In general, redirect should be used as a "fallback" for defunct URLs. Technically, they help users to find the correct page if they have bookmarked or typed in outdated URLs. Although this is a common purpose, it is not the only one. They may help site visitors and SEO in many other ways as well.
You should handle redirects carefully as they can negatively impact your SEO performance if used incorrectly. However, in one particular case, redirects are absolutely necessary.
In order to update an already indexed URL, search engines must be "notified". Because of this, if you do not set up a redirect, there is a chance that the old address will not be replaced by the new one once it is deindexed.
Extra redirects (aliases)
If you need a more powerful solution for improving WordPress redirect tools, consider Permalink Manager. When it comes to controlling redirects, the plugin provides much more versatility than the standard WordPress capabilities.
To summarize, you may use the plugin to generate extra custom redirects (aliases) for each post/page/category or term. This might be particularly useful if you want to allow users to use an extra URL (alias) or redirect traffic from other, obsolete URLs.
Please keep in mind that you can use an address as a "extra redirect" if it is not already used as a custom permalink by another post or term. If you try to redirect to a custom permalink that is already in use for another page, the "extra redirect" will be ignored.
You may "unlock" the affected URL (alias) and allow the extra redirect by excluding the ID of the item you wish to redirect.
The custom redirects panel is easily accessible from the URI Editor. To open it, click the "Permalink Manager" button located under the title field. Then, at the bottom, click the "Manager Redirects" button.
| Source URL (redirect from multiple alias URLs) | Target URL (redirect to one canonical URL/custom permalink) | |
|---|---|---|
| http://example.com/product-alias | ==> | http://example.com/2001-a-space-odyssey-25th-anniversary-edition |
| http://example.com/uncategorized/2001-a-space-odyssey-25th-anniversary-edition-9780451452733 | ||
| http://example.com/product/2001-a-space-odyssey-25th-anniversary-edition |
How to automatically save redirects for old permalinks?
Extra redirects can also be generated for previous versions of custom permalinks. This is not rare, and it might be really handy if you decide to change the URLs multiple times.
How exactly does it function? If the "Save old custom permalinks as extra redirects" option in the plugin options is enabled, the fallback version of the URL will be saved as a "extra redirect" if the permalink is manually altered with URI Editor or bulk updated with the "Regenerate/reset" tool.
How to disable the redirects manager completely?
The extra redirects functionality is enabled by default in the plugin settings. However, if you need to, you can easily turn it off. This may be the case, for instance, if you handle redirects with another plugin, such Yoast SEO Premium or Redirection.
To do this, open the plugin settings page and deselect the "Extra redirects (aliases)" checkbox.
How to redirect post/term to external URL?
Permalink Manager Pro may also be used to redirect any public post, page, or term to any external URL. Unlike internal redirects, you must type the whole URL address into the input field:
| Source URL (redirect from canonical URL/custom permalink) | Target URL (redirect to external URL) | |
|---|---|---|
| http://example.com/car/ford/ford-focus | ==> | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus |
Canonical redirect
In general, custom permalink modifications may result in a 404 ("not found") error. Changes to your URLs are unavoidable if you use Permalink Manager to reorganize your permalink structure. WordPress can identify and catch invalid URLs to some extent. That is, when an outdated URL is requested, WordPress looks for the new, updated URL and forwards the visitor if it finds it.
Nonetheless, the aforementioned WordPress functionalities do not always operate as expected. The plugin provides a solution for the old permalinks so that this problem may be avoided, which will also prevent a loss of visitors from search engines.
