When a Page Moves or a Product Is Discontinued, a Redirect Sends Visitors to the Right Place — Instead of a 404.
WordPress redirects automatically send visitors and search engines from an old URL to a new one. Without them, visitors who click old links see a 404 error page, and Google drops those pages from its index — along with any rankings they had. Redirects preserve your traffic, your rankings, and your user experience when URLs change.
“Every 404 error is a visitor who wanted something and got nothing. Every redirect is that same visitor arriving at the right page.”
How to Create Redirects
Plugin method: Redirection. The most popular redirect plugin. Create 301 (permanent) redirects from old URLs to new ones. Track 404 errors and create redirects directly from the error log. Import and export redirects in bulk. Manual method: .htaccess. Add redirect rules directly to your .htaccess file. More technical but no plugin overhead. Rank Math / Yoast: Both SEO plugins include a redirect manager. One less plugin to install. When to use redirects: Page URL changes. Product discontinued — redirect to a similar product or category. Domain change. Site restructuring. Post deletion — redirect to a related post. For professional redirect management, see our WordPress Services page.
“A redirect is a promise to your visitors: whatever you were looking for is now over here instead. Keep that promise and you keep the visitor.”
