Orders and information
A discontinued product page can still answer a useful question
Help existing customers find the right next step without presenting an unavailable item as orderable.
A product is no longer sold, so the business removes its page. An existing customer follows an old bookmark while looking for a replacement part and reaches a generic error. Retirement can be more useful than either deleting everything or leaving an active-looking order button.
Describe the remaining customer need
For a fictional Estonian equipment seller, distinguish buying the original item, identifying a compatible replacement and finding historical instructions. The appropriate information may differ for each task. The business must approve compatibility and availability rather than expecting the website to infer them.
A retired page can state that the item is unavailable, identify its model clearly and offer a relevant enquiry route. Avoid suggesting a replacement is equivalent unless that has been confirmed.
Keep old links meaningful
Inventory product-page links, document links and references used in earlier customer messages. Google's migration guidance recommends mapping changed URLs deliberately. The practical customer question is whether the old address still leads to an understandable answer.
If information moves to an archive, label the status and intended use. Do not redirect a model-specific instruction to a general catalogue and treat the journey as complete simply because the server returns a page.
Try the customer's old reference
Use a fictional model number and an old link. Ask a colleague to determine whether the product can still be ordered and how to ask about support. Check the result on the website and in the office's enquiry record.
A catalogue and order improvement can include this retirement process. It preserves useful information while keeping the current commercial offer accurate.
Further reading: Google guidance on deliberate URL mappings.