301 Redirects

A 301 Redirect is the most efficient and SEO-friendly way of permanently redirecting an old URL to a new one. For example, if you change platforms and have a page that used to be at http://mystore.com/my-old-page and is now at http://mystore.com/my-new-page, you want to ensure that anyone who goes to the old page is redirected to the new page.

Creating 301 redirects for old URLs is essential for optimizing SEO (so Google realizes your page still exists but with a new location) and also for customer experience — you don't want customers to see an error if they click on an outdated link.

Adding a 301 Redirect

You can create redirects in your control panel using the steps below.

1. Go to Settings › 301 redirects and click Create Redirect at the top right of the page.

2. In the field that now appears under Old URL, type the page URL preceded by a /, then Save your changes. This should include all of the URL that comes after your domain name.

If you redirect from a reserved URL, you will be prompted to confirm that you know the potential risks involved. Click OK to proceed, or Cancel the Redirect.

3. Select whether you want your Redirect to be manual or dynamic.

• Manual redirects have you enter the new URL to which you want the customer to be redirected. If you change the URL again, you must update the 301 redirects.
• Dynamic redirects have you select the category, product, brand, blog entry, or webpage to which the customer should be redirected. If the URL of the page chosen changes later, the 301 redirects will update automatically.

4. If you selected manual, enter the new URL in the empty field under New URL. As with the old URL, it should be preceded by a /.

If you selected dynamic, click the Link To dropdown menu that says. In the dropdown menu, select the type of page you are linking to (Product, Category, Brand, Page, Blog), and then click the Select Button and choose from the list provided in the pop-up. Click Insert Link.

Deleting a 301 Redirect

If you need to delete 301 redirects, check the boxes next to the redirects in question and click the Trash icon at the top of the list.