How to Create Redirects in Shopify: A Complete Guide to URL Management

What Are Redirects and Why Are They Important?

At their most basic form, redirects simply automatically send your customers from one URL to another. They play a vital role in maintaining your website's health and user experience; for example, deleting products (See How to Safely Delete Products from Shopify Without Hurting SEO). Here's why redirects are crucial for your Shopify store:

• ‍Prevent 404 errors & Improve user experience: When you change a page's URL or remove content, redirects ensure visitors don't land on a "Page Not Found" error. This is extremely important for user experience and helps to keep your users on a "happy path".
• Preserve SEO value: Redirects pass on the SEO authority from the old URL to the new one, helping you maintain your search engine rankings.
• Manage site changes: As your store grows and evolves, redirects help you manage URL changes without losing traffic or confusing customers.

Types of Redirects: Understanding 301 Redirects in Shopify

Often when talking about redirects you will hear of two different types: 301 redirects & 307 redirects. While they essentially do the same thing (sending your customer from one url to another) they have different functions.

• ‍301 Redirects: Are permanent redirects. They are the type of redirects that you can add in your Shopify store.
• ‍307 Redirects: Are temporary redirects. These would be used for things like maintenance or pages that you just temporarily need to redirect. You cannot manually add this in your Shopify store, however Shopify may use them in the background.

How to Create a Redirect in Shopify

1. Log in to your Shopify admin panel
2. Go to "Online Store" > "Navigation"
3. Click on the "View URL Redirects" button
4. Click "Create URL redirect"
5. In the "Redirect from" field, enter the old URL path (e.g., `/old-product`)
6. In the "Redirect to" field, enter the new URL path (e.g., `/new-product`)
7. Click "Save redirect"

Note: You don't need to include your domain name in these fields - just the path that comes after it.

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Redirecting Shopify Store to External URL

Shopify also allows you to redirect to external URLs. These are links to other websites other than your Shopify store. These can be useful when:

• Linking to a partner site
• Redirecting to a new domain
• Sending users to a specific product on another platform

To create an external redirect:

1. Log in to your Shopify admin panel
2. Go to "Online Store" > "Navigation"
3. Click on the "View URL Redirects" button
4. Click "Create URL redirect"
5. In the "Redirect from" field, enter the old URL path (e.g., `/old-product`)
6. In the "Redirect to" field, enter the full URL, including `https://`
7. Click "Save redirect"

For example, you might redirect `/partner-offer` to `https://partnerwebsite.com/special-deal`.

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What to do if your Shopify Redirects are Not Working

If you find your Shopify redirects aren't working as expected, try these troubleshooting steps:

• Check for typos: Ensure both the "Redirect from" and "Redirect to" URLs are spelled correctly.
• Verify URL format: Make sure you're using the correct format (just the path for internal redirects, full URL for external).
  Clear your cache: Your browser might be showing a cached version. Clear your cache and try again. Or try to visit the redirected link from a "Incognito" or private browser.
• Avoid redirect loops: Make sure you're not creating a circular redirect (A → B → A).
• Wait and test again: Sometimes, changes can take a few minutes to propagate.

Clear your cache: Your browser might be showing a cached version. Clear your cache and try again. Or try to visit the redirected link from a "Incognito" or private browser.
Avoid redirect loops: Make sure you're not creating a circular redirect (A → B → A).
Wait and test again: Sometimes, changes can take a few minutes to propagate.

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SEO Impact of 301 Redirects in Shopify

Properly implemented redirects can significantly impact your SEO:

• Preserve link equity: When you change URLs, redirects ensure that the SEO juice of the old page transfers to the new one.
• Reduce bounce rates: By guiding users to the correct content, you improve user experience and reduce bounce rates. (Bounce rate: the percentage of customers who leave your site after only viewing a single page.)
• Maintain search rankings: Proper redirects help Google and other search engines understand your site structure, potentially maintaining or improving your rankings.

However, be cautious of redirect chains, which are multiple redirects in a sequence that can slow down your site and hurt SEO.

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Redirect Ninja: Simplified Shopify Redirect App

While Shopify's built-in redirect tool is useful for basic needs, as your store grows, managing redirects can become complex. This is where Redirect Ninja comes in.

Redirect Ninja is a powerful and simple to use app designed to simplify and enhance redirect management in your Shopify store. Check it out here

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Additional Resources

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/menus-and-links/url-redirect#create-a-url-redirect

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