends first. They are the links you have earned that are no longer doing anything.
Sources
- PageSpeed Matters analysis of backlinked URLs on 720 sites that changed platform, October 2026
- Google Search Central, redirects and Google Search: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/301-redirects
- Google Search Central, site moves with URL changes: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes
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Frequently asked questions
How often do migration redirects end on a 404?
Of 7,555 backlinked old URLs that redirect on 633 sites that changed platform, 21.5% end on a page returning a 404 or 410, and another 6.9% end on the homepage.
Why do redirects lead to a 404 after a site migration?
Blanket rules that only change the protocol, www or trailing slash and keep the old path are the biggest risk. 76.8% of those end on a 404 or 410, against 6.5% of redirects that send the URL to a different path.
How many redirect hops are normal after a migration?
In our trace of 1,170 redirect chains, 81.5% resolved in one hop and 15.0% took two. Chains with two or more hops ended on a 404 or 410 more often, 24.0% against 15.1% for one hop.
How do I check where my redirects end up?
Run your old backlinked URLs through a crawler that follows redirects to the final page, and flag any that end on a 404, 410 or the homepage. Map each of those to its closest new page.
Mapping each old URL to a live page, and testing where every redirect ends, keeps the links you have earned working after a move. Need help with this? See our SEO migration services.