In your time as a website editor, you’ve undoubtedly gone on the hunt for a specific file. Let’s say in this case, you’re looking for the student handbook to update it to the newest version. You find it, upload the new version, and go about your day.
A month later, a student is in your office asking you about an outdated policy in the handbook. You can’t help but wonder how they found an old version. You do a Google search and find several older versions of the handbook, and worse yet, the top result is five years old.
You’re probably asking yourself, how did this happen, and how do I fix it? So, let’s review what we can do to prevent this and several other file-related issues from happening in the future.
File Naming
First, let’s talk about file naming. This is an important topic to begin with because a properly named file is easier to find and replace on your website.
When naming a file you will be uploading to your website, you should use a different format than what may be standard on your computer. That's because on a website, the file name is used to generate the URL, and spaces or special characters in a file name do not translate well to URLs. For example, you may have a file named " ABC Department Handbook Final 8-8-2018.pdf” on your desktop, but when you upload this to your website, you see a URL of “/ABC%20Department%20Handbook%Final%208-8-2018.pdf”.
That’s not what you had in mind for a shareable link, and it could be much easier to interpret.
Keep best practices when naming a file in mind, and remember that the file’s original name will persist through file replacements. Update the file name to “abc_department_handbook.pdf” on your computer before uploading it to your website. Now you get a trailing URL of “/abc_department_handbook.pdf”, which looks nice and professional, so you’re happy!
Pro tip: If you ensure that the first page of the file always includes a date reference, such as “2025-2026 Academic Year”, there’s no question that the students are using the most up-to-date version.
What’s this look like in real life? Check out the difference between the two files:
File Replace
Now we’re ready to tackle the questions of “How did the student and Google end up with an old version of the handbook, and what can I do about it?”
Most duplicate files are a result of
- Being leftover from an old migrated site before the file replacement function was available
- Breaking the link to the current file and reattaching a new file instead of using file replacement
- The same file uploaded to multiple pages, instead of using the link from the original file upload
- Ever notice the URL of your files having _0, _1, _2, etc. at the end of them? This typically indicates that your website has duplicates of the same file name, some or all of which might be outdated
So, what’s the correct way to update files to avoid duplicate or outdated versions from hanging around?
For new files:
- Use the file upload button in the toolbar to upload the file to your page
- Click the link text to view and copy the new file’s URL to the clipboard
- Save your page
- On other pages where you want the file shared, use the toolbar's link button to paste the file's URL as the link URL.
These steps will prevent duplicate versions of the file from being created.
For current files that need to be replaced:
- Find the page you uploaded the file to originally
- Use the replace an existing file function to update a file
This will prevent outdated versions of files from existing on your website
While you’re following the directions to replace your file, you’ll notice that the file section also indicates how many web pages on your website use that same file. So, here’s one of the best things about the file replace tool: when you replace the file, it replaces it everywhere that the link is used. You do not have to go through each page replacing the same file.
Pro tip: When replacing files, remember that you have the ability to permanently delete any duplicate or outdated versions from the Files Used list. This ensures search engines stop indexing them. Before deleting, make sure any existing links are updated to the current file’s URL.
Using the Same File in Multiple Places
Finally, how did your file end up on multiple pages without creating duplicates? The website editor followed the tutorial on using the same file in multiple places, where they learned how to retrieve the link from the original upload and use it on other pages!
As a reminder from earlier in this post, when you replace a file, it will keep the original file name and URL. So, make sure your original file name is one you’d be comfortable sharing for years to come! Folks will get confused in 2026 about why the file you shared on the first day of class has a URL that contains a previous year.
Creating Accessible Links
As we’re reviewing best practices for file management, it’s worth noting that the linked text should be descriptive and unique from other linked text on the page.
Here are a couple of examples of how your files might be referenced on your website. When you originally uploaded your file, you added the file to the text: “Department of ABC Student Handbook (PDF)”. When you later shared the resource using the original link, you linked the text: “ABC Student Handbook (PDF)”. Both are acceptable because users can easily anticipate the result of clicking the link, thanks to their descriptive, unique nature compared to other linked text on the page. Also, best practice will have you indicate the file extension in the linked text.
Examples of unique, descriptive, accessible linked text:
- Department of ABC Student Handbook (PDF)
- ABC Student Handbook (PDF)
Examples of unhelpful, inaccessible linked text:
- Link
- Read More
- https://cals.las.iastate.edu/files/inline-files/example%20document%20blank.pdf
- Entire URLs should not be displayed
All website visitors benefit from knowing what the result will be before clicking a link.
Fun Fact
If you see a “Read More” link that was automatically created on a website hosted by the CALS/LAS Web Team, such as those following news, events, blogs, projects, or other content types, these have a special configuration to ensure the links are unique and useful to screen readers.
For example, if you view the CALS/LAS Web Team’s blogs, you can inspect the “Read More” link of any blog, and you’ll see the code contains “sr-only” that will read “About (Blog Title)”. So, a screen reader will tell the user, “Read More about PDFs, Web Pages, and Word Docs…Oh My!” not “Read More”.
Frequently Asked File Questions
- When will Google and other search engines reindex my site, so the old files no longer appear in search results?
- Google and other search engines do not run on a schedule that we can anticipate. If it’s an emergency, reach out to our team, and we can review the issue and propose solutions.
- How do I know if other old files are being stored on the website?
- Ask our team to provide a list of files used on your website! Then, you can do a content audit. If you have a lot of files to remove or can’t find a file, we can help remove them.
- What can I do about old files that were not named well?
- If the link to the file is only used in one place and isn’t shared in syllabi or marketing campaigns, it’s likely safe to delete the file and start over. If the link to the file is used in many places and widely shared, ask our team for help! We can upload the new file and set up a redirect so that old references to the file do not send visitors to a broken link.
- How do I know if a redirect would be the better choice?
- If it’s an important document for your unit and you’re unsure whether a redirect is necessary, reach out to us, and we can review the website’s analytics to help you make an informed decision.
Quick Links to File Tutorials
Files Used as Examples
Questions?
Do you have questions regarding file management or files on your website? Reach out to the ITS CALS/LAS Web Team at websupport@iastate.edu.