Is it better to delete web pages that I don't want anymore or should I 301 redirect all of the pages I delete to the homepage or another live page?

[CustomOnlineMarketing]

Is it better for SEO to delete web pages that I don't want anymore or should I 301 redirect all of the pages I delete to the homepage or another live page?

[EGOL]

The general answer is to do a 301 redirect.

I have a lot of temporary pages.  I delete the files and do a 301 redirects to a closely related page - or if none available to the homepage.

Since I have lots of temporary pages I place the redirect in the .htaccess file of the folder that contains the page instead of in my root .htaccess.  That keeps the main .htaccess uncluttered with temp pages.  I also plan my creation of temporary pages so that entire folders eventually go extinct.   I believe that saves processing time for lots of visitors.