Beginner’s Guide to Creating 301 Redirects in WordPress (Step by Step)
Are you trying to create a redirect in WordPress? Not sure what a redirect is and why it is important? Don’t worry, we have got you covered in this beginner’s guide to WordPress redirects, we will cover what a redirect is, how to create a redirect in WordPress, why do you need, and when you should use redirects.
Ready? Let’s get started.
What is a Redirect in WordPress?
A redirect is a way for your website to send a quick message to your reader’s browser and tell them that the page they want to visit has been moved, so their browser can automatically point them to the new page of your choice.
There are various different types of redirects such as 301 redirect, 302 redirect, 307 redirect, etc.
However to keep this article simple and useful, we will only cover 301 redirects as that’s the most important.
Let’s take a look at why it is important by understanding the use case.
When do you need a 301 redirect in WordPress?
The primary reason to use 301 redirects is when your site or a page on your site has been moved, and you want to point the user to a new page instead.
This article idea came to us when one of our readers asked us for a way to redirect users from an old post to a new post.
– You need to create a redirect when you are planning on deleting a post or page in favor of new content.
– You need to create a redirect when you are planning on changing the permalinks of your post or page.
Why? Because not creating a redirect will cause your users to see a 404 not found error. Which is not only bad for users, but it can also impact your site’s SEO and hurt your search engine rankings.
That’s when 301 redirects become very important.
It allows you to tell search engines and your user’s browser that the page they are trying to reach has been permanently moved to a new location.
This allows for all your old page’s traffic and backlink (SEO) strengths to be transferred on to the new page.
Now that we have covered the why and when of redirects, let’s take a look at how you can create 301 redirects in WordPress using the different methods that are available.
Video Tutorial