The Complete Guide to 301 Redirects in WordPress

Mastering redirects is a rite of passage for any seasoned WordPress pro.

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When done right, they become an ultra-powerful tool in your SEO arsenal. But implemented poorly, they can undermine months of optimization work.

This definitive guide will give you total 301 redirect confidence…

Why 301s Are Not Your Average Redirect

Before we dive in, let‘s breakdown exactly why 301 redirects are so crucial…

On a technical level, the 301 status code tells browsers and search bots:

"Hey! This content has permanently moved. Update your records and redirect future requests to the new location."

Unlike 302, 307 or other temporary codes, 301s clearly signal a permanent change of address.

This means almost all ranking equity gets seamlessly passed onto the new URL. Pages keep their hard-earned authority during migrations. No starting over from scratch!

The Redirect Request/Response Cycle

When a visitor or bot makes a request for an old URL:

The 301 redirect gets triggered on the server
The browser receives a 301 response code
The browser forwards to the new location
Search engines update their indexes with the new URL

Rinse and repeat for every future request.

301s Also Cache Updated Location

Redirects don‘t just forward one-time requests. The 301 code also caches the new location to handle all subsequent requests automatically.

Think of it like changing your mailing address. You don‘t have to keep notifying people "Hey I moved!" 301s persistently update all references to the new URL.

This all happens behind the scenes to keep visitors happy.

Now let‘s explore why that matters…

The Critical SEO & UX Impacts

Beyond the protocol-level details, properly implemented 301s have cascading benefits:

Retain Search Visibility During Migrations

Ever migrate a site only to watch your pages plummet or even disappear from search?

Pro tip: it wasn‘t Google‘s fault.

Without persistent redirects, search has no way to connect old URLs to the new destination. Even if the content is exactly same.

301s form that unbreakable bridge between old and new. Pages retain their indexation and rankings despite the URL-level changes.

Pass 90-99% of Ranking Equity

Speaking of rankings…

Lost equity cripples many site moves. Pages tank because they‘re essentially "new" content without redirects.

With 301s properly preserving authority site-wide, pages keep their hard-earned placement:

Quite the difference compared to resetting from scratch!

Avoid Costly Dips from Broken Links + 404s

Now for the user side of things.

Redirects aren‘t just a "search engine hack". They provide visitors a smooth, uninterrupted browsing experience even as sites evolve.

Remember – users prefer seamless link-clicking. If they hit broken pages or 404 errors, chances are they‘ll leave and never return.

Implementing careful redirection eliminates this risk.

Make sure to redirect everything: images, scripts, styles, media etc. Leaving any assets behind results in a disjointed experience.

With comprehensive redirects, the transition becomes invisible on the user-side.

Let‘s dive into making that happen…

How to Add 301 Redirects in WordPress

Ready to master this vital skill? You have a couple paths for adding redirects:

Option 1: Via the .htaccess File

The most direct way is by editing the main .htaccess file on your server.

Here‘s a step-by-step guide:

Connect via FTP and navigate to your site‘s root folder
Download a backup copy of the .htaccess file
Open the file in a text editor like Notepad++
Add your 301 redirect code using this structure:

Redirect 301 /old-url /new-url

Save your changes and upload the updated .htaccess file
Test to confirm redirects are active

This works well for adding redirects individually. But for larger sites, plugins make things simpler.

Option 2: Using a Redirect Plugin

Plugins like Redirection take care of all the dirty work.

Just install, activate, and configure redirects via the user-friendly dashboard.

We‘ll use Redirection to demonstrate:

Search and install the Redirection plugin
Navigate to Plugins > Redirection
Click Add New Redirect
Enter existing URL in "Source URL“
Enter the new URL in "Target URL"
Select Permanent (301) redirect type
Save and activate redirect

Rinse and repeat to build all necessary redirects.

The major perk? No need to touch files or server access to manipulate .htaccess. Everything handles through the friendly UI.

Let‘s look at some common use cases where this comes in handy.

Redirect Reason #1 – Changing Domain Names

One inevitability sites face is changing domains – renewing an expired registration or updating branding:

yourdomain.com -> newdomain.co

Bulk redirects are needed so search engines know where the content has shifted.

Here‘s an example using wildcards:

Redirect 301 / http://newdomain.co/

This cleanly transfers over all URLs to the new domain name en masse. Nice and easy!

Individual redirects also work:

Redirect 301 /old-page.html /newdomain.co/new-page/

Just repeat for every piece of migrated content.

Redirect Reason #2 – Rebranding URLs

Fresh branding also often means updated URLs.

Instead of:

yourdomain.com/old-product-page

You rebrand to:

yourdomain.com/new-awesome-product

Again, redirects come to the rescue:

Redirect 301 /old-product-page /new-awesome-product

No loss of equity or user confusion during the transition. Just seamless redirection to the rebranded URL.

Redirect Reason #3 – Site Structure Changes

Evolving site architectures also require redirects for a smooth transition:

Redirect 301 /old-category/ url /new-categories/

Maybe you consolidated categories or shifted pages around via a plugin like RankMath.

Bulk updates often break links. Redirects save the day!

Common Redirect Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them

Now that you know how and when to deploy redirects, let‘s talk mistakes…

Because when done wrong, redirects can quickly snowball site issues.

1. Using the Wrong Status Code

As we covered earlier, 301 is the only status for permanent redirects. It‘s not interchangeable with 302, 307, etc.

Those pass zero SEO equity. Yet they often creep into redirects on accident:

Watch your plugin settings or .htaccess additions. Double check that 301 is always applied.

2. Creating Redirect Circles

Looping chains definitely fall under "bad redirects".

For example:

Redirect 301 /page /other-page  

Redirect 301 /other-page /something-new

But then...

Redirect 301 /something-new /page

Now the URL bounces endlessly from A > B > C > A again.

Not only does this frustrate visitors, but search engines penalize heavily for deliberate redirects loops.

Audit carefully anytime you add cascading redirects across multiple URLs.

3. Forgetting Accompanying Assets

When actually moving content – not just URLs – it‘s easy to forget accompanying assets.

For example, you redirected the page itself:

Redirect 301 /old-post /new-location

But images, scripts, stylesheets still reference /old-post/…uh oh.

Now content shows broken on the new URL. Images don‘t load, scripts fail, etc.

Carefully check dependent assets when migrating content. Redirect images/scripts/media for full preservation during moves.

This protects user experience and overall site integrity.

Advanced Redirect Management

Once you have redirects dialed-in, how do take it to the next level?

Monitoring and optimization.

Here are some key redirect reports all experts track for ongoing improvements:

Redirect status codes
Frequency and volumes
Equity flow (ranking changes)
Redirect chains and structures
404 errors pre vs. post redirects

Tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, and third-party plugins provide visibility here.

Continuously enhancing redirects keeps business-critical SEO on point.

Now over to you! Have any lingering redirect questions or lessons learned? Share with fellow readers in the comments below!