how to redirect a url to another url

When a website is new, the need for redirects can seem foreign. A new website with just a few pages is very simple. But over time, websites grow. As you add more pages and create more articles, you start having more URLs to manage. This article is about how to redirect a URL to another URL. You may find during the game that your URL is more complicated than you want. Or a website search may lead you to pages that are not working properly and should be removed or merged with others.

So what do you do with those old URLs?

Almost every website owner will face at some point the need to set up a redirect. What is a website redirect?

Website redirection points your old URL to a new page. When someone types or clicks on this first URL, they will be redirected to the page where you placed the redirect.

This ensures that visitors do not end up on a 404 page instead of finding something relevant to what they were looking for in the first place.

It also saves you from losing the value of any links you build on that page – which is important for search engine optimization (SEO), as well as the user experience of anyone who clicks on one of these links.

Knowing how to fix a redirect is a useful skill for anyone running a website.

You can implement page-by-page or domain-level redirects.

URL redirection type

There are three types of redirects to be aware of, although most website owners should use the first one.

1) 301 redirect

A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect. This type of conversion takes place both at the browser and server level.

This is the most used and powerful redirect. It bypasses all SEO capabilities of existing URLs.

And search engines recognize and list this type of redirect, making it the best option for SEO.

In almost all cases, this is the type of redirect you will want to use.

2) 302 Movement

A 302 redirect is a temporary redirect. It should only be used when you want to return to the old URL at some point.

If, for example, you are redesigning your site, but you want to direct users to a different section when you are done.

Or if you want to test two different versions of the page, before making a new version. 302 redirects are not used very often.

If you are considering using a 302 redirect, think carefully about whether to use a 301 redirect.

3) meta fresh

Have you ever landed on a page and been greeted with a message saying, “The original URL has not been redirected, you are now being redirected.

Click here if you are not redirected within 5 seconds. ? Then you get meta-actualization.

Meta-refresh is a redirect that works by telling the browser to go to a new page, without updating the server.

When you set the meta refresh rate, you can specify how long it will take to redirect to the new page.

Sometimes, search engines turn the meta-update the same thing as a 301 redirect, especially if the delay time is zero or one second.

But the way search engines read meta updates doesn’t change, they create a worse user experience by making the visitor wait to get to the page they’re looking for.

In the case where you are considering a meta update, it would be best to redirect 301.

Why you should create a redirect website

There are a few key indicators where URL redirection comes into play.

1. Redirect a subdirectory to a page on your site

When you create your site, you may decide to create your blog page on a subdomain of your site.

So instead of your blog URL being “mysite.com/blog”, you made it “blog.mysite.com”. And now you’ve decided it makes sense to remove your blog from the original subdomain setup.

This is the case where you have to fix the redirect.

The same thing goes for anything else if you have created a site or part of your site in a subdomain and now want to change the configuration URL to something new.

2. Redirect the duplicate content to the original page

Having duplicate content on your site is bad for SEO. If you have a large site, you may have pages with duplicate content.

When you have multiple versions of the same page, it becomes difficult for Google to figure out which page to place.

Avoid duplicate content problems by moving duplicate content to the original. This will reduce confusion for your visitors and improve your search engine ranking.

3. Redirect multiple domains to one domain

Many brands buy multiple domain names linked to their main URL to protect your brand online. If your brand is Azet Inc., you may have azet.com, azetinc.com, azet.net, etc.

Instead of buying domains to prevent others from registering and leaving them there, you can move them to your main website.

Or an empty string of your existing domain name, an extension of another top-level domain name, or something else.

4. Redirect your old domain to your new one

Have you built your site on a domain that wasn’t your first choice, and managed to buy your dream domain later?

Or maybe you’ve been undergoing a major rebranding and now it’s time to change your domain name.

Whatever the reason, you need to implement a redirect from your old domain to your new domain.

Now, moving an entire site is more powerful than a simple conversion, but it’s an important part of the process.

5. Redirect the old URL to the new URL

Sometimes you will need to change the URL of existing pages and posts.

Maybe you’re cleaning up your current URL structure, or you’ve moved to some page and the old URL no longer makes sense.

In this case, you will need to implement a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one.

This is especially true if your old posts are already indexed in search engines or have links pointing to them somewhere online.

how to redirect a url to another url

Many website owners have several ways to set up redirects. Here’s how to change a website URL.

1. Configure the redirect in cPanel

Once logged into your cPanel account, scroll to the “Domains” section.

Find the “Redirects” icon and click on it.

In the drop down menu under “Type”, you can choose between “Permanent (301)” or “Temporary (302)”.

Make your choice.

From the next drop-down menu, select the category you want to send it to.

You can select “All public domains” if you want the update to apply to all domains you have, otherwise select the appropriate one from the drop-down list.

Then, fill in the page you want to set up a redirect for and the page you want it to go to.

Note that in the first box you have to enter only the last part of the URL, since the root domain name is already provided in the drop-down menu.

But in the second box, indicate the full URL that you want to be redirected.

2. Configure the redirect in WordPress

The easiest way to set up a redirect in WordPress is to use a plugin.

If you are new to adding plugins to WordPress,

select “Plugins” from the menu on the left side of the screen.

Click “Add New”, and search for the plugin you want.

Click “Install Now”, then “Activate”.

Each plugin will have its own instructions on how to use it.

Conclusion

Setting up redirects can seem difficult at first for non-technical website owners. But there are many transparent options, it is a task that you will be able to do on your own.

And using redirects properly can help you improve your website over time to be more useful, avoid 404 errors, and improve SEO.