If you have used the internet you have probably had the experience of clicking on a link and being greeted with an error or redirection message categorized by a three-digit code, the most common being 404 (meaning the site no longer exists), 302 (meaning the site has been moved temporarily), or 301 (meaning the site has been permanently redirected).

The last of these codes is especially important- and noteworthy for Web Design Wednesday- because moving your site or changing its domain carelessly can cost you both users and search engine ranking.

Whether you are changing your domain name altogether, merging older sites, or even creating individual domain names for products or services that lead back to a subdirectory in your main site, you want to make certain to preserve all the traffic and user loyalty you have worked so hard to build. A 301 redirect is a user-conscious and search engine approved way to do this.

Using a 301 redirect takes into account your users who may have your previous URL bookmarked, since their clicking on the saved link will swiftly take them to your new page.

Also, Yahoo and Google endorse the use of 301, so your new URL will maintain its existing search engine rankings and index listings. To arrange a 301, you can use your web host control panel to modify your .htaccess file by selecting “Redirects,” and choosing permanent.

You might hear of various other techniques you can apply to your revised domain URL, but be wary and know the risks.

For instance, you can register an entire other domain, do what is known as “parking” it, and arrange for it to continue pointing to your main site. This practice essentially duplicates your content was once commonly used by shady webmasters to get sites listed in directories literally hundreds of times.

Bottom line: the search engines figured it out, and now they don’t respond well to it. Stick to trusted, tested, and true techniques for your web design.