How to Change Your WordPress Site URLs (Step by Step)

9 min read 22-10-2024

How to Change Your WordPress Site URLs (Step by Step)

Welcome to the world of website URL manipulation! Today, we're diving into the process of changing your WordPress site URLs, a crucial maneuver for website owners looking to enhance their online presence, optimize SEO, or simply relocate their site.

Understanding the Importance of WordPress URL Structure

Before we jump into the nitty-gritty of URL manipulation, let's first grasp why URL structure matters. Imagine a website as a sprawling city; each page is a unique building, and the URL is the street address guiding visitors to their destination.

A well-structured URL is akin to a clear and concise street sign, making it easy for search engines like Google and visitors to understand what each page is about. In contrast, a messy or cluttered URL is like a poorly-lit, confusing maze, causing search engines to struggle with indexing your website and users to abandon their search.

Here are some key reasons why you might need to change your WordPress site URLs:

SEO Optimization: URLs play a significant role in search engine optimization. Search engines prefer short, descriptive URLs that accurately reflect the content of the page. By tweaking your URL structure, you can improve your site's ranking in search results.
Brand Rebranding: If you're rebranding your website or changing your business name, updating your URLs to reflect the new identity is essential for maintaining consistency and avoiding confusion.
Site Migration: When migrating your website from one domain to another, you'll need to redirect all your old URLs to the new domain to avoid losing valuable traffic and search engine ranking.
Improving User Experience: Clean and concise URLs are easier for visitors to read, understand, and share. They contribute to a smoother user experience, making your website more accessible and user-friendly.

The Different Types of WordPress URLs

Let's break down the different types of WordPress URLs you might encounter:

1. Default WordPress Structure:

Example: https://yourwebsite.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=123&action=edit
Characteristics: Long, cluttered, and difficult to understand. These URLs are often generated by WordPress itself, making them less SEO-friendly.

2. Post Name Structure:

Example: https://yourwebsite.com/sample-post-title
Characteristics: This is the most common and SEO-friendly structure. URLs are created based on the post or page title, making them human-readable and easily indexed by search engines.

3. Custom Structure:

Example: https://yourwebsite.com/category/sample-post-title
Characteristics: Allows for more granular control over your URL structure, enabling you to incorporate categories, tags, and other elements. This option provides greater flexibility for optimization but requires a more in-depth understanding of URL manipulation.

How to Change Your WordPress Site URLs

Now that we've established the importance of URLs and explored their variations, let's dive into the practical steps involved in changing your WordPress site URLs:

Step 1: Backup Your Website (Crucial!

Before making any significant changes to your WordPress website, it's imperative to create a full backup. This includes backing up your website files, database, and any plugins or themes you're using. This backup will serve as a safety net, allowing you to restore your website to its previous state if anything goes wrong during the URL change process.

Why Back Up?

Prevent Data Loss: A backup safeguards your valuable website data, ensuring you can recover it in case of unforeseen events such as accidental deletion or database corruption.
Rollback Option: If you make a mistake while changing your URLs or encounter unexpected issues, having a backup allows you to easily revert to a previous working version of your website.
Peace of Mind: Knowing you have a backup gives you peace of mind during the URL change process, allowing you to experiment and make adjustments without fearing irreparable damage.

How to Backup Your WordPress Site

There are several ways to back up your WordPress website:

Using a Plugin: Plugins like UpdraftPlus and BackupBuddy simplify the backup process, allowing you to schedule regular backups and easily restore your website from a backup.
Using Your Hosting Provider: Many hosting providers offer built-in backup solutions or tools to create manual backups.
Manual Backup: You can manually back up your WordPress files and database using FTP and a database client like phpMyAdmin. However, this method is more complex and requires technical proficiency.

Step 2: Choose the New URL Structure (The Brainwork!)

With your website safely backed up, you can now move on to selecting the new URL structure for your WordPress site. Here's a breakdown of the popular options:

1. Post Name Structure (The Classic Choice):

Example: https://yourwebsite.com/sample-post-title
Benefits: SEO-friendly, user-friendly, and easily implemented.
Considerations: May not be suitable for all websites, especially those with very long post titles or complex URL structures.

2. Custom Structure (The Control Freak's Paradise):

Example: https://yourwebsite.com/category/sample-post-title
Benefits: Provides maximum flexibility and control over URL structure, allowing for optimization and customization.
Considerations: Requires more advanced knowledge of URL manipulation and may be more complex to set up.

3. Hybrid Structure (The Best of Both Worlds):

Example: https://yourwebsite.com/year/month/sample-post-title
Benefits: Combines the SEO benefits of post names with the organization of a custom structure, allowing you to group posts by date or category.
Considerations: May not be suitable for all websites and requires careful planning and implementation.

Tips for Choosing the Right Structure:

Consider Your Content: What type of content do you publish? Short, descriptive titles, or long, complex titles? This will influence your choice of URL structure.
Analyze Your Competitors: Research how your competitors structure their URLs. What works well for them? What could be improved?
Think Long-Term: Choose a structure that will be easy to maintain and scale as your website grows.

Step 3: Configure Your WordPress Settings (The Crucial Tweak):

With your new URL structure in mind, it's time to update your WordPress settings:

1. Access the Permalinks Settings:

Navigate to your WordPress dashboard and click Settings > Permalinks.

2. Select the Desired URL Structure:

Choose the URL structure that aligns with your chosen option (Post Name, Custom, or Hybrid).
Customize the structure according to your preference, adding category, tag, or date elements as needed.

3. Save the Changes:

Click Save Changes to apply the new URL structure to your WordPress site.

4. Verify the Changes:

Visit your website to ensure the URLs are correctly updated.
Check the URLs of individual posts and pages to confirm the structure matches your expectations.

Step 4: Redirect Old URLs (The Bridge Between Old and New):

Now that your new URLs are active, you need to redirect any old URLs to the corresponding new URLs. This is crucial to prevent broken links and avoid losing valuable traffic and SEO ranking.

1. Using Redirection Plugins (The Easy Route):

Plugins like Redirection and Yoast SEO provide simple and effective ways to manage redirects.
Install and activate the plugin of your choice.
Use the plugin interface to create redirects from old URLs to their new counterparts.

2. Using the .htaccess File (The Pro Path):

The .htaccess file is a powerful tool for managing redirects and other website configurations.
Access your .htaccess file via your hosting provider's file manager or FTP client.
Add redirection rules to your .htaccess file using the redirect or rewrite directives.

3. Manually Editing the Database (The Advanced Method):

This method requires advanced database knowledge and is not recommended for beginners.
Access your WordPress database through phpMyAdmin.
Update the URL references in the wp_posts and wp_postmeta tables to reflect the new URLs.

Example Redirection Rules:

Redirect from /old-post-title to /new-post-title:

RewriteRule ^old-post-title$ /new-post-title [R=301,L]

Redirect all URLs from https://olddomain.com to https://newdomain.com:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^olddomain\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://newdomain.com/$1 [L,R=301]

Important Considerations:

Permanent Redirects (301): Use permanent redirects (301) to ensure the SEO juice from the old URLs is passed to the new URLs.
Temporary Redirects (302): Use temporary redirects (302) only if you are making temporary changes to your website URLs.
Check for Broken Links: Use a broken link checker tool to scan your website for any broken links after implementing redirects.

Step 5: Update External Links (The Finishing Touches):

The final step involves updating any external links pointing to your website. This includes links on social media, forums, guest posts, and other websites that might be linking to your old URLs.

1. Use a Link Checker Tool:

Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can help you find all external links to your website.
You can then manually update the links or use the tool's built-in features to update the links automatically.

2. Contact Webmasters:

If you have a limited number of external links, you can contact the website owners to request an update.

3. Utilize Search Console:

Google Search Console provides insights into how your website is performing in search results.
Use Search Console to monitor the performance of your redirects and identify any issues.

Step 6: Test Your Website (The Quality Assurance):

After making all the necessary changes, it's crucial to test your website thoroughly to ensure everything is working as expected:

1. Verify Redirects:

Use a redirect checker tool to confirm that all redirects are functioning correctly.
Test both internal and external links to ensure they are redirecting properly.

2. Check for Broken Links:

Run a broken link checker tool to identify any broken links on your website.
Fix any broken links to prevent user frustration and maintain a positive user experience.

3. Analyze Website Performance:

Use Google Analytics or other website analytics tools to track your website's performance after the URL change.
Look for any dips in traffic or changes in user behavior that might indicate issues with your redirects or URL structure.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What happens if I don't redirect old URLs?

If you don't redirect old URLs, you'll face a number of issues, including:

Broken Links: Visitors clicking on old links will encounter 404 errors, resulting in a negative user experience.
Loss of Traffic: Search engines will no longer index your old pages, leading to a drop in organic traffic.
Damaged SEO: Your website's SEO ranking may suffer as search engines struggle to understand the relationship between your old and new URLs.

2. How long does it take for redirects to work?

It typically takes a few days for redirects to become fully functional, but the exact time frame can vary depending on a number of factors, including:

Search Engine Crawling Frequency: Search engines have different crawling schedules, so some websites are crawled more frequently than others.
Cache Settings: Website caches can delay the update of your redirects. Clear your website cache to ensure the redirects are applied immediately.
Server Configuration: The configuration of your website server can also impact the time it takes for redirects to work.

3. Can I change my WordPress URLs back to the old structure?

Yes, you can revert to the previous URL structure if you're unhappy with the changes. Simply follow the same steps outlined above, but choose the previous URL structure in the WordPress settings. However, it's important to note that reverting to the old structure will not automatically restore your old URLs; you'll need to redirect the new URLs back to the old ones.

4. What are some best practices for URL structure?

Here are some best practices for URL structure:

Keep URLs Short and Descriptive: Use short, keyword-rich URLs that accurately reflect the content of the page.
Avoid Using Dynamic Parameters: Try to eliminate dynamic parameters like "?post=123&action=edit" from your URLs.
Use Hyphens for Separation: Separate words in your URLs with hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) or spaces.
Lowercase Letters: Use lowercase letters for your URLs to maintain consistency.
Maintain Consistency: Use a consistent URL structure throughout your website.

5. What are some tools that can help with URL changes?

There are a number of tools that can assist you with URL changes, including:

Redirection Plugins: Plugins like Redirection and Yoast SEO provide a user-friendly interface for managing redirects.
Broken Link Checkers: Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can help you identify broken links on your website.
Website Analytics: Tools like Google Analytics and Matomo provide insights into your website's performance after a URL change.

Conclusion

Changing your WordPress site URLs is a powerful technique for optimizing SEO, rebranding your website, or relocating your content. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can safely and effectively update your URLs, ensuring a smooth transition for both search engines and your website visitors. Remember to back up your website before making any changes, carefully plan your new URL structure, and test your website thoroughly after implementing the changes.