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Other types of redirects

Last Updated: October 23, 2024

This document helps you understand additional redirect procedures. The Redirect Types: Comparison Table outlines the seven main redirect types you will encounter while working on VA.gov. For more information about those redirect – and redirects in general – return to the Redirect Implementation Strategy page.

You may, however, come across cases that fall outside those main redirect types. This document focuses on two common additional redirect situations:

We’re going to take a quick look at each redirect and highlight the important issues inherent to each.

For information about redirects not covered in the two situations above, head on down to the Additional Redirects section of this page.

The Sitewide Content, Accessibility & Information Architecture team (CAIA) reviews all URL redirects before routing them to the appropriate engineer.

Before you attempt a redirect, follow these two important steps:

  1. File a redirect request ticket on GitHub.

  2. Read the Design System guidance for redirects.

Let’s take a look redirecting static documents.

Redirecting static documents

We do not create redirects for any static documents like PDFs.

VA has millions of documents available online. It is not sustainable for us to manage the continuous changes of those documents. If a document’s path has changed, or the document has been removed, the owner of that document will need to correct the issue or implement the redirect.

Here are some tips to help stakeholders across VA avoid 404 errors:

  • Avoid changing the name of a document. This includes changing the casing in the document name. Changing the name of file changes the URL and will result in a 404 error.

  • Avoid using dates in file names for files that change frequently. An alternative is to keep current info in a file that’s always named the same (i.e. current-rates.pdf) and move outdated information to a dated file (i.e. rates-2022.pdf). This will allow all links to point to the same file. Links to the old information can be added if needed.

  • Follow URL standards. Use only lower case letters, use dashes to separate words, and avoid spaces in file names. These steps will help ensures a more readable file name. Below, we’ve included two examples to illustrate how file names affect URLs:

The file /how-to-apply-for-benefits.pdf reads exactly that way in a URL.

The file /How to apply for benefits.pdf becomes How%20to%20apply%20for%20benefits.pdf.

  • Avoid moving or deleting a file. Deleting a file results in a 404 error for each of the links pointing to the now-deleted file. If you must remove a file, the best solution is to implement a redirect. If that is not an option, here are a few suggestions to reduce 404 errors:

    • Update or remove all internal links so there are no internal links to the invalid file. Note that this will not help any external links.

    • Replace the original file with a new updated file that has the exact same name.

    • Replace the original file with a file that explains why the document was removed and links to related documentation. Use the exact same name as the original document when titling this new document.

Now, let’s take a look at redirects with in Drupal CMS.

Redirects within Drupal CMS

Redirects for pages within the Drupal CMS require very close coordination between the engineer making the change in the vsp-platform-revproxy repo and the person changing the URL within the Drupal CMS.

Here is a diagram to help you understand how this works.:

he diagram reflects a plan that is implemented in the CMS but not yet in nginx. The Drupal-specific timing difficulties here will be addressed if or when Platform works on an initiative to make Drupal the source of truth for redirects

The diagram reflects a plan that is implemented in the CMS but not yet in nginx. The Drupal-specific timing difficulties here will be addressed if / when Platform works on an initiative to make Drupal the source of truth for redirects.

Important Notes about Drupal Redirects

Here are two important things to remember about redirects within the Drupal CMS:

  • When a Drupal CMS page URL is updated: Drupal handles URL changes but does not deploy redirects to the website.

  • If the initiating page is managed by the Drupal CMS: the URL change is made in the CMS and the redirect is added to the vsp-platform-revproxy repo.

Additional Redirects

On rare occasions, you may encounter a redirect not covered in any of the redirect documentation thus far. In those situations, you should do the following:

  • Contact the Gateway Ops team.

  • File an Enterprise Security External Control Council (ESECC) request for the redirect via https://www.esecc.va.gov (PIV card required to access).

    • This request typically takes between 2 - 8 weeks to fulfill.

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