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Fix broken links, 404s, and redirects after renaming a page

Stop losing traffic and SEO when you rename a page or change a funnel path — set up 301 redirects correctly and avoid redirect loops.

7 min readintermediateUpdated September 9, 2026

Renaming a page or changing a funnel step's URL path feels harmless until every bookmark, backlink, and ad targeting that old address starts returning a 404. This article covers how to set up redirects correctly, avoid the mistakes that cause loops or new 404s, and clean things up after the fact if links are already broken.

Symptoms

  • Old bookmarked or shared links now show a "Page Not Found" / 404 error.
  • Search engine results still show the old URL, and clicking it fails.
  • An ad campaign got rejected or paused because its destination URL doesn't load.
  • A redirect you set up creates an infinite loop or a browser "too many redirects" error.
  • Internal links inside your own funnel/website (buttons, menu items) point to the old path and now 404.

Likely causes

  1. A page or step's path was changed without leaving anything behind at the old address. Renaming a step's URL path in the builder doesn't automatically forward old visitors to the new one — that has to be set up separately.
  2. No redirect was created for the old URL. Without one, anyone hitting the old address gets a plain 404.
  3. The redirect target doesn't actually exist. Redirecting an old URL to a new page that was later deleted or renamed again just produces a different 404 one hop later.
  4. A redirect loop was created — usually by accidentally pointing a URL at itself, or by chaining redirects (A → B → A) after multiple renames over time.
  5. Internal links weren't updated. Menu items, buttons, and inline links elsewhere on your own site can still point at the old path even after you've set up an external-facing redirect.
  6. Special characters in the path break matching. Redirect paths containing characters like ?, %, &, =, or # often don't match the way you'd expect, silently failing to catch the traffic they were meant to.
  7. www vs. root domain mismatch. If a domain shows an intermittent 404 rather than a consistent one, it may be a root-vs-www redirect gap rather than a page-path issue — see domain and SSL problems if that's the pattern.

Step-by-step fixes (most common first)

1. Set up a 301 redirect for every renamed or removed path

Go to Settings > Domains & URL Redirects, open the URL Redirects tab, and click + Add Redirect. For each URL you've changed or removed:

  1. Choose the domain the old path was on.
  2. Enter the old path exactly as it was (for example /spring-promo if that's what it used to be).
  3. Choose a destination: a custom URL, a specific funnel step, or a website page.
  4. Save.

Screenshot coming soon

The URL Redirects tab with a redirect from an old path to a new funnel step configured

A 301 redirect tells browsers and search engines the move is permanent, which preserves most of the SEO value the old URL had built up, instead of losing it to a dead link.

2. Never redirect a URL to itself

Double-check the source path and destination aren't the same, and that you're not redirecting A → B while B redirects back to A. If you've renamed the same page more than once over time, walk the whole chain and make every old URL redirect straight to the current live one, not to an intermediate URL that itself redirects again.

Warning: Chained redirects (A → B → C) usually still work, but they add load time and are more fragile — consolidate down to a single hop (A → C) whenever you notice a chain has formed.

3. Confirm the destination page actually exists and is published

Open the destination URL directly and confirm it loads. A redirect pointing at a page that was later deleted, unpublished, or renamed again just produces a new 404 downstream — fixing the redirect chain, not just adding a link, is what actually solves it.

4. Avoid special characters in redirect paths

Keep redirect source and destination paths to plain letters, numbers, and hyphens. Characters like ?, %, &, =, and # can prevent the rule from matching the incoming request the way you intend, especially if the original broken links include tracking parameters.

A redirect fixes traffic coming from outside (search results, old bookmarks, ad clicks), but it doesn't fix broken-feeling internal navigation. Go through your own funnel/website's menu, buttons, and inline links and point anything referencing the old path directly at the new one — relying on the redirect internally adds an unnecessary hop and can look unpolished if a visitor notices the URL change mid-click.

6. If ads are being rejected over the redirect

Ad platforms sometimes flag a destination URL if it redirects through extra paths or subdomains before landing, even though it loads fine for a regular visitor. Where possible, update the ad's destination URL directly to the final live path instead of relying on the redirect to carry ad traffic, so the platform's crawler sees a clean, single-hop URL.

7. Clean up lingering 404s in search results

If search engines already indexed the old URL, it can take time to drop from results even after the redirect is live — that's expected. If you're actively managing SEO, submit the updated URL through your search console tooling so it gets recrawled sooner rather than waiting on the natural cycle.

How to verify it's fixed

  1. Visit the old URL directly in a private/incognito browser window and confirm it lands on the correct new page, not a 404.
  2. Check that the final URL after the redirect loads completely (no partial load, no second 404).
  3. Click through your own site's navigation and internal links to confirm nothing still points at the stale path.
  4. If this was tied to an ad campaign, re-check the destination URL in the ad platform's preview/validation tool.
  5. Wait a day and spot-check again — some browsers and networks cache a 404 response briefly, so a fix can take a short time to be visible everywhere.

When to contact support

Reach out if a redirect is configured correctly (correct source path, valid live destination, no loop) but visitors still hit a 404, or if you're seeing a "too many redirects" error you can't resolve by walking the chain yourself. Include:

  • The exact old URL and the intended destination URL.
  • A screenshot of the redirect rule as configured in Settings > Domains & URL Redirects.
  • Whether the issue is a hard 404 or a redirect loop.
  • Whether this is affecting real visitor traffic, an ad campaign, or just your own internal testing.

Frequently asked questions

Do I lose my page's SEO ranking when I rename it?

A properly configured 301 redirect passes most of the ranking value from the old URL to the new one over time — it's not instant, but it's far better than leaving a dead 404 where the old page used to be.

How many redirects can I have?

There's no practical limit for typical small-business use, but keep the list tidy — remove redirects for URLs that are so old they no longer receive any traffic, and consolidate chains down to single hops as you go.

Can I redirect an entire domain instead of one page?

Yes — when adding a redirect, you can choose to redirect the whole domain rather than a specific path, which is useful when retiring an old domain entirely in favor of a new one.

Why does the old URL still show up when I search Google for my business?

Search engines re-crawl on their own schedule, so a stale indexed URL can linger for a while even after the redirect is correctly in place. As long as clicking it correctly forwards visitors to the live page, this resolves itself over time without further action.