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Even though changes and alterations to a website are immediate you can feel the presence of the old pages for months (and often years to come). The old site can often haunt your website statistics and send people in the wrong direction. But rest assured, there are ways to put these spirits at bay!
It's nice to think of a website as having a spirit (or perhaps a little creepy). But the truth of the matter is: it doesn't. These problems stem mainly from external sources (other sites linking to yours, search engines linking to your site and even printed advertisements).
When removing pages or sections from your site it is important to foresee the consequences. Doing so may be difficult. For example, If you are simply moving a page from one location to another it might be worthwhile creating a link on the existing page (instead of removing it completely).
Alternatively, it is possible to redirect visitors to a custom error message when they visit a page that no longer exists. The error message can list alternative pages or even send them directly to the front page of the site. When the Adamant Solutions webiste was revamped earlier this year we made a conscious decision to forward all dead links to the front page. Try it for yourself type http://www.adamant.com.au/typeanythinghere
Your website developer should be able to assist you when making big changes to your site. I recommend giving them a call before any major alterations are made. You never know, that 5 minute phone call may give greater accessibility to hundreds of future clients.
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