Perplexing Guide to Redirecting a WordPress Site

What Even is A Redirect In WordPress?

Okay, listen up…so a redirect is like this crazy mechanism that takes users’ browsers from one URL to another URL. It’s like magic, I tell you! Website owners and users love it because it makes accessing the right page so much easier and avoids those dead links. And, get this, redirects can be permanent, temporary, or even conditional based on what’s needed. Mind blown, right?

The Different Types of WordPress Redirects

So, there are like several types of WordPress redirects that you need to know about. Pay attention, I’m only going to say it once:

• 301 Redirections:

  This is a permanent redirection from one URL to another. Use it if you’re migrating to a new domain, updating URL structure, or consolidating content. This type of redirect will inform the search engines that the page has moved permanently and transfer the link equity from the old URL to the new one.

• 302 Redirections:

  This is a temporary redirection from one URL to another. It does not transfer the link equity from the old URL to the new URL. Use it when you need to temporarily redirect a page such as maintenance or a special promotion on the website.

• Conditional Redirects:

  This redirect reroutes specific visitors to a particular page or post. For example, you may want to reroute mobile visitors to a mobile-optimized page or route visitors to a new blog post after they leave a comment on one of your posts.

Why in the World Would You Redirect a WordPress Site?

Oh, boy, here we go. Pay close attention because there are loads of reasons why you might need to redirect your WordPress site. Take notes if you have to:

1. Prevent Traffic Loss:

   You’ll want to redirect your site to prevent traffic loss due to incorrect URLs or a site migration that could lead to broken links.

2. Page Restructuring:

   You might need to restructure your site’s pages which could change the URL structure, or even rename pages. Redirecting the old URLs to the new ones is necessary to maintain the site’s SEO.

3. Domain Migration:

   Changing the domain name for a site can result in lost traffic, as people may still use the old URL. A redirect can help transfer the equity of the old domain to the new one while preventing broken links.

4. SEO Improvement:

   Redirecting a page to a new URL can help preserve the ranking of the old page, ensuring that its link juice is transferred to the new page.

Hold Up…How Do You Even Redirect a WordPress Site?

We’re getting to the good part, folks. There are a few ways to redirect a WordPress site, all a bit different. Ready for this?

1. Using a Plugin

This is the easiest way to do this whole redirect thing. Just use a plugin! And lucky you, we’re going to use the ‘Redirection’ plugin because it’s free and has over 1 million active installations. Here’s how:

1. Step 1: Install and activate the “Redirection” plugin from the WordPress repository.
2. Step 2: Navigate to ‘Tools>Redirection’ on the WordPress dashboard.
3. Step 3: Add the old URL, which will be redirected, and the new URL that the redirect will lead to. Then click on the ‘Add Redirect’ button.
4. Step 4: After you have added the redirection, the plugin will immediately start redirecting traffic from the old URL to the new URL. You can also log in to the plugin to view stats on the number of clicks, redirects, and errors.

2. Editing the htaccess File

Okay, this one’s a bit more technical, but don’t be scared. The htaccess file is the file that the server follows for URL interpretation, security, and rewrites. It’s a hidden file located in the website’s root directory, and you’ll need FTP access to edit it.

1. Step 1: Log in to your website using an FTP client such as FileZilla.
2. Step 2: Navigate to the root directory where you will find the .htaccess file.
3. Step 3: Add the following code at the top of the file, replacing ‘old URL’ with the URL you want to redirect and ‘new URL’ with the URL you want to redirect to:
   
   Redirect 301 /old-URL http://www.example.com/new-URL
4. Step 4: Save the file and exit. The redirect will immediately come into effect.

3. Setting Up Redirections Manually in the WordPress Dashboard

If you don’t want to use a plugin or access the htaccess file, you can redirect pages and posts in the WordPress dashboard.

1. Step 1: Navigate to the page, post, or category you want to redirect.
2. Step 2: Open the page’s editing screen and scroll to the bottom.
3. Step 3: In the ‘Redirect’ drop-down menu, choose the type of redirection you want to set up.
4. Step 4: Add the new URL that the page renamed to.

The Final Say On Redirecting a WordPress Site

Redirecting a WordPress site is the bee’s knees. It’ll make sure visitors get to the right page, prevent traffic loss, and maintain the site’s SEO. You can use a plugin if you’re not tech-savvy, edit the htaccess file if you like the technical stuff, or, if all else fails, you can set up a redirection on the WordPress dashboard. No matter which option you choose, just make sure your redirections are accurate and functional. You got this!