If you‘ve ever changed a URL on your WordPress website without properly implementing a redirect, you may have inadvertently harmed your site‘s SEO and frustrated your visitors with broken links and 404 errors. 301 redirects are essential for maintaining your search engine rankings and providing a seamless user experience when you need to change or remove a URL.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dive deep into everything you need to know about 301 redirects in WordPress, with a special focus on implementing them with PHP code. Whether you‘re a beginner or a seasoned developer, by the end of this post you‘ll be equipped with the knowledge and tools to expertly manage redirects on your WordPress site.
What Are 301 Redirects?
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect from one URL to another. It tells search engines and browsers that the page has permanently moved to a new location. 301 is the HTTP status code for a permanent redirect.
There are a few key reasons to use 301 redirects:
1. Preserving SEO rankings when changing URLs
If you change the URL of a page that has already been indexed by search engines, you‘ll lose any SEO rankings and authority associated with that page. By implementing a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one, you signal to search engines that the page has permanently moved, and they will transfer the rankings and authority to the new URL.
2. Fixing broken links and improving user experience
If you remove a page from your site or change its URL without a redirect, any links pointing to the old URL will break, leading to a poor user experience and a higher bounce rate. With a 301 redirect in place, visitors and search engines will be automatically routed to the new URL, preserving the user experience and flow of link equity.
3. Consolidating multiple URLs
If you have multiple URLs that point to the same content (e.g. with and without "www" in the domain, or with slight variations), it‘s best to choose one canonical URL and redirect all the variations to it. This helps consolidate your SEO authority and avoids the risk of duplicate content.
Consider these statistics that underscore the importance of 301 redirects for SEO:
- 55.24% of websites have issues with broken links and pages that don‘t properly redirect (source: Sitechecker)
- 404 errors can drop a page‘s traffic by over 85% (source: LinkResearchTools)
- Resolving issues with 404 pages and faulty redirects can increase search engine rankings by 15% on average (source: SEMrush)
When Do You Need 301 Redirects in WordPress?
Here are some of the most common scenarios where you‘ll need to implement 301 redirects on your WordPress site:
- Changing your domain name
- Changing your permalink structure
- Consolidating several pages into one
- Deleting an old page or post
- Fixing links to content that no longer exists
- Moving your site from HTTP to HTTPS
Essentially, any time a URL on your site changes permanently, you‘ll want to put a 301 redirect in place to avoid broken links and maintain your SEO.
Comparing the Different Methods to Implement 301 Redirects in WordPress
There are three primary ways to set up 301 redirects on a WordPress site:
- By installing a redirect plugin
- By editing your .htaccess file
- By adding PHP code to your WordPress files
Each method has its pros and cons. Here‘s a quick comparison:
| Method | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Redirect Plugin | – Easiest to set up – Requires no coding knowledge – User-friendly interface |
– Can slow down your site if not configured properly – Relies on WordPress environment |
| .htaccess File | – Implemented at server level, so very fast – Doesn‘t rely on WordPress |
– Requires access to server files – Syntax errors can break entire site |
| PHP Code | – Most flexible and powerful – Can be used for complex, conditional redirects |
– Requires PHP coding knowledge – Incorrect implementation can cause redirect loops or errors |
In my experience, using PHP is the best method for advanced users who need the utmost flexibility and control. However, for most users, a well-configured redirect plugin will be sufficient.
How to Implement 301 Redirects with PHP in WordPress
Implementing 301 redirects with PHP code offers the most flexibility and control. You can add PHP redirects directly to your WordPress theme‘s template files, or use them in your own custom plugins.
Here‘s the basic syntax for a PHP redirect:
<?php
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");
header("Location: https://www.newurl.com");
exit();
?>Let‘s break this down:
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");sends a 301 HTTP status code indicating this is a permanent redirect.header("Location: https://www.newurl.com");specifies the URL to redirect to. Replace this with your new URL.exit();ensures no further code is executed after the redirect.
To use this in the context of a WordPress page template, you might have something like:
<?php
/*
Template Name: Old Page
*/
// 301 redirect to the new page
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");
header("Location: https://www.yoursite.com/new-page/");
exit();
?>Now, when someone visits a page using this template, they will be redirected to the new URL.
You can also use PHP to perform more dynamic redirects, such as redirecting based on certain conditions. For example, here‘s how you might redirect an old post category to a new one:
<?php
if (is_category(‘old-category‘)) {
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");
header("Location: https://www.yoursite.com/new-category/");
exit();
}
?> This code checks if the current page is displaying the "old-category" category archive, and if so, redirects to the "new-category" archive.
Here‘s another example that redirects a specific post to a new URL:
<?php
if (is_singular(‘post‘) && get_the_ID() == 123) {
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");
header("Location: https://www.yoursite.com/new-post/");
exit();
}
?> This checks if we‘re viewing a single post with the ID of 123, and if so, performs the redirect to the new URL.
PHP redirects are powerful because you can hook into WordPress‘ own functions and conditionals to create very targeted, specific redirects. However, it‘s important to use them carefully – incorrectly placed PHP redirects could result in redirect loops or unexpected behavior.
Best Practices for Managing 301 Redirects in WordPress
Regardless of which method you use to implement your redirects, there are some best practices to keep in mind:
- Always use 301 permanent redirects, not 302 temporary redirects. 301 redirects are what signal to search engines that the move is permanent, and to transfer any link equity and rankings to the new URL. Only use 302 redirects for true temporary moves.
- Redirect to the most relevant page. When choosing your redirect target, pick the new page that‘s most similar in content and intent to the old page. Don‘t just redirect everything to your homepage.
- Use absolute URLs. Always redirect to the full, absolute URL (like
https://www.yoursite.com/page/) rather than a relative URL (/page/). This prevents issues if the domain name changes. - Audit and update your internal links. In addition to setting up a redirect, take the time to update any internal links on your own site that point to the old URL. This helps with SEO and ensures a seamless user experience.
- Monitor your redirects. Use tools like Screaming Frog or Google Search Console to regularly check for 404 errors and broken redirects. Fix any issues promptly.
How to Track and Monitor Your 301 Redirects
Implementing redirects is just the first step – it‘s crucial to also monitor them to ensure they‘re working as expected and to catch any issues early. Here are a few ways to keep tabs on your redirects:
Google Search Console
Search Console‘s Coverage report will show you any pages that are returning 404 errors, which may indicate a missing or broken redirect. You can also use the URL Inspection tool to check the status of individual redirected pages.
Search Console is a free tool, and in my opinion, an essential part of any SEO‘s toolkit. If you haven‘t set it up for your site yet, do that before worrying about redirect monitoring.
Screaming Frog
Screaming Frog is a desktop program that crawls your site like a search engine and highlights any redirect chains, loops, or broken links. It‘s a comprehensive way to audit your site‘s redirects.
While the free version is limited to crawling 500 URLs, the paid version allows unlimited crawling. For a large site with lots of redirects, the investment is well worth it.
Redirect Plugins
Many WordPress redirect plugins, like Redirection, include built-in tools to log and monitor 404 errors and redirects. This can help you identify any problematic patterns or frequently accessed missing pages.
If you‘re using a redirect plugin anyway, make sure to take advantage of these monitoring features.
Analytics
Keep an eye on your traffic in Google Analytics. If you see a significant drop after implementing a redirect, it may indicate an issue with the redirect not working as intended.
In Analytics, you can set up custom alerts to notify you of any sudden drops in traffic. This can act as an early warning system for redirect problems.
The SEO Impact of 301 Redirects
Implementing 301 redirects is a critical SEO task when making changes to your site‘s URLs. Here‘s why:
- Preserves link equity: When an authoritative website links to your page, it passes along some of that authority (known as "link equity"). If you change the URL without a redirect, that link equity is lost. A 301 redirect tells search engines to pass the link equity to the new URL.
- Maintains search rankings: Correctly implemented 301 redirects signal to Google that the page has permanently moved, and to transfer any existing search rankings to the new URL. Without a redirect, your rankings for that page will drop.
- Prevents 404 errors: A 404 error occurs when a user tries to access a page that no longer exists. Too many 404 errors can hurt your site‘s user experience and SEO. 301 redirects prevent 404s by guiding users and search engines to the new location of the page.
Consider these statistics:
- 90.63% of websites have broken internal links (source: Ahrefs)
- Search traffic can drop by up to 60% if a site has too many 404 errors (source: HubSpot)
Proper use of 301 redirects can mitigate these issues and maintain your hard-earned search rankings.
Common Mistakes with 301 Redirects (and How to Avoid Them)
To round out this guide, let‘s cover some of the most common mistakes people make with 301 redirects in WordPress, and how you can avoid them:
1. Using 302 redirects instead of 301
As mentioned, 302 redirects are for temporary moves. Using them for permanent changes can confuse search engines and fail to pass link equity. Always double-check that you‘re using a 301 redirect for permanent URL changes.
2. Creating redirect loops
This occurs when URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects back to URL A, creating an infinite loop. This can happen with incorrect regex redirects or PHP redirects. Use tools like Screaming Frog to check for redirect loops, and be careful with your redirect patterns.
3. Chaining too many redirects
This is when a URL redirects to another URL, which redirects to another URL, and so on, before finally reaching the destination page. While not as bad as a loop, chained redirects slow down page load times and can dilute link equity. Always redirect directly to the final destination URL.
4. Not updating internal links
Setting up a redirect is great, but don‘t forget to also update any internal links on your own site to point directly to the new URL. This saves a redirect step and helps solidify the new URL as the authoritative one. Use a tool like Screaming Frog to find all internal links to the old URL.
5. Forgetting to test redirects
After setting up a redirect, always test it to make sure it‘s working correctly. Visit the old URL and make sure it properly redirects to the new one. You can also use a tool like Screaming Frog to bulk test your redirects.
FAQs About 301 Redirects in WordPress
To wrap up, let‘s answer some frequently asked questions about 301 redirects in WordPress:
Q: How long do 301 redirects take to process?
A: A 301 redirect should be instant for users. However, it can take search engines anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to fully process the redirect and transfer the link equity and rankings to the new URL.
Q: Do 301 redirects pass 100% of link equity?
A: According to Google, a 301 redirect passes between 95-99% of the link equity from the old URL to the new one. So while there might be a tiny loss, 301 redirects are still the best way to preserve your SEO when changing URLs.
Q: Can I remove a 301 redirect after a certain amount of time?
A: It‘s generally best to leave 301 redirects in place permanently. Even if you think all links have been updated to the new URL, there could still be old links out there that you‘re unaware of. Leaving the redirect in place ensures no one ever lands on a broken link.
Q: Will 301 redirects slow down my site?
A: A single redirect will have negligible impact on page speed. However, if you have a lot of redirects, especially chained redirects, it can start to slow things down. This is why it‘s important to audit your redirects regularly and remove any that are no longer necessary.
Key Takeaways
- 301 redirects are a crucial tool for preserving your SEO and user experience when URLs change
- You can implement redirects in WordPress via plugins, .htaccess file, or PHP code
- PHP redirects offer the most flexibility and control
- Always use 301 (permanent) redirects, not 302 (temporary)
- Redirect to the most relevant page, use absolute URLs, and update internal links
- Monitor your redirects using tools like Google Search Console and Screaming Frog
- Avoid common mistakes like redirect loops, chains, and forgetting to test
- Leave redirects in place permanently
By following the best practices laid out in this guide, you can harness the power of 301 redirects to maintain your site‘s SEO and provide a seamless experience for your users, even as your URLs change over time.
