In the event that you want to completely redesign an important landing page with an important URL (e.g. "/playingnow"), it can be necessary to draft a new version of the page and replacing the old version instead of editing the existing page. This is recommended when you want to change the page template or layout that you're using, but retain the same URL.
It's also common that an important landing page is in the main menu, and you'll need to be ready to adjust the main menu when the old version of your page is removed.
Prepare your New Page
- Build the new version of the page as a draft
- Share the page with your stakeholders and get approval for launching the page
- If the page is in the main menu, it is useful to take a screenshot of the existing menu as you may need to reorganize the menu quickly after you publish.
When you're ready to Launch
- First, deprecate the existing page. Edit the old page and change the permalink to something like "/playingnow-old". This frees the permalink up for your new page.
- Save the old page as a draft so that it is no longer live on the website.
- Edit your new page and put in the exact same permalink the old page had, e.g. "/playingnow".
- Publish the new Page
Clean up
If the old page was previously in the main menu, the menu will break at this stage and look fairly disorganized. To fix this situation:
- Edit the main menu in Appearance >> Menus.
- You should see a red-highlighted page in the menu which indicates that your old page is no longer published.
- Add your new page to the menu.
- If your old page had submenu items, reorganize the items underneath your new page.
- Save the menu.
Test
Go to the old url (e.g. /playingnow). You should see your new page, and the menu should appear the same as it did before.
When the new page is launched and you no longer need the old version, delete it.