A 301 Redirect sends users & search engines to a new URL permanently.

Examples:

• Old URL → New updated URL
• HTTP → HTTPS
• Non-www → www
• /blog → /articles

Benefits:

• Prevents 404 errors
• Passes ~90–99% SEO authority to new URL
• Keeps Google indexing clean
• Improves user experience
• Fixes broken external backlinks

• Changing old URLs
• Deleting pages or posts
• Fixing faulty permalinks
• Migrating from HTTP to HTTPS
• Moving from non-www to www (or vice-versa)
• Changing category or product URL slugs
• Merging duplicate content
• Launching a redesigned website

Always ensure the new URL matches the old content intent.

Step 1 — Enable Redirections Module

1. Go to Rank Math → Dashboard
2. Enable Redirections

Step 2 — Add New Redirect

1. Go to Rank Math → Redirections
2. Click Add New
3. Enter:
   • Source URL (old URL)
   • Destination URL (new URL)
4. Select 301 Permanent Move
5. Save

Features of Rank Math Redirects:

• Bulk import redirects
• Track hits for each redirect
• Auto-redirect removed posts
• Regex support (advanced patterns)
• Safe for WooCommerce URLs

Install the plugin: Redirection

Steps:

1. Go to Tools → Redirection
2. Click Add New
3. Choose:
   • Source URL
   • Target URL
   • Group (optional)
4. Select 301 Permanent
5. Save

Bonus Feature:

The plugin captures 404 errors and lets you redirect them safely.

Edit your .htaccess file (take a backup first).

Add this line:

Redirect 301 /old-page/ https://yourwebsite.com/new-page/

To redirect the entire domain:

RedirectMatch 301 ^/(.*)$ https://newsite.com/$1

Be careful — a small mistake can break your whole website.

1. Login to cPanel
2. Click Redirects
3. Select Permanent (301)
4. Enter:
   • Old URL path
   • New URL
5. Save

This redirect is handled at the server-level (very fast).

Go to:

Cloudflare → Rules → Page Rules → Create Rule

Example Redirect:

https://oldsite.com/*  →  https://newsite.com/$1

Choose:

Forwarding URL → 301 Permanent

Good for:

• Domain migration
• www → non-www conversions
• HTTP → HTTPS redirects

• Always redirect to the most relevant new page
• Avoid redirect chains (A → B → C)
• Avoid redirect loops (A → B → A)
• Update internal links after redirect
• Remove outdated URLs from sitemap
• Check Google Search Console for 404s
• Use short and clean URLs

Good redirects = better indexing + better UX.

1. Redirect Not Working?

• Clear cache (plugin + server + Cloudflare)
• Check .htaccess formatting

2. Redirect Loop Detected

The source and destination URLs are conflicting.

3. Redirect Chains Detected

Fix by pointing old URL → final URL only.

4. 404 Errors Still Appearing

• Check Google Search Console
• Use Redirection plugin’s 404 logs

5. WooCommerce Redirect Issues

Disable cache on Cart/Checkout pages.