Today´s article topic is website redirecting. What exactly it is, what it is used for, and how. If you are new to the website world and run a smaller website, you may not have heard of this topic.
When a site grows, it starts to have more and more topics and that means that we need another page. Well, website redirecting is just that. It uses URLs to get from one page to another. For example, I am looking to buy a computer. I go to the local store´s webpage and since it sells more than just computers, I browse the categories for only computers.
By clicking on the Computer´s category it takes me to another page that showcases only computers.
This is accomplished by the person who is running the page making sure that he inserts a fitting URL, and also making sure that the users do not end up facing a 404 page (which we have all seen at least once).
Knowing how to set this redirecting task is a job everyone who runs a website should know.
You have probably asked yourself: ´´But why do I need redirections? ´´. I will try and give you an answer. There are a few reasons that a website redirection is something that you might need. The most often is changing the URL of a post, and using a redirection tool will help you avoid the 404 error.
Another reason that you might need it is a temporary redirect to a webpage because your main webpage is being redesigned. Also, redirecting to a subdirectory on your page is one of the most used reasons. There are also many reasons like redirecting duplicate content to the original page and others.
Now that we have given you an insight into what exactly redirecting is, it is important to say that there are three types of website redirects. The first one is a ´´301 redirect´´ which is often called a ´´Permanent redirect´´.
This is the most used but also the most powerful redirect, which makes it the best choice for SEO. The second type of redirecting is ´´302 redirect´´ which represents a temporary redirect. It is used when you intend on going back to using the original URL.
For example, the most frequent situation in which this redirect is used is when you are redesigning your webpage and want to redirect users to another site while you finish the main one.
The third redirect is ´´Meta Refresh´´. This is not the best option for SEO, since it provides a bad user experience because it makes its users wait to be redirected to the page they want.
This type of redirect is executed more on the page level and not the server level because it tells the browser to go to the new page without updating the server. This type of refresh is characterized by a message that says ´´Click here if you are not redirected in 5 seconds´´.
In shorter words redirections can be divided into three ways: permanent redirections, temporary redirections, and special redirections.
Now that we have given you the basic information, we can get on the topic of how to set a redirect. There are a few ways a person can set up a redirection for your website.
The first one we will be talking about is a way that we find is the simplest and does a really good job. It is by using the WP 301 Redirects.
The success and easiness of use are based on not only our experience but also the thousands of great reviews online. This is a WordPress plugin that can do so much for your website from redirecting, fixing your 404 errors, safely changing post URLs but also much more. It has a lot of features for a reasonable price. The first step is downloading the plugin, of course.
Then you want to activate the plugin and finish its setup. When the setup is complete you can find the redirect option under the tools list. The rest is pretty simple, all you have to do is copy a URL of your main URL into the ´´Source URL´´ box, and also copying the URL that you want to replace your main one into the ´´Target URL´´ box.
And yes, it is that easy. There is also a lot of content online which can help you find your way around this plugin, but also a really good and fast service team behind the plugin itself.
Another way of setting up a webpage redirect is by using cPanel. This way of redirection is not as easy as the one above. You start by signing in with the login information that was given to you by the host. In the Domain section, you should find Redirections and choose one of the two choices that were given to you (301 and 302 redirects).
The next step is choosing the domain name you want to redirect from the drop-down box which includes you’re the primary domain and any additional domains.
Into the ´´Redirect to´´ box type in the site, file, or page you want to redirect your users. After all of those steps, it is time to choose which type of redirection you want.
cPanel also allows you to select the Wildcard Redirect option if you are interested. To finish, you only need to click the add button and your redirection be visible at the bottom of the page.
Another way of setting up a webpage redirect is by using cPanel. This way of redirection is not as easy as the one above.
You start by signing in with the login information that was given to you by the host. In the Domain section, you should find Redirections and choose one of the two choices that were given to you (301 and 302 redirects).
The next step is choosing the domain name you want to redirect from the drop-down box which includes you’re the primary domain and any additional domains. Into the ´´Redirect to´´ box type in the site, file, or page you want to redirect your users. After all of those steps, it is time to choose which type of redirection you want.
cPanel also allows you to select the Wildcard Redirect option if you are interested. To finish, you only need to click the add button and your redirection be visible at the bottom of the page.
Conclusion
With this third way of setting a redirection for your webpage, we conclude today´s article. We hope that we have been able to give you answers to any possible questions that you might have had before reading this article.
