Step-by-Step Guide to Creating 301 Redirects in WordPress

Would you like to generate 301 redirects for your WordPress website? 

These redirects are automatically direct visitors who use outdated links to the new page, preventing them from encountering a 404 error page. This not only enhances user experience but also helps enhance your keyword rankings. 

In this blog, we will explain how to create 301 redirects in WordPress.

What Is a Redirect in WordPress?

In WordPress website development, a redirect is a way of directing a user from one URL to another. This is useful when you change the URL of a page or post on your website, and you want to ensure that visitors who have bookmarked the old URL or found it through search engines are automatically directed to the new URL.

There are several types of redirects available, but the most important ones are 301 redirects, which are used to permanently redirect a URL and 302 redirects, which are used for temporary redirects.

In WordPress, you can create redirects using plugins or modifying your website’s .htaccess file. 

Redirects are an essential tool for website owners to ensure that their visitors have a positive user experience and can find the content they are looking for easily.

When Does WordPress Need a 301 Redirect?

You may need to use a 301 redirect in WordPress when you make changes to your website that affect the URLs of your pages or posts.

Some common situations where you might need to create a 301 redirect include:

1. Changing the URL of a page or post: If you change the URL of a page or post, you will need to create a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new URL to ensure that visitors who have bookmarked or linked to the old URL are automatically redirected to the new one.
2. Merging two websites or pages: If you have two websites or pages that you want to merge into one, you can use a 301 redirect to direct traffic from the old website or page to the new one.
3. Updating your website’s structure: If you reorganize your website’s design or move content from one section to another, to make sure that visitors can still reach the material they are looking for, you might need to implement 301 redirects.

By using 301 redirects in these situations, you can ensure that visitors to your website have a smooth experience and don’t encounter any 404 errors when trying to access your content. 

301 redirects can help maintain your website’s search engine rankings by directing search engine crawlers to the new URL for your content.

Next, we will explore how to generate 301 redirects in WordPress. We will provide you with a guide on how to accomplish this task seamlessly, including using various WordPress redirect plugins or creating redirects manually via code or you can hire a WordPress website development company that provides the best cms web development services.

• Creating 301 Redirects with AIOSEO Plugin
• Using the Redirection Plugin to Create 301 Redirects
• Using the Easy 301 Redirects Plugin to Create 301 Redirects
• Changing Page Links From Existing Pages To Plugin

1. Creating 301 Redirects with AIOSEO Plugin

The All in One SEO (AIOSEO) WordPress plugin, which is regarded as the greatest SEO plugin for WordPress and is used by over 2 million professionals to boost their site’s SEO, makes it simple to manage and create 301 redirects for your website.

AIOSEO offers an efficient redirection manager addon that simplifies the process of identifying broken links on your website and setting up 301 redirects to fix them.

It’s important to note that to use the redirection manager, you’ll need AIOSEO Pro installed. The free version of AIOSEO does not include 301 redirects.

You’ll need to install and configure AIOSEO Pro on your website to get started. You can follow our step-by-step guide for setting up All in One SEO correctly for more information.

Once the plugin is activated, head to the All in One SEO » Redirects page on your WordPress dashboard and click on the ‘Activate Redirects’ button.

Managing and creating 301 redirects for your website is made easy with the All in One SEO (AIOSEO) WordPress plugin, which is considered the best SEO plugin for WordPress and is used by professionals to improve their site’s SEO.

 To use the redirection manager, you’ll need the AIOSEO Pro plugin, as the free version does not include 301 redirects.

To start, install and configure the AIOSEO Pro plugin on your website, following the step-by-step guide on how to set up All in One SEO correctly. Once the plugin is active, go to All in One SEO » Redirects on your WordPress dashboard and click the ‘Activate Redirects’ button.

To create redirects using the simplest method, click the ‘Settings’ tab and select ‘PHP’ as the Redirect Method. This method does not require any server-side configuration. 

AIOSEO also lets you select the Web Server redirect method, but it requires technical knowledge and is not recommended for beginners.

Creating 301 Redirects

To create 301 redirects, head over to the ‘Redirect’ tab and enter the link you’d like to redirect in the Source URL field, and then enter the new destination for the link in the Target URL field. 

Click the “Add Redirect” button after verifying that the redirect type is “301 Moved Permanently.” By selecting the “Add URL” button next to the Source URLs field, you can direct several URLs to a new destination.

Adding 301 Redirects to Fix 404 Errors

Click the “Add Redirect” button after verifying that the redirect type is “301 Moved Permanently.” By selecting the “Add URL” button next to the Source URLs field, you can direct several URLs to a new destination.

To turn this option on, scroll down to the ‘Redirect Logs’ section of the Settings tab and enable the options for ‘404 Logs’ and ‘Redirect Logs.’

 Also, you can choose how long the logs should be kept.

Directly Creating 301 Redirects From a Post or Page

If you’d like to redirect a published post or page while you are editing it, scroll to the bottom of the page in the WordPress editor and find the AIOSEO Settings section. 

Click on the ‘Redirects’ tab and enter the new URL in the ‘Target URL’ field, select ‘301 Moved Permanently’ from the Redirect Type drop-down menu, and then click the ‘Add Redirect’ button.

Redirecting Full Websites

Finally, if you move your website to a new domain name, you can use AIOSEO to move your entire website to a new location without losing traffic or search engine rankings. This is an entire site 301 redirects, and you can find a step-by-step guide on how to do this correctly in AIOSEO.

2. Using the Redirection Plugin to Create 301 Redirects

One way to manage redirects in WordPress is by using the Redirection plugin, which can be installed and activated following a detailed guide on how to install a WordPress plugin. 

After activating the plugin, you can access it by visiting Tools » Redirection and clicking the ‘Start Setup’ button. From there, you can choose to monitor permalink changes in WordPress and keep a log of redirects and 404 errors by enabling the respective options.

The plugin will automatically test the Rest API, and when the status comes back as ‘Good,’ you can click the ‘Finish Setup’ button. 

The plugin will then perform a few more tasks to complete its setup, and when the progress bar reaches 100%, you can click the ‘Continue’ and ‘Ready to Begin’ buttons.

To create your 301 redirects, navigate to the Tools » Redirection section and look for the ‘Add new redirection’ section at the bottom of the screen.

You can enter the Source URL of your old page, the ‘Target URL’ you want to redirect to, and make sure the HTTP code option is set to ‘301 – Moved Permanently.’ You can also access more options by clicking the gear icon.

To finish the procedure after entering all the information, click the “Add Redirect” button. You might think about utilizing it to edit your .htaccess file if you want to make your redirection as quick as feasible.

3. Using the Easy 301 Redirects Plugin to Create 301 Redirects

Creating 301 redirects can be a breeze by utilizing the Simple 301 Redirects plugin, as the name implies, it streamlines the process.

You’ll need to install and activate the plugin on your website to get started. Once completed, navigate to Settings » 301 Redirects. From there, input the old URL in the ‘Request’ field and the desired target URL in the ‘Destination’ field.

After inputting the necessary information, click the ‘Add New’ button to generate the 301 redirects. With that, Simple 301 Redirects will begin functioning instantly.

4. Changing Page Links From Existing Pages To Plugin

In certain cases, you may need to maintain a post in your site’s feed or a page arranged in a specific manner on your site while housing the content elsewhere. The Page Links To plugin is an effective tool in this situation.

Once the plugin is installed and activated, it appends a meta box to your WordPress editor. Within this box, you can input the URL of the new location where you want your users to be directed.

After selecting ‘Update’ or ‘Publish,’ WordPress will handle the post or page as usual. However, when a visitor accesses it, they will instead be redirected to the custom URL you specified.

With this plugin, you can accomplish that goal without running the risk of incurring duplicate content penalties from Google or alienating your user base.