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Do you want to know how to Create 301 Redirects in WordPress? When someone visits your site using an old link to a page that has moved, a 301 redirect will automatically take them to the new page so they don’t get a 404 “page not found” error. This makes it easier for people to use your site and will also help your keyword rankings. Some pages on your website may need to be moved or deleted. It’s the way life goes around and around. But if you move or delete a page, users could get a 404 error that stops them from getting to your content, which often makes them leave your site.
If you don’t set up redirects correctly, your bounce and exit rates may go up, which is bad for user experience (and could hurt your organic rankings). WordPress makes it easy to set up 301 redirects. If you add a 301 redirect to a page that has been moved or deleted, users (and search engines) will be taken to the new URL. Building 301 redirects is a good way to fix broken links on your site, whether you do it with a plugin or by editing your site’s files. Here are the ways how to Create 301 Redirects in WordPress.
What is a 301 redirect?
A redirect is a way for your WordPress Official website to automatically send users to a new address when the page they want to visit has been moved or replaced. This is like how the post office will send your mail to a new address when you move. There are a number of different types of redirects, such as 301, 302, and 307. When a user tries to go to a page that doesn’t exist, they automatically go to a different URL. This guide for beginners will focus on 301 redirects, which are the most important kind. They tell the browser that the page has been moved permanently to the new location and that you don’t plan to move it back.
301 redirects tell search engines that the page where you want people to land has changed or moved. They also pass between 90 and 99% of the link juice to the new URL, which keeps your page’s authority. Redirecting from old or broken links can help your SEO in this way. But redirects can slow down the speed at which your page loads by a measurable and significant amount. So, you should use redirects as little as possible by not using them when they aren’t needed. You should also make sure that your Top-Level Domain only needs one redirection to work.
Why use 301 redirects?
- Permanently Moved Content: A 301 redirect lets search engines and browsers know that you have permanently moved a web page or an entire website to a new location.
- Keeping SEO Value: A 301 redirect moves the SEO value (search engine ranking, traffic, and authority) from the old page to the new one. This helps your search engine rankings stay the same.
- User Experience: It makes the change smooth for people who might have bookmarked the old URL or linked to it. Users are taken automatically to the new page, which makes their experience better.
- Updating URLs: If you change URLs or reorganize your website, a 301 redirect makes sure that visitors and search engines can find the new location without getting “404 Not Found” errors.
- Consolidating Domains: When merging or rebranding, a 301 redirect sends visitors from the old domain to the new one. This keeps the domain’s authority and keeps visitors from leaving.
- Fixing typos: It helps fix typos in URLs so that users are still taken to the right content, even though there was a small mistake.
How to Create 301 Redirects in WordPress
Using a plugin
- Install a 301 redirect plugin and turn it on. Redirection, Redirect 301, and Simple 301 Redirects are some of the most popular plugins.
- Go to the page where you set up the plugin.
- Click “Add New Redirect” to add a new redirect.
- In the “Source URL” field, type the old URL.
- In the “Target URL” field, type the new URL.
- Choose “301 Moved Permanently” from the “Redirect Type” drop-down menu.
- Click “Add Redirect” to add a new link.
Using the .htaccess file
- Use a text editor to open the .htaccess file.
- Put this code into the file:
- Move 301 /old-url to /new-url.
- Put the old URL in old-url and the new URL in new-url.
- Save the file called .htaccess.
Benefits of Using 301 Redirects
- Permanent Redirect: A 301 redirect signifies a permanent move from one URL to another. It ensures that both users and search engines understand that the original URL has been permanently replaced by the new one.
- Preserves SEO Value: When you implement a 301 redirect, the SEO value (like rankings, traffic, and link juice) of the original page is transferred to the new destination. This helps in maintaining your website’s search engine ranking.
- User Experience: Redirecting users from an outdated or broken URL to a relevant new page ensures a seamless browsing experience, reducing user frustration and potential bounce rates.
- Search Engine Ranking Transfer: Search engines recognize the permanent nature of a 301 redirect and transfer most of the original page’s ranking signals to the new URL. This helps the new page gain visibility faster.
- Link Equity Preservation: Backlinks pointing to the old URL are still valuable. A 301 redirect passes on the link equity to the new URL, maintaining the value of these external links.
Understanding Different Types of Redirects
| Redirect Type | Status Code | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 301 Redirect | 301 Moved Permanently | Permanent redirection of a URL to a new location | Redirecting an old product page to a new one |
| 302 Redirect | 302 Found (Moved Temporarily) | Temporary redirection to a new location | Redirecting users to a maintenance page temporarily |
| 303 Redirect | 303 See Other | Indicating that a response can be found at another URI | Used in response to a POST request, redirecting to a GET resource |
| 307 Redirect | 307 Temporary Redirect | Similar to 302, indicating temporary redirection | Preserving the original request method in redirection |
| 308 Redirect | 308 Permanent Redirect | Similar to 301, indicating permanent redirection | Ensuring that future requests use the new URL |
Questions and Answers
Even though there are five different types of redirects (301, 302, 303, 307, and 308), the most common ones are 301 and 302. 301 – A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect in WordPress. It always sends Google bots and people who visit a site to the new page.
For instance, if you’re checking your URLs and find one like https://www.example.com/old1234.html, you’ll need to change it. You might want to clean this up, so you could use a 301 redirect to send people from that page to https://www.example.com/new, which is a better page.
A 301 redirect is needed for changes to a website to last and for SEO to keep the site’s ranking. On the other hand, a 302 redirect is better if you only want to make a short-term change. It tells the search engine that the changes are only temporary and might not affect the SEO ranking of the original page.
Google recommends using a 301 redirect to change the URL of a page as it is shown in search engine results. You should use a 301 redirect if a web page you remove has a suitable alternative page on your web site. If there is no suitable page (“suitable” here means a page with very similar content), then 404 the page.