Create Redirects Instead of Dead Ends with WordPress

What are redirects and why should you care? Well, what if you clicked on an article in Google, excited for what you might find there, and it went to a dead page or a 404 (page not found) error. You’d probably be very disappointed and never visit that website again. 

This can happen to your site. It may be happening now.

Why You Must Use Redirects

You can save yourself from this dilemma by using redirects. Simply put, a redirect allows you to quickly and easily move traffic from one page to another. Why would you need to move traffic? There are many instances in which a formerly active page may become a “dead page”. In many cases, however, the common cause is a changed URL.

Changing a URL on a page may cause a dead link for search engine referrals.

So how can you create redirects for your site? The easiest way is to use a WordPress plugin.

Redirection Plugin For WordPress

There are many redirect plugins available for WordPress. But, for its simplicity and high rating, we recommend Redirection. Once you’ve installed Redirection on your site, you can access it under Tools → Redirection. Here, you’ll see a list of broken URLs and you can redirect them as you see fit.

Why Redirects Are Really Important

Think about your SEO (Search Engine Optimization). If search engines encounter an inordinate number of 404 errors on your site (page not found), they may drop your site lower in the search results pages.

This means all those 404 errors on your site may be costing you visits from potential clients, readers, or buyers. You don’t want that. Consider redirection a regular part of your ongoing site maintenance and SEO work. And be sure to let us know if you have any questions or comments about how redirects improve the user experience on your site.