301 redirects are a powerful tool to maximise SEO potential, effectively link visitors and provide an optimal user experience. Keeping up with the ever-evolving search engine algorithms can be overwhelming. Luckily, learning to add 301 redirects to a WordPress site is easy and straightforward. In this article, we will cover the different types of redirects, how to properly set up 301 redirects in WordPress using a redirect manager and the different ways you can benefit from it.
A 301 redirect tells search engines that the URL has now been redirected to a new page, helps search engines & users understand where new content is, and is extremely helpful when deleting old pages; otherwise, they will give a 404 error (Which means the page is not found).
301 redirections are a status code used in server-side programming when a URL is consolidated or changed. Essentially, when a user looks up the URL, the server notices the request for a page and redirects the website to a new domain. Any visitors and search engine crawlers will be rerouted to the new page. More importantly, a 301 redirect eventually passes the SEO "juice" from the old URL to the new one. SEO Juice is beneficial when we want to preserve the page authority of an old page, as it can help your WordPress site perform better for organic search.
It is important to note that when you create a 301 redirect, they are permanent (301 Moved permanently), unlike a 302 redirect (302 Moved temporarily), which is only temporary. If you decide to remove the redirect, it will require a lot more effort to reclaim the rankings of the old page.
Additionally, implementing too many 301 redirects with one website can be a costly drain on server resources. Therefore, when using 301 redirects, it is essential to limit the number of redirects your website performs and conduct testing to ensure they are functioning as expected.
Adding 301 redirects on your wordpress website is beneficial in a few ways.
Firstly, it helps visitors reach the correct location on your site, as they wouldn't need to update their bookmarked pages constantly. If you have a blog post with an old URL, the user won't need to search for it again. Similarly, redirects keep users from hitting a 404 page if they happen to click on an outdated link. User experience is improved and also serves to maintain credibility and trust for your WordPress site.
Redirects also help with SEO because they partially pass the link equity from an old URL to the new one, helping to retain any SEO progress you've made. Additionally, 301 redirects can help consolidate multiple URLs into one, making it easier for search engine crawlers to index the page rather than indexing various URLs. Finally, redirects also help with visual consistency since users can be forwarded to a page that looks the same or beamer to one that looks similar.
Before adding 301 redirects to a WordPress site, it's essential to understand permalinks. Permalinks are permanent URLs for your pages and posts in your web address bar. As previously mentioned, 301 redirects are triggered when a request for a page is sent to the server. It is important to note that adding 301 redirects can take anywhere from one week to one month before it takes full effect, so patience is vital.
To take full advantage of 301 redirects on your WordPress site, it is essential first to configure the appropriate permalink structure in your WordPress dashboard. WordPress provides multiple options for permalinks. However, the most popular and SEO-friendly design is the "Post name". You should use this structure unless you have a specific reason to choose otherwise.
Once you have selected the permalink structure you need, you can add 301 redirects in WordPress. Depending on the URL you are redirecting from, there are a few different methods of doing this.
There are various ways of redirecting URLs, and there are several redirect plugins for 301 redirects in WordPress; these can be used if you wish to redirect & make it easy to create 301 redirects if you're not too sure how to do them manually. We can add 301 redirects to a WordPress site by installing the WordPress Redirection plugin. This is used to create redirects easily and manage 301s via UI.
You can download this plugin from the Plugin search of the WordPress Admin Area and easily install it with a few clicks. Once installed, open the plugin and navigate to the "Add New" section, where you can add the old and new URL details. Don't forget to set the redirect type to "301 Permanent Redirect"; your WordPress site will immediately start redirecting visitors automatically.
You can also manually create redirects without a plugin by adding code snippets in the .htaccess file of your WordPress installation, which can be done by logging in to your hosting account (such as cPanel or Plesk) and editing the .htaccess file with a code editor. You'll need to add a line of code for each redirect you need, specifying the old and new URLs. Ensure the changes are saved, and the 301 redirects should now work correctly.
Aside from using the WordPress Redirection plugin, we can also manually add 301 redirects to our WordPress site. To do this, we first need to access the .htaccess file containing the 301 redirect rules. The .htaccess file can be accessed via your FTP client or file manager, depending on your hosting provider. Once you're inside the .htaccess file, you can add a new line:
Redirect 301 /old-url https://www.example.com/new-urland save the file.
The above line will ensure visitors are redirected correctly every time they type an old URL. While adding a redirect to a single page or the entire website to a new URL is possible and feasible, using a "redirection manager" may be more accessible and saves the need to create and manage redirects manually.
Now, it's important to remember that you should use 301 redirects only when necessary. Adding too many redirects can slow down your site. It would be best if you also were careful when using wild cards in the Redirect command, as these can create a lot of redirect chains and result in unexpected behaviours. Lastly, check the output of the redirects by typing in the URLs in the browser to ensure they are correctly redirected.
For the WordPress site owner, using wildcards for dynamic 301 redirects can be a time saver. Wildcards are vital pieces of code that allow us to redirect multiple URLs simultaneously. For example, if we want to redirect various pages, such as "example.com/blog/category/this" and "example.com/blog/category/that", to a new page, we can use wildcards.
In the .htaccess file, we can use the code "Redirect 301 /blog/category/* https://www.example.com/new-category". This will redirect all users who try to access "example.com/blog/category/*" to the updated page.
Redirect 301 /blog/category/* https://www.example.com/new-categoryThe above code needs to be added in the .htaccess file to redirect all pages that fit the criteria to the updated page and will look like something below:
In some cases, a 301 redirect may not be the best solution. For example, suppose your WordPress site is moving from HTTP to HTTPS. In that case, using a "Server Side Redirect" instead of a "301 Redirect" is recommended. A server-side redirect can pass SSL verification directly from the server instead of relying on a 301 redirect. Similarly, if the page's content has drastically changed, keep the original page as is and leave the 301 redirects to more similar pages. Page contents can influence the relevancy and prestige of a URL, and a drastic change can affect its rankings.
Adding 301 redirects to a WordPress website is essential for proper SEO management, as it ensures users get the best experience while navigating your site. Through 301 redirects, you can direct users from one page to another, maximising the potential of organic search and ensuring visitors can easily find what they need. 301 redirects are beneficial for organic search as it provides that Google considers your website more credible and relevant. It should also be noted that drastic changes in content should be avoided, as it can lead to confusion when users try to find specific pages. Another critical ranking factor for SEO is fast wordpress hosting!
Server-side redirects are a much better idea if a page needs to be updated or deleted. By staying proactive with SEO management and utilising 301 redirects, you can ensure your WordPress website is always running efficiently and effectively. In turn, it can lead to rewarding results in organic search rankings, making all the effort you put into optimising your page worth it.
