WooCommerce permalinks use a fixed URL structure for products, product categories, and product tags. In many cases, this does not match how you want your store URLs to look or how your store is organized.
If you need full control over your store URLs, you have to use a custom solution or install a dedicated plugin. Permalink Manager replaces the built-in permalink system with its own logic.
Permalink Manager Pro allows you to customize WooCommerce permalink formats in almost any way you want. Instead of relying on global rewrite base, each product, category, or tag can have its own custom URL.
Customizing WooCommerce URLs with Permalink Manager Pro
Supported Content Types
Permalink Manager works with the following WooCommerce content types:
- Products
- Product categories
- Product tags
- Product attributes
The plugin is not limited to WooCommerce and works with other custom post types and taxonomies as well. You can edit them individually or apply the same URL structure to all items at once using Permastructures.
Bulk Changes
The easiest way to quickly rewrite multiple WooCommerce permalinks is by using the Permastructures editor. Changing the permalink format in that section will automatically set the default for all new WooCommerce permalinks.
If needed, you can also adjust the existing permalinks to follow the same structure. To follow best practices, keep the URL structure simple and descriptive. One way to achieve this is by removing unnecessary words from store permalinks.
Although URL length does not affect search ranking, shorter URLs are easier to read, and remember. To optimize this, you can use this tool to simplify original URLs by removing "/product/" and "/product-category/" from the WooCommerce permalinks.
Individual Adjustments
If you need to change permalinks individually, you can do so easily directly from the "Edit product (category)" page when updating content or through the bulk "URI editor" in the plugin dashboard.
Automatic Redirects
When you change a product or category URL, Permalink Manager automatically redirects the old URL to the new one, so you do not need to rely on a separate redirect plugin. This helps to:
- Preserve SEO value
- Avoid broken links
- Keep organic traffic flowing from existing backlinks
How to Add SKU to Product Permalinks?
Another useful feature is the ability to add SKU numbers to product permalinks. You can easily edit the product permalink format and add the SKU number anywhere in the URL.
Here is a simple example of how the SKU can be used inside a product permalink.
New product permalink format:
http://example.com/%product%-%__SKU%Sample product permalinks:
https://example.com/happy-ninja-83742603880/
https://example.com/woo-singles-18578169213/
The steps are identical to those for removing /product/ and /product-category/ from WooCommerce permalinks. First, navigate to the "Tools -> Permalink Manager -> Permastructures" admin page and scroll down to the WooCommerce section.
Now, under the permastructure field for the "Product" post type, add the "%__sku%" tag. You can enter SKU tag in any way you like inside the input area.
Permalink Manager will now add the SKU number to all new product URLs based on the new permalink format. Please keep in mind that existing product permalinks will not be automatically updated. Therefore, the old product permalinks must be regenerated in "Tools -> Regenerate" section.
Built-in Settings for WooCommerce Permalinks
If the native permalink settings are sufficient, you can manage them in "Settings -> Permalinks" section. At the bottom of that page, you can find a few additional fields that you can use to change the default base for each content type.
Use them to change the generic bases for product categories, tags and single products to make them better match the type of products or services you offer.
For example, replacing "Product category base" with "clothing" will structure category URLs as "store.com/clothing/shirts".
Limitations of Built-In Permalinks
The default WordPress permalink system is designed for simplicity, but comes with limitations that can be problematic. One of the most common permalink issues is caused by removing the default bases ("/product/", "/product-category/", or "/product-tag/") using the available settings.
Unfortunately, this action leads to rewrite rule conflict. It is not indicated anywhere in the dashboard, making it very difficult for typical user to identify it.
When WooCommerce content types do not have unique bases, or when the same, duplicated permalink format is applied to both products and product categories (e.g., "/clothing/"), WordPress cannot determine whether a URL should display a single product or a product category.
Similarly, you cannot assign the same slug to more than one category or product, regardless of whether they belong to separate parent categories.
URL Changes and SEO
Before changing any existing URLs, regardless of whether they are connected to WooCommerce or other content types, analyze the potential impact.
If you are building a new website or changing the URL of a new product or category that has not been indexed and has no backlinks, these changes will not harm your SEO. However, to avoid this problem later, choose the final URL at the beginning and avoid changing it in the future
Changing permalinks on an established website can be more dangerous and requires careful analysis. Before updating multiple URLs at once, carefully weigh the pros and cons.
For more details, check out the video from Google Search Central, which outlines important points and considerations.