A deep dive into redirects in WordPress: Types, use cases and best practices

As websites evolve and webpage links change, ensuring your audience finds the information they need can be tricky.

This is where redirects, the unsung heroes of user experience, come to the rescue.

Redirects act like digital traffic cops, guiding visitors from outdated or missing pages to relevant content and keeping your website running smoothly and efficiently.

In website management, redirects play a crucial role in guiding users, optimizing content, handling URL changes, maintaining SEO integrity, and ensuring a seamless online experience.

This post aims to unravel the intricacies of redirects, exploring their types, use cases, and the strategic implementation of redirects within the WordPress ecosystem.

What are redirects?

A redirect is a mechanism that forwards users from one URL to another.

This process is essential for handling changes in URL structure, web page movements, or ensuring a consistent user experience.

Think of redirects as digital signposts, directing visitors from an old, inaccessible path to a new, relevant destination on your website.

They ensure that when someone clicks a broken link, an outdated page, or an old domain name, they land on the content they intended to see, preventing frustration and preserving user engagement.

HTTP Status Codes

Redirects are associated with specific HTTP status codes, indicating the nature of the redirection.

Common codes include 301 (permanent redirect) and 302 (temporary redirect).

Why are redirects important?

1. Improved user experience: broken links lead to dead ends, frustrating users and hindering their ability to find the information they need. Redirects ensure seamless navigation and prevent visitors from leaving your website in disappointment.
2. SEO optimization: redirects prevent broken links from impacting your website’s search engine ranking. By redirecting visitors to relevant content, you signal to search engines that your website is well-maintained.
3. Content migration: When migrating your website to a new domain or reorganizing your content structure, redirects guide users to the new location of their desired pages, preserving website traffic and brand consistency.
4. Website maintenance: redirects allow you to easily update your website’s structure and content without impacting existing links or the user experience.
5. Consolidate web content: If you have duplicate content or similar pages, redirects can consolidate them, improving website organization and search engine optimization.
6. Error handling: Redirects can be used to handle common errors like typos in URLs or missing pages, ensuring visitors land on relevant information even if they make a mistake.

Common use cases for redirects

1. Changing permalinks

When restructuring permalinks, setting up redirects ensures that existing links pointing to the old URLs still lead to the correct content.

2. Updating URLs

Redirects are crucial when updating or rebranding a website.

They preserve SEO value and user bookmarks.

3. Handling broken links

301 redirects can be used to redirect traffic from broken or outdated links to relevant, working pages, improving the user experience.

4. Canonical URL implementation

Using redirects to establish a canonical URL helps in consolidating duplicate content issues and consolidating SEO authority.

Types of redirects

1. 301 Redirects

A permanent redirect informs search engines that the original URL has moved permanently to a new location.

This is the most common type, permanently moving a page to a new location.

Search engines update their records, reflecting the new URL.

Use case: migrating content to a new URL or consolidating multiple pages into one.

2. 302 Redirects

A temporary redirect indicates that the move is only temporary and that the original URL should be used in the future.

This informs search engines that the page is temporarily unavailable and users should be redirected to another location.

Use case: temporarily redirecting traffic for maintenance or promotional purposes.

3. 307 redirect

307 is similar to 302 redirects and indicates temporary redirection.

It maintains the method (GET or POST) used for the original request; it is specifically for POST requests like form submissions

It instructs browsers to not cache the new location, potentially forcing a reload of the content.

Use case: specific scenarios where a temporary redirect with nuances is required.

Best practices for implementing redirects

1. Choose the right redirect type

Select the appropriate redirect status code based on whether the move is permanent or temporary.

2. Update internal links

When redirecting a URL, update internal links pointing to the old URL to maintain a consistent user experience.

Use plugins like Link Whisper to automate updating internal links.

3. Regularly audit redirects

Periodically review and audit your redirects to ensure they remain relevant.

Remove unnecessary redirects to streamline performance.

4. Use clear and descriptive redirects

Inform users why they are being redirected

Make provisions for users about the information and context of the new page.

5. Test your redirects

Regularly test your redirects to ensure they are working correctly

This is to ensure they lead to the intended pages and do not frustrate your users

6. Monitor broken links

Monitor broken links on your site to implement redirects

Use plugins like Broken Links Checker or tools like Google Search Console to identify broken links.

7. Avoid redirect chains

Avoid too many redirects on your website; ensure not to redirect two pages into each other either.

Too many redirects can slow down your website and confuse search engines.

How to implement redirects

1. WordPress redirection plugins: Utilize plugins like “Redirection” or “Yoast SEO” to easily manage redirects from the WordPress dashboard. These plugins provide user-friendly interfaces for creating and managing redirects.
2. Theme options: Some themes include built-in redirect functionalities.
3. Using .htaccess file: Manually edit the .htaccess file to add redirect rules. This method requires caution and knowledge of server configurations; hence, it is for advanced users only.

Steps to creating redirects

Redirection is a user-friendly plugin for managing redirects on your WordPress website.

This guide will take you through the steps of creating both permanent and temporary redirects using this plugin.

1. Install and activate the plugin

1. Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Search for Redirection.
3. Click Install Now and then Activate.

2. Create a permanent redirect

1. Go to Tools > Redirection.
2. Click the Add Redirect button.
3. In the Source URL field, enter the old URL you want to redirect from (e.g., /old-page/).
4. In the Target URL field, enter the new URL where you want visitors to land (e.g., /new-page/).
5. Select 301 Permanent from the Redirect Type dropdown.
6. Click Save Changes.

3. Create a temporary redirect

1. Go to Tools > Redirection.
2. Click the Add Redirect button.
3. In the Source URL field, enter the old URL you want to redirect from (e.g., /old-page/).
4. In the Target URL field, enter the new URL where you want visitors to land (e.g., /new-page/).
5. In the Redirect Type dropdown, select either 302 Temporary or 307 Temporary (cache-disabled).
6. Click Save Changes.

4. Additional options

1. Regular expressions: Use regular expressions for more flexible redirect rules, matching multiple URLs with a single rule.
2. Match query strings: Consider matching query strings in both the source and target URLs for a more precise redirect.
3. Logging: Enable logging to track redirect activity and identify potential issues.
4. Import/export: Import redirects from other plugins or files for easy migration.

5. Testing and monitoring

1. Use tools like Google Search Console to test your redirects and ensure they work correctly.
2. Monitor your website traffic to see how redirects are impacting user behavior.