I am considering moving an existing site to WordPress.com, I see the Domain Mapping and such so I can keep the original URL and also the email. The big problem is that the existing Permalink structure is the ugly default. My site is modest but I do get some search engine traffic and the Boating Safety Information seems to help people. I will map the existing Domain so at least the base address would stay the same.
Is there any way to minimize the impact / crash / 404 errors etc. short of going back in time two years and starting with matching Permalinks? I have some sites and friends that do link to specific Posts. I also have a Page set up as an Index of Posts / Articles so visitors can find individual articles easily
I do have the option of keeping the site at the old host and changing the Permalinks there and moving later.
Yes hindsight is great, but any words of wisdom or advice?
Thanks for any help.