URL Redirects

URL redirects enable you to efficiently redirect URLs on your site to specific pages, ensuring visitors land on the correct content and preserving your search engine ranking. This feature supports redirects to regular site pages, external URLs, and custom pages like dynamic pages and blog posts, using advanced techniques such as wildcards and variables for flexible redirection with a single URL rule.

Note

  • When migrating to Website Builder from a different platform or hosting service, redirects are not needed if the URLs remain unchanged. However, if there are any differences in the URLs, such as the old URL path being /about.html (a previous URL standard) and the new path being /about, a redirect will need to be added.

  • While redirects can be set up to redirect to a different domain, the original page must be on the same domain. For example, you cannot create a redirect from www.a-different-domain.com to www.your-Website Builder -site.com (the domain that is or will be assigned to your Website Builder site).

Considerations

  • Transitioning to a new responsive site may impact search engine rankings temporarily. Use URL redirects to redirect old page URLs to new responsive URLs, maintaining search engine visibility.

  • Existing pages take priority over redirects. If the old page's URL still exists, the redirect will not direct users to the new page.

Terminology

  • Wildcards: Define URL rules based on URL structure using single (*) or double (**) asterisks to match text segments. Example:

    • Single asterisk matches text between the current slashes. For example, /category/*/home will redirect to /category/xyz/home or /category/abc/home but it will not redirect to /category/b/c/home.

    • Double asterisk matches any text in multiple slashes. For example, /category/**/home will redirect to /category/b/c/home.

  • Variables: Define a URL rule applicable to multiple pages sharing a similar structure but different content. Placed between the source URL and target URL, they facilitate efficient redirection. For instance, this is useful when converting store product URLs from one format to another. Variables are enclosed within curly brackets {} in both the source and target URL rules, requiring identical spelling for proper functionality.

    Example:

    • If you have an old store product URL of /product/p-23245-umbrella and the new URL is /product/umbrella, the source rule would be /product/p-*-{productname} and the target rule URL would be /product/{productname}.

  • Path: The part of the URL that identifies a specific resource within the domain. For example the path in www.domain.com/about is about.

Set Up URL Redirects

Before configuring a URL redirect, we advise removing the old pages from your site. If the old page or URL remains, the URL redirect will not function as intended.

To set up redirects:

  1. In the side panel, click More, then click Settings.

  2. Click URL Redirect.

  3. Click Add New Redirect.

  4. Enter the original path in the Source URL to redirect from.

    Example source URL with the page About outlined in red.

    • Only the path is needed rather than the full URL. For example the path in www.domain.com/about is about. If the full URL (for example www.domain.com/about) is entered, the redirect will not work.

    • If needed, utilize wildcards (*) and variables ({}) such as {product} for efficient redirection across multiple pages. See the section in this article, Terminology for more information.

  5. Choose the Destination:

    • Destination Page: Select a page within your Website Builder site.

      Note

      When redirecting to an anchor on the site, use the Destination - Custom URL option and place the full URL in the field (for example, www.domain.com/#about-us).

    • Destination - Custom URL: Enter an external or relative URL.

      Note

      If you used a variable in the Source URL field, use the same variable in this field too. The variable must be spelled the same way in both. You can also redirect to relative URL like blog and dynamic page, for example /blog/post-1.

  6. Use the Redirect Type drop down menu to select the type of redirect. Following are the options:

    • 301 redirect. Permanently moved (most common).

    • 302 redirect. Temporarily moved.

  7. Click Add.

Import Multiple Redirects from CSV

You can import multiple URL redirects from a CSV file, with each CSV file accommodating up to 200 redirect URLs and supporting the use of wildcards and variables. To access the option for uploading a CSV file to import multiple redirects, you must first add at least one single redirect.

To import multiple redirects from CSV:

  1. Download the CSV template using this link provided (the template is also available in step 4): redirects-import-template-csv. Refer to the CSV Upload Guidelines section for more information.

    Example CSV file with rows for Old page ulr, destination page url and redirect type.

  2. In the side panel, click More, then click Settings.

  3. Click URL Redirect.

  4. Click Import Multiple Redirects.

  5. If your CSV file is ready, click Upload CSV. If you skipped step 1, download the template by clicking Download CSV template first to ensure the correct structure is followed.

    Note

    The uploaded CSV should be in the same structure as our template, where the first column is the old URL and the new column is the new URL.

  6. Select your CSV, and click Open.

CSV Upload Guidelines

  • The CSV should be in the same structure as our template, where the first column is the old URL and the new column is the new URL.

  • Only enter the URL path, not the full URL. For example, if the old URL is www.domain.com/about, enter /about. Similarly, for the destination page, if the URL is www.domain.com/about-us, enter /about-us

  • The URL path in the Destination page URL column must match exactly as it appears in the editor. If it does not, it will not be imported.

  • If a redirect for an old page already exists in the editor, the redirect in the CSV will overwrite it.

  • If the Redirect Type is left blank, it will default to 301.

  • Ensure that you use a standard URL path format (for example /about-us).

  • A forward slash ( /) can be placed in the Destination Page URL when redirecting to the homepage.

  • When redirecting to an anchor on the site, use the full URL (for example, www.domain.com/#about-us).

Example CSV:

Example CSV file with rows for Old page ulr, destination page url and redirect type.

Additional Tips

  • URL Redirects are beneficial for consolidating multiple sites into one responsive site or transitioning to a new domain. They are also crucial for relocating specific pages to a new domain

  • Ensure visitors understand redirection to avoid confusion or phishing concerns.

Redirect with URL Parameters

Specific URL redirects do not apply to URL parameters, which are components following the '?' or '#' in a URL. Website Builder treats URLs with parameters as identical, regardless of the parameter values.

For example, the URL http://www.sitename.com/page1 is considered the same as http://www.sitename.com/page1?url_referrer=blank by Website Builder 's system.

If you have configured a 301 redirect for "page1," it will also redirect any "page1" URL with a URL parameter. If you need a specific URL redirect for a URL parameter, please check with your DNS host to see if this is something they can set up for you.

URL Redirect Troubleshooting

What can cause a URL to not redirect?

  • Extra parameters, queries, or spaces. Check the old URL to make sure there are no extra parameters, queries, or spaces at the end of the old URL.

  • Old page must not exist. Redirects only work for pages that no longer exist on your site. If the original page is still active and accessible in your editor (whether published or hidden), the redirect will not function. You must delete the page entirely before the redirect will work.

  • Pop-ups. If you're trying to redirect a URL that corresponds to an existing pop-up, the redirect will not function since pop-ups are stored as internal pages with their own URLs.

  • Republish required. Always republish your site after configuring redirects. Redirects will not take effect on your live site until after republishing.

  • Contains .php. The old url cannot contain .php, including in parameters.

  • Incorrect URL format. Pay close attention to URL format requirements when configuring redirects:

    • Source URL Format. Enter only the path portion of the URL, not the full address. For example, if redirecting from www.yoursite.com/old-page, enter only old-page rather than the complete URL. The editor automatically adds the domain, so including the full domain in your redirect configuration will break the redirect. Check for extra parameters or spaces at the end of the URL.

    • Destination URL Format. Do not include the full domain when using the Destination Page option. Enter just the path (such as / for the homepage or /products for a product page). If redirecting to a completely different domain, use the Destination - Custom URL option and enter the complete live URL of the target page (for example, https://yoursite.com/new-page or https://anotherdomain.com/page).

    • Parameters Not Supported. URL redirect parameters are not currently supported. You cannot include query strings or parameters in your redirect configuration. Remove any parameters from your redirect setup and only redirect the main path of the old URL.

    • Protocol and Trailing Slashes. Ensure your redirects account for both HTTP and HTTPS versions of URLs, as well as with and without trailing slashes if applicable, as these may be treated as separate URLs that need individual redirect rules.

  • Redirect loops and self-references. Avoid setting up redirects where the destination page redirects back to the source page. This invalid configuration blocks all redirects involved in the loop. Similarly, if the destination page has a redirect pointing back to the original page, it disrupts other redirects targeting that page. Review all your redirects to ensure this isn't happening and remove any self-references or loops you discover.

  • Duplicate redirects. If you've added the same redirect multiple times, remove the duplicates to ensure they take effect properly.

  • Verify that the destination page actually exists. To verify that your destination page actually exists:

    • Click on the redirect rule in your editor and check the target page listed in the redirect settings.

    • Navigate to the destination page directly to confirm it exists.

    • If you're using multi-language sites, ensure you're redirecting to the correct language version of the page, as the page name or URL must match exactly.

Once you've corrected all configuration issues and republished your site, test the redirect by visiting the original URL on your live site to verify it's working as expected.

Why did I get the error message "You can only add deleted or non-existent pages"?

  • This might be due to a still existing page, a blog post, or even a popup. To check, enter the old URL at the end of the new URL.