Redirection

  • redirects
  • seo
  • permalinks
  • site-editing

When a URL changes — you rename a slug, retire a page, or migrate content — people and search engines still hit the old address. A redirect sends them to the current page instead of a 404.

When to add a redirect

Add a redirect when you:

  • Change a published page or post slug (see Changing permalinks).
  • Delete or merge pages and want the old URL to land somewhere useful.
  • Move a site or restructure a section of the site.

Prefer a 301 (permanent) redirect when the move is intentional and long-term. That helps search engines pass ranking signals to the new URL.

Use the Redirection plugin

Most Dirigible sites use the Redirection plugin (Tools → Redirection, once installed and activated).

  1. In the admin, go to Tools → Redirection (or Settings → Redirection, depending on version).
  2. Open the Redirects screen.
  3. Add a new redirect:
    • Source URL — the old path, such as /old-page/ (usually relative to the site root).
    • Target URL — the new path or full URL, such as /new-page/.
  4. Leave the type as 301 unless you have a reason to use a temporary redirect.
  5. Save.

Visit the old URL in a private/incognito window and confirm you land on the new page.

Tips

  • Match trailing slashes to how your site serves URLs, or enable the plugin options that normalize them.
  • Avoid redirect chains (A → B → C). Point A straight to the final page.
  • After bulk slug changes, refresh rewrite rules if other URLs act oddly — see Refreshing permalinks.
  • Do not redirect every missing URL to the homepage; send people to the closest relevant page.