301 redirects play a pivotal role in the performance of your website and its user experience. When done correctly, they can help you manage traffic flow across your site to all your key pages. Done incorrectly, they can stop important pages on your site from getting traffic. This article will discuss everything you need to know about 301 redirects. First, we’ll explain what a 301 redirect is and whether it impacts SEO. We’ll then give you step-by-step instructions on how to implement 301 redirects across various content management systems, from WordPress to Shopify. We’ll also discuss some scenarios whereby you may wish to use 301 redirects on your website and answer some of the web’s most frequently asked questions regarding these vital redirects. With this knowledge, you’ll know how to implement 301 redirects without the worry of losing SEO rankings or user experience in the process. ## What is a 301 redirect? To understand redirects, you first need to understand what 301 means in relation to 301 redirects. 301 refers to a HTTP status code sent by a website’s server to a web browser. A 301 redirect informs the browser that a permanent redirect from one URL to another is in place. This means that all users who request the old URL will be sent to the new URL automatically. 301 redirects pass the ranking power from the old URL to the new URL and are most commonly implemented when a page has permanently moved or been deleted from a website. ## Do 301 redirects impact SEO? There is a little nuance to this answer. Before 2016, we would’ve said yes, 301 redirects do impact SEO to an extent. Previously, URLs that had been redirected to another URL did lose a certain amount of PageRank (PR)*. This could have hindered their SEO performance depending on the industry they were in, competing pages, and various other factors. However, according to Google, 301 redirects have not lost any PageRank as of 2016. So, as long as the redirect has been implemented correctly, there should be no impact on rankings or traffic coming to any page with a 301 redirect implemented within it. **PageRank is an algorithm Google Search uses to rank web pages within Google. Named after one of Google’s founders, Larry Page, PageRank measures the importance of different web pages based on the number and the quality of links (internal and external) to them.** Whilst 301 redirects being implemented on your site shouldn’t have a huge impact on your website’s SEO, you can use SEOTesting’s URL Switch Test to check this. ## How to implement a 301 redirect This section will take you through the steps to implement a 301 redirect across various content management systems, including: - WordPress - Shopify - BigCommerce - Magento We’ll also explain how to do this via your website’s .htaccess file if you don’t use one of these content management systems. ### Setting up 301 redirects in WordPress The easiest way to create 301 redirects within WordPress is to install and use a plugin. You can also set them up via your .htaccess files, which we’ll explore later. Start by logging into your WordPress dashboard: Next, navigate to **Plugins > Add New** and search for a plugin that can handle URL redirection. Some great options include: - [Yoast SEO](https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/) - [All in one SEO (AIOSEO)](https://aioseo.com/) - [Redirection](https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/redirection/) - [Rank Math](https://rankmath.com/wordpress/plugin/seo-suite/) Install your chosen plugin by clicking **Install Now**, followed by **Activate**. Once the plugin has been activated, head to **Tools > Redirection** to configure it. Depending on the plugin, you may need to complete a setup wizard to help you learn the tool’s ins and outs. Within the plugin’s settings page, you will find options to add new redirects: To create a new 301 redirect, enter the old URL in the prompted field and the new URL in the field below. Ensure the redirect type is set to 301 – Permanent. Click **Add Redirect** to save the changes. ### Setting up 301 redirects in Shopify If you have a Shopify website, implementing 301 redirects is simple. First, log into your Shopify admin dashboard with your credentials. Once logged in, navigate to the **Online Store** section via the left-hand sidebar and click on **Navigation**. The URL Redirects option is at the top of the Navigation page. Click on it, and then select the **Create URL redirect** button. In the **Redirect from** field, enter the old URL path you want to redirect, ensuring it’s relative to your store’s domain. For example: /old-page In the **Redirect to** field, enter the new URL path, where the old URL should redirect to. For example: /new-page Once you have entered the correct pathways, click **Save**. Finally, test the redirect by entering the old URL in your browser to ensure it correctly redirects to the new URL. ### Setting up 301 redirects in BigCommerce Setting up 301 redirects in BigCommerce can be done via the admin panel. Once logged in, navigate to the **Settings** section from the left-hand sidebar and select **301 Redirects** under the **Domain** section. In this section, you can set up any 301 redirects you need. First, ensure the domain is correct at the top of the menu, and then enter the old URL (the URL you want to be redirected) into the correct section. Your next step is to select the type of redirect you want. Here are your options: - **Manual Link –** This will allow you to set the redirect to any URL of your choosing. - **Dynamic Link –** This will allow you to set the redirect to a specific page/object. When you’re done, click **Create**. ### Setting up 301 redirects in Magento Setting up 301 redirects in Magento stores involves a few straightforward steps. Start by logging into your Magento Admin Panel. Once logged in, click on the Marketing section and select the URL Rewrites option labeled under **SEO & Search** in that menu. Once you’re in that menu, select **Add URL Rewrite**. Make sure you have the redirect type set to custom. Type in the URL you wish to rewrite into the **Request Path** option. Type in the URL you want to set the redirect to into the **Target Path** section. Finally, set the **RedirectType** to Permanent (301). You can enter a description if you wish, but this isn’t necessary to set up the redirect. ### Setting up 301 redirects via .htaccess If you’re unable to implement 301 redirects within your content management system, you can always create 301 redirects using your website’s .htaccess file instead. Firstly, access your website’s .htaccess file. You can do this using an FTP client such as [FileZilla](https://filezilla-project.org/) or your web hosting control panel’s file manager. The .htaccess file is located in the root directory of your website, typically within the **public\_html** folder. **Before making any changes, it’s vital that you back up the .htaccess file.** Download a copy to your local device to ensure you can restore it if anything goes wrong when creating your redirects. Open the .htaccess file in a text editor. To set up a 301 redirect, add a redirect rule at the end of the file. The format for the rule is: **Redirect 301 /old-page /new-page** Replace **/old-page** with the path of the old URL that you wish to redirect and **/new-page** with the path of the new URL. For example: **Redirect 301 /old-blog-post /new-blog-post** After adding the redirect rules, save the changes to the .htaccess file. Upload the changed file back to your server and replace the old one. Finally, test the redirect by entering the old URL in your browser to ensure it correctly redirects to the new URL. ## When to use a 301 redirect In this section, we’ll discuss some common scenarios where you may want to (and, in some cases, need to) set up 301 redirects on your site. ### Changing your domain name When you change your domain name, you’ll need to implement 301 redirects from your current domain to your new one to ensure that all existing traffic, backlinks, and (crucially) search engine rankings are transferred to the new domain. Doing this will help maintain your SEO performance and ensure that users who visit the old domain are automatically redirected to the new site without encountering any issues. ### Consolidating multiple websites into a single domain If you merge multiple websites into a single domain, 301 redirects are essential to correctly redirect traffic from the old sites to the new consolidated site. This process helps to retain all SEO authority and ranking signals from the individual sites, ensuring that the new consolidated site benefits from the accumulated SEO value of the old sites. ### URL structure changes Any changes in your URL structure, such as changing categories on an ecommerce site, can lead to broken links and a poor user experience. By setting up 301 redirects from all of the URLs that will be removed/changed, you can ensure that visitors and search engines are directed to the correct pages, preserve all of your rankings and avoid any 404 errors. ### Deleting or removing pages As your website grows and evolves, it may become necessary to delete pages that no longer serve value. Implementing 301 redirects prevents users from landing on error pages and ensures that search engines update their indexes to reflect the changes. ### Switching from HTTP to HTTPS **HTTPS is HTTP with proper encryption and verification. Switching to HTTPS, if you haven’t done so already, is crucial so make sure you do this soon.** Setting up 301 redirects from HTTP to HTTPS will ensure your existing website traffic is securely redirected to the new, secure URLs. This helps you preserve rankings, traffic, and user satisfaction when switching. ### Fixing duplicate content issues Duplicate content can harm your site’s SEO by diluting the authority of your pages. By implementing 301 redirects from duplicate content URLs to the original or preferred URLs, you consolidate the SEO value and avoid duplicate content penalties from search engines. ### Content refreshes & updates When you refresh or update your content and change the URLs, 301 redirects are essential to ensure that the existing backlinks and search engine rankings are transferred to the new URLs. ### Expired or discontinued products For ecommerce sites, it is inevitable that at certain stages products will be out of stock for an extended time, discontinued, or removed from the site completely. When this happens, it’s important to redirect the old product URLs to relevant new products or categories to maintain a good user experience. ## Frequently asked questions: 301 redirects ### What is the difference between a 301 redirect and a 302 redirect? The difference is that a 301 redirect lists a URL that has been redirected permanently, whereas a 302 redirect lists a URL that has been redirected temporarily. ### What is a 301 redirect from? A 301 redirect originates from an old URL that you want to permanently redirect to a new URL. ### Are too many 301 redirects bad? While having a single 301 redirect typically passes most of the link equity from your old URL to the new one, excessive redirects can lead to performance issues, such as slower load times and increased server load. ### How to fix 301 redirects? Fixing broken 301 redirects on your site involves several steps to ensure they are optimized without negatively impacting your website’s performance, user experience, or SEO. ### How does a 301 impact SEO and website ranking? A single 301 redirect typically passes most (if not all) of the link equity from your old URL to the new one, but changing multiple redirects can dilute this link equity. ### Can a 301 redirect cause a temporary drop in traffic/rankings? This can happen when you redirect multiple URLs on your site simultaneously. ### Is it possible to 301 redirect multiple URLs to a single URL? Yes, this is done to prevent issues with duplicate content. ## Let’s wrap things up 301 redirects are crucial for managing your website’s traffic and ensuring a seamless user experience. They help maintain SEO value by transferring link equity from old URLs to new ones, and in turn, help to preserve your site’s rankings and authority.