Address redirects (301) and URL rewrites

When a page's address changes or the page disappears, old links (from Google, newsletters, social media) lead to a Page not found page. A permanent redirect (301) sends visitors and Google to the new address, and you keep the traffic and the ranking.

Before you start

the old address (the part after the domain name, for example torbe/potovalna-torba.html),
the new address it should lead to.

Manual redirect

Marketing › SEO & Search › URL Rewrites

Click Add URL Rewrite.

The list contains all the shop's addresses, including the automatic ones for products and categories.
Fill in the form:
1. Create URL Rewrite - Custom for any address.
2. Store - the store view (language) it applies to.
3. Request Path - the old address without the domain and without a leading slash.
4. Target Path - the new address, or a full address starting with https://.
5. Redirect Type - Permanent (301).
Click Save and test the old address in your browser.

Under Create URL Rewrite you can also choose For Product, For Category or For CMS page: you then pick the target from a list instead of typing the address. Only use Temporary (302) when the old address will come back (for example during a seasonal promotion).

Disabled or deleted product

When you disable or delete a product, its address returns the Page not found page, while Google keeps showing it in results for weeks. Create a Custom redirect with the old address in Request Path and a category or similar product in Target Path.

Do not delete a product that will come back: set Stock Status to Out of Stock and leave it enabled. The page stays, Google keeps it, and customers can see that the product is currently unavailable. See Sold-out products at the end of the category.

Changing the URL key

When you change the URL Key of a product or category, leave Create Permanent Redirect for old URL ticked. The shop creates the redirect for you.

The URL Key field with the Create Permanent Redirect for old URL checkbox — URL Key
Create Permanent Redirect for old URL - leave it ticked.

The -1 suffix in an address

If -1 appears in a new product's address (for example potovalna-torba-1.html), the URL key is already used by something else: another product, a category, a page or an old redirect. The shop therefore adds -1 to keep the address unique.

In Marketing › SEO & Search › URL Rewrites, enter the key (without -1) in the filter of the Request Path column and see where it leads (Target Path).
If it is an outdated entry (a deleted product), delete it and correct the URL key on the new product. If another product uses it, give the new one a different key (add the colour, model or SKU).

Common problems

The redirect does not work

Check that the right store view is selected under Store and that the Request Path is written without the domain and without a leading slash, with the .html suffix if the old address had one. Then flush the cache.

The redirect goes round in a loop

The Target Path points back to an address that is itself redirected. Enter the final address in Target Path.

I am moving from an old shop and have a hundred old addresses

Send us a spreadsheet with old address / new address (Excel). We will import the redirects for you.

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Cookie name	Cookie purpose
PHPSESSID	Preserves the visitor's session state across page requests.
magelan_geo	Remembers that the visitor closed the suggestion of the other language version of the store, so it is not shown again.
form_key	Protects visitor's data from Cross-Site Request Forgery Attacks.
guest-view	Stores the Order ID that guest shoppers use to retrieve their order status. Used in “Orders and Returns” widgets.
login_redirect	Preserves the destination page the customer was loading before being directed to log in.
mage-banners-cache-storage	Stores banner content locally to improve performance.
mage-cache-sessid	The value of this cookie triggers the cleanup of local cache storage.
mage-cache-storage	Local storage of visitor-specific content that enables ecommerce functions.
mage-cache-storage-section-invalidation	Forces local storage of specific content sections that should be invalidated.
mage-messages	Tracks error messages and other notifications that are shown to the user, such as the cookie consent message, and various error messages. The message is deleted from the cookie after it is shown to the shopper.
private_content_version	Appends a random, unique number and time to pages with customer content to prevent them from being cached on the server.
section_data_ids	Stores customer-specific information related to shopper-initiated actions such as display wish list, checkout information, etc.
user_allowed_save_cookie, cookie_consent	Stores the user's cookie consent state for the current domain.
X-Magento-Vary	Configuration setting that improves performance when using Varnish static content caching.

Cookie name	Cookie purpose
product_data_storage	Stores configuration for product data related to Recently Viewed / Compared Products.
recently_compared_product	Stores product IDs of recently compared products.
recently_compared_product_previous	Stores product IDs of previously compared products for easy navigation.
recently_viewed_product	Stores product IDs of recently viewed products for easy navigation.
recently_viewed_product_previous	Stores product IDs of recently previously viewed products for easy navigation.
_fbp	This cookie is installed by Facebook to store and track visits across websites.

Cookie name	Cookie purpose
dc_gtm_*	Throttles request rate when Google Analytics is deployed with Google Tag Manager.
_ga, _gat, _gid, _ga_, _gat_	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about how visitors use our website. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the website. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone.