Migration URL Strategy — Architecture Diagrams

The diagrams below illustrate the reverse-proxy approach. They cover the two scenarios where the proxy adds value: routing across multiple Webflow projects, and resolving legacy URLs against flat CMS slugs.

Diagram 1 — Routing across multiple Webflow projects

A single reverse proxy in front of the public domain routes each request to the right Webflow project based on the URL path. The user's browser sees only the canonical public URL — the routing is transparent. Useful for phased migrations, separated content domains, or running staging alongside production for QA.

flowchart LR
    USER["User browser"]
    PROXY["Reverse Proxy
lsuno.edu"]
    ROUTE{"Path prefix?"}
    PROJ_A["Webflow Project A
news, media"]
    PROJ_B["Webflow Project B
academics, admissions,
research, ..."]

    USER -->|"GET /news/2024-spring-jazz"| PROXY
    USER -->|"GET /academics/cos/chemistry"| PROXY
    PROXY --> ROUTE
    ROUTE -->|"/news, /media"| PROJ_A
    ROUTE -->|"/academics, /admissions, ..."| PROJ_B
    PROJ_A -->|"HTML response"| PROXY
    PROJ_B -->|"HTML response"| PROXY
    PROXY -->|"Original URL preserved
in browser address bar"| USER

    style USER fill:#e1f5ff,stroke:#1976d2
    style PROXY fill:#fff4d6,stroke:#f57c00
    style PROJ_A fill:#d4edda,stroke:#388e3c
    style PROJ_B fill:#d4edda,stroke:#388e3c

Diagram 2 — URL resolution for CMS-hosted pages

Pages migrated as Collection items live at flat Webflow URLs (/collection/slug) because CMS slugs cannot contain /. The reverse proxy intercepts the legacy hierarchical URL, translates it into the flat CMS path, fetches the rendered page, and returns it to the user with the original URL preserved in the browser. Internal links, canonical, and og:url can be rewritten on the way out so the legacy URL surface stays consistent.

sequenceDiagram
    autonumber
    participant U as User Browser
    participant P as Reverse Proxy
(lsuno.edu)
    participant W as Webflow CMS

    U->>P: GET lsuno.edu/academics/cos/chemistry
    Note over P: Path transformation
/academics/cos/chemistry
↓
/academics/cos-chemistry
    P->>W: GET /academics/cos-chemistry
    Note over W: CMS lookup
collection = academics
slug = cos-chemistry
    W->>P: HTML response
(template + rich-text field rendered)
    Note over P: Optional rewrites:
canonical, og:url,
internal <a href> tags
    P->>U: HTML response
    Note over U: Address bar shows
lsuno.edu/academics/cos/chemistry
(legacy URL preserved)

Approach Summary

Two paths to preserve SEO parity once static pages move to Collection CMS items. Both unblock the static-pages cap; they differ in URL appearance and operational footprint.

Option A

Reverse Proxy

A proxy in front of the public domain intercepts each request, translates the legacy hierarchical URL to the flat Webflow CMS path internally, and returns the response to the user with the original URL preserved in the browser.

User sees: lsuno.edu/academics/cos/chemistry
Webflow serves: lsuno.edu/academics/cos-chemistry

Pros

URLs identical to uno.edu legacy — pixel-perfect match
No redirect chain, no SEO transition risk
Internal links from imported content keep working natively
Sitemap can be rewritten on the fly with no manual work

Cons

Adds an infrastructure component to operate and monitor
Heavier setup than redirects
Per-item URL field needs to be populated for new pages

Option B

301 Redirects with wildcards

Webflow serves the new flat CMS URL. Wildcard 301 redirect rules map legacy hierarchical URLs to the new flat URLs section by section. Browsers resolve to the new URL.

User typed: lsuno.edu/academics/cos/chemistry → 301
User lands on: lsuno.edu/academics/cos-chemistry

Pros

All-in-one inside Webflow — no extra infrastructure
Standard SEO pattern, well-understood by search engines
Webflow's auto-generated sitemap works as-is
Faster to ship

Cons

Visible URL changes (slashes become dashes from the second level)
Short transition period while search engines reindex
Mixed convention long term (legacy paths redirect, new pages born flat)

Path Handling by Section

How each section behaves under the chosen URL strategy. News, Media, and Profiles are unaffected by the Option A vs B decision — their Webflow-native URLs already match what should be served publicly. Only Academics (and other sections moving into the CMS-with-HTML-dump approach) depend on the choice between Option A and B.

Section	Legacy URL (uno.edu)	New URL in Webflow	Legacy SEO treatment	New content (post-launch)
News	`/news/2024-03-15/spring-jazz`	`/news/spring-jazz`	301 redirects (date-prefix removal)	Flat directly — no transformation
Media	`/media/12345/download`	`/media/12345`	Single wildcard 301 rule	Flat directly — no transformation
Profiles	`/profile/jdoe`	`/profile/jdoe`	None — URL already flat	Flat directly — no transformation
Academics + other CMS-HTML	`/academics/cos/chemistry`	`/academics/cos-chemistry`	Depends on Option A or B	Depends on Option A or B

Academics under Option A (Reverse Proxy): Migrated and new pages both keep hierarchical URLs in the browser. New pages declare their public URL via a url_path field in the CMS — the editor picks hierarchical or flat per item. No rule-based ambiguity.