Updated January 2026
Quick summary
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect from one URL to another that tells search engines and browsers the content has moved; using 301 redirects correctly preserves SEO value, prevents broken links, and helps maintain your search rankings when you change URLs, restructure your site, or retire old pages.
What are 301 website redirects, and why you need to know about them
Most likely, you will do these things on your website regularly:
- You change the URL of a page or post: When you change the address of a web page on your website, you can use a 301 redirect to automatically send visitors to the new URL instead of the old one.
- You delete a page or a post (for example, about past events or notifications)
- You might tidy up your website and move a page (for example, the old page was mysite.com/products/product-name, and you moved it to mysite.com/shop/product-name
- You tidy up your blog and combine 2 or more blog posts.
Or you might completely change the domain name if you rebrand your business. 301 are super important in this case.
If you have worked hard on your website, created blog posts, and started collecting links from other websites to yours, it’s hugely important that for any of the above tasks, you add a so-called 301 redirect.
Why are 301 redirects important?
If you don’t set up 301 redirects and someone clicks on an old link, they will see a 404 error page. And that’s not only bad news for users but also Google!
301 redirects are important because:
- You don’t want to lose search engine rankings: When a page is redirected using a 301 redirect, search engines understand that the original page has moved permanently to a new location.
- You don’t want users to see error pages on your website: Redirects ensure visitors don’t encounter broken links. A 301 redirect takes them automatically to the correct page.
How does a 301 redirect work
A redirect works like a signpost that tells the user or a search engine to go to a different place. When you click on a link or type a website address into your browser, the server checks if there’s a redirect in place. If there is, it sends a message to your browser saying, “Hey, go to this other page instead!”. All of this happens in the background without the user noticing, and the page is opened with the changed URL.
However, Google will see this “command” and replaces the old URL in its database with the new one.
The website visitor is redirected to a different destination without them having to change the address manually.
A 301 redirect is a helpful guide that points the user and search engines in the right direction, ensuring they see the correct webpage.
What does 301 mean in 301 redirects?
The number 301 represents an HTTP status code indicating a permanent page or blog post redirect. This code informs web browsers and search engines that the old URL has moved permanently to the new URL.
Therefore, you instruct the browser to update its records and it automatically redirects any future requests for the old URL to the new URL.
How do you add a 301 redirect?
It all sounds technical, but it’s easier than you think!
Most likely, you will be using a website builder, such as WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or Shopify. Check below for Wix, Squarespace and Shopify.
How to add a 301 redirect in WordPress
If you plan to amend several URLs, using a spreadsheet is best. Changing a URL is also a good time to include important keywords.
- Take note of the old page or post URL (the one you want to redirect from) and the new URL (the destination you want to redirect to). Make sure you have these two URLs handy.
- The easiest method is using a WordPress plugin. The best one I can recommend is the 301 Redirects – Easy Redirect Manager.
- (A harder method is using the htaccess file on your website server where you can add redirect rules directly in the server configuration files. You may need to consult your hosting provider or web developer for assistance.)
How to use the 301 Redirects plugin
The plugin is super easy to use and allows you set up the redirects by entering the old and new URLs.
Once you’ve set up the redirect, it’s important to test if it’s working properly. Open a web browser and type in the old URL. The browser should automatically redirect you to the new URL. Double-check the URLs and the configuration or plugin settings if the redirect doesn’t work as expected.
You can watch a short video here on how to use the 301 redirect plugin in WordPress.
How to set up redirects for Wix or Squarespace websites
Set up redirects in Wix
Wix has a “URL Redirects” feature that allows you to set up 301 redirects. Here’s more information about it.
Set up redirects in Squarespace
Squarespace offers a built-in “URL Mapping” feature to manage redirects. Here’s more information about it.
Why are 301 Redirects important for SEO?
When you change the URL of a page on your website and you don’t add a redirect, a few things can happen:
- You have a broken link: When someone clicks on those links (for example, if they’ve bookmarked a page), they will see an error message or a “404 Page Not Found” page.
- You lose website traffic: Without a redirect, search engines won’t know that you changed a URL. They will continue to index and display the old URL in search results. People searching for your content may click on the old URL and encounter the broken link, leading to lost traffic to your website. Eventually, Google will remove the old URL and not replace it with the new URL.
- Poor user experience: Visitors seeing an error page may become frustrated or confused. They may assume that your website is not well-maintained or reliable.
- You lose search engine rankings: Search engines consider broken links and page errors as negative signals. Search engines prioritise websites with a good user experience and working links.
Avoid these common mistakes when adding 301 redirects
Be aware of some common mistakes when you add 301 redirects to your website.
- The URL is incorrect: If the old or new URL is incorrect, the redirect won’t work properly. Always double-check and ensure that both URLs are accurate.
- You’ve set up a redirect loop: A redirect loop happens when two or more pages redirect to each other repeatedly. This creates an infinite loop, causing the browser to display an error message. To avoid this, make sure to set up redirects in a way that they don’t create circular paths.
- You created the redirect, but you forgot to update internal links: You need to update the links within your website. Make sure all internal links go to the new URL and not to the redirect.
- You forget to test your redirects: Always test redirects to ensure they function correctly.
As you’ve seen, adding 301 redirects to your website is quite easy to do and it’s vital for maintaining search engine rankings, providing a seamless user experience, and managing URL changes effectively.
2026 notes
- 301 means permanent: Use a 301 when a page has moved for good, not for temporary changes.
- Redirect to the most relevant match: Point old URLs to the closest equivalent page, not just the homepage.
- Avoid redirect chains: Keep it to one clean step (old URL → final URL), not A → B → C.
- Update internal links: Change menus, buttons, and in-content links to the new URL so your site is not relying on redirects long term.
- Keep redirects accurate and tidy: Double-check spelling, slashes, and https, and avoid redirect loops.
- Test and monitor: Check redirects after changes and keep an eye on Search Console for crawl errors and unexpected 404s.
- SEO impact wording: A correctly set 301 usually passes most value, but messy setups can dilute results.
- Migrations need a plan: For redesigns or domain changes, map old URLs to new ones before launch and keep the redirects in place long enough for Google to fully replace the old URLs.
