The Indie Hacker's Domain Sunset Playbook: 8 Steps to Redirect Traffic

Killing a side project is hard. Letting its domain rot is worse. This playbook gives you 8 steps to redirect traffic, preserve backlinks, and close with class.

Before You Start: The Prep Checklist

1. Audit your current domain and content

Export your sitemap. Use Screaming Frog or a simple crawl to list every live URL. You need to know what you're redirecting before you break it. Also check Google Search Console for top-performing pages.

2. Decide: redirect to a new home or a dead project page?

If you have a new project, redirect to the relevant page. If the project is truly dead, redirect to a graceful death page. You can bury your dead project on dead.domains for free and redirect there.

3. Choose your redirect method

301 (permanent) for most pages. 302 (temporary) if you might resurrect the project later. Use your registrar's DNS or a simple .htaccess file if you're on Apache. For static sites, use Netlify redirects or Cloudflare Page Rules.

Step 1: Map old URLs to new destinations

4. Create a one-to-one redirect map

Don't just dump everything to the homepage. Map old blog posts to similar new articles. Map old product pages to the new project's equivalent. Use a spreadsheet with columns: old URL, new URL, redirect type, notes.

5. Handle special cases: images, PDFs, and subdomains

If you had images hosted on a subdomain (cdn.yourproject.com), redirect those too. Broken image links kill user trust. PDFs and downloadable assets should redirect to a landing page or a dead project notice.

Step 2: Implement the redirects

6. Set up redirects at the server level

For Apache, add 301 Redirect rules to .htaccess. For Nginx, use the rewrite module. For static hosts like Netlify, add a _redirects file. Test each redirect with curl or a browser extension. Don't skip this step.

7. Update your DNS records

After redirects are live, update your A record to point to the new server. If you're redirecting to a dead project page on dead.domains, point your domain there. Check out the Demo Grave (died of no users) for inspiration.

Step 3: Communicate the sunset

8. Send a final email to your users

If you have an email list, send one last email. Be honest. Say why you're shutting down, thank them, and link to the redirect. Include a note about data export if applicable. Keep it short.

9. Update your social media profiles

Change your Twitter bio, LinkedIn profile, and any other public links. Point to the new destination or the dead project page. Remove old links that lead to 404s.

10. Add a notice on the old domain before redirecting

Put a banner or a popup on the old site for 1-2 weeks before the redirect goes live. Say: "We're moving! Update your bookmarks." This gives regular users a heads-up.

Step 4: After the redirect is live

11. Monitor redirects for 30 days

Use Google Search Console to check for 404 errors. Use a tool like Broken Link Checker. Fix any stragglers. Redirects can fail due to caching or misconfiguration.

12. Update your backlinks manually if possible

Reach out to sites that linked to you. Ask them to update their links to the new destination. Not everyone will respond, but even a few updates help preserve SEO value.

13. Keep the old domain registered for at least one renewal cycle

Domains can be snatched quickly after expiration. Keep it registered for one full year after sunset. This prevents domain squatting and gives search engines time to update their indexes.

14. Submit a change of address in Google Search Console

This tells Google you moved. It helps preserve your search rankings for the new destination. It's a simple form under Settings > Change of address. Do it after redirects are stable.

15. Celebrate the closure

You built something. It didn't work out. That's fine. Pour a drink, write a postmortem, and browse the graveyard to see you're not alone. Then move on to the next project.

Bury your dead project for free on dead.domains and give it the dignified end it deserves.