# Redirect an old URL

Send an old address to the page that replaced it, so visitors and search engines land there instead of on a 404. Then check that it works.
Page: https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/tutorials/redirect-links
Use when someone asks: redirect old url wordpress; create 301 redirect wordpress; redirect deleted page wordpress; redirect moved post
Intent: How-to

To redirect an old URL in WordPress with Link Manager Pro, create a redirect from the old address to the page that replaced it. Anyone who opens the old address, visitor or search engine, lands on the new page instead of a 404. It works for a page you moved, renamed or deleted.

A redirect keeps an address you already had working. If you want a new address to share instead, like `yoursite.com/link/deal`, create a short link ([short link or redirect?](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/redirects#short-link-or-redirect-which-one-do-you-need)).

## Before you start

- You need access to Link Manager Pro. Administrators always have it, and editors only when an administrator allows it ([Access for editors](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/access)).
- Know the old address, like `/old-pricing`, and the full new one, like `https://yoursite.com/pricing/`.

## Create a 301 redirect in WordPress

You create a redirect in the **New redirect** dialog: the old address, the new address, and the redirect type. For a page that moved or was deleted for good, keep the type on 301.

Link Manager › Link Intelligence › Redirects

1. Select **New redirect** at the top right. On a site with no redirects yet, the **New redirect** button under **No redirects yet** does the same.
2. Enter the old address in **Source URL** (1), for example `/old-pricing`. A path is enough. If WordPress lives in a folder, like `yoursite.com/blog/`, include it: `/blog/old-pricing`.
3. Enter the new address in **Destination URL** (2), starting with `https://`, for example `https://yoursite.com/pricing/`. It can be on another site, too.
4. Check the **Redirect type** (3). It starts on your **Default redirect type**: 301 (permanent), unless you or a settings import from another plugin changed it. Choose 302 if the old address will come back ([301, 302 or 307?](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/redirects#_301-vs-302-vs-307-which-redirect-type)).
5. Leave **Active** on.
6. Select **Create redirect**.

[Screenshot: The New redirect dialog with /old-pricing sent to https://yoursite.com/pricing/, marked: 1 Source URL, 2 Destination URL, 3 Redirect type set to 301]

**Redirect created.** appears and the dialog closes. The newest redirect comes first, so on the **All** tab's first page, with no search, yours is at the top.

If a message shows under a field instead, the [list of messages](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/redirects#create-a-redirect) explains it. Changed your mind? Select **Cancel**. If you typed anything, **Discard changes?** asks first, and **Discard** closes the dialog without saving.

## How do you check that the redirect works?

Open the old address in a private browser window. You should land on the new page. For a counted visit, the redirect's **Hits** in the list goes up by one. Your own visit counts like anyone's, even while you're logged in as an administrator.

1. Open a private window, so nothing your browser kept from earlier visits gets in the way.
2. Go to the old address, for example `yoursite.com/old-pricing`. The address bar switches to the destination.
3. Reload the Redirects screen. **Hits** for your redirect is one higher.

**Hits** doesn't go up for these visits, although the visitor is still sent on:

- A visit from a bot or crawler, while **Ignore bots** is on (the default).
- A visit from one of your **Blocked IP addresses**.
- More than 30 visits from the same IP address to this redirect within 5 minutes.

Select the redirect to open its report. **Recent hits** and **Hits over time** show the new hit at once. The first hit shows in the totals under **At a glance** on the next load. Later hits can take up to 600 seconds (10 minutes). That's the default of **Refresh reports every** under Link Manager › Settings › Advanced.

Link Manager Pro tells browsers not to cache its redirects. So you can change the destination or type later, and browsers don't hold on to the old answer.

## How do you change or remove a redirect later?

To change a redirect, select **Edit** on its row in the list, change the **Destination URL** or **Redirect type**, and select **Save changes**. To stop it and keep its history, turn **Active** off. Delete it only when you don't need its hits, because deleting removes them ([edit or delete a redirect](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/redirects#edit-or-delete-a-redirect)).

## Example: a 302 redirect for a short campaign

Use 302 when an address on your site should point somewhere only for a while. Say you mention `yoursite.com/summer-sale` in a newsletter, and it should open your sale page until the sale ends.

1. Create a redirect with **Source URL** `/summer-sale`, **Destination URL** `https://yoursite.com/shop/summer-sale/` and the **Redirect type** 302.
2. When the sale ends, select **Edit** on its row in the list.
3. Turn off **Active**, and select **Save changes**. Visitors to `/summer-sale` now get the page at that address, or your 404 page. If a short link has `/summer-sale` as an [other address](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/other-addresses), that short link can answer instead.
4. For the next sale, edit it again: change the destination if it moved, turn **Active** back on, and save.

Pausing keeps the redirect and its hit history ([what pausing does](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/redirects#pause-a-redirect)).

## Details

| Field | Default | What you can enter |
|---|---|---|
| **Source URL** | Empty | A path or a full address on your own site, up to 2,048 characters. Not the home page. A **Source URL** with a `?` part matches that exact query too. One without it matches the path whatever the query |
| **Destination URL** | Empty | A full `http://` or `https://` address, on your site or another one, up to 2,048 characters |
| **Redirect type** | Your **Default redirect type** (301) | 301, 302 or 307 |
| **Active** | On | Off saves the redirect paused |

- A redirect matches one exact path. Letter case counts, there are no wildcards, and a slash at the end is ignored ([which visits match](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/redirects#which-visits-does-a-redirect-match)).
- Only one active redirect can use a source.
- There's no 410 (gone) type. For a page with no replacement, point the old address at the closest page or leave it to your 404 page.

## Get more out of it

- Find the old addresses people still open. First set **Track visitor 404s** to **All URLs** under Link Manager › Settings › Link Intelligence. The default, **Smart (sitemap-based)**, logs addresses in your sitemap and 404s visitors reached from a link on your own pages. A moved or deleted page usually isn't in the sitemap any more, and visitors from search or typed addresses aren't logged. Then **Visitor 404s** in [Link Health](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/health-monitoring) lists the addresses visitors hit, and **Fix with a redirect** turns one into a redirect.
- Fix your own links too. When a redirect's report lists your own domain under **Referring sites**, a page on your site still links to the old address. Point that link at the new page.
- Pause before you delete. **Retire** in a redirect's report means nobody used it for 90 days. The verdict shows only when click tracking is on and the recorded history covers those 90 days without a gap. **Pause redirect** switches it off and keeps its history, while deleting removes every hit ([edit or delete a redirect](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/redirects#edit-or-delete-a-redirect)).
- Making mostly temporary moves? Set **Default redirect type** under Link Manager › Settings › Redirection to 302, and new redirects start there. New short links do too ([Redirection settings](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/settings/redirection)).

## If something goes wrong

- If the old page or a 404 still shows, then check that the redirect's **Status** is **Active**. The source must match the address exactly, letter case and folder included. Then clear your page cache.
- If saving says "An active redirect for this source URL already exists.", then another redirect uses that source. Search the list for it and edit that one.
- If saving says "The target_url format is invalid.", then add `https://` to the start of the destination.
- If you land on a short link's destination, then the source is that short link's own address, like `/link/deal` (under any of your prefixes), and the short link wins. Pick another source.
- If **Hits** didn't go up after a reload, then your visit wasn't counted. Check **Blocked IP addresses** under Link Manager › Settings › Tracking for your own IP address.

More fixes are on [Troubleshooting](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/troubleshooting).

## Related

- [Link Health](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/health-monitoring)
- [Redirects](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/features/redirects)
- [Redirection settings](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/settings/redirection)
- [Other addresses and conflicts](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/guides/other-addresses)
- [Troubleshooting](https://docs.linkmanagerpro.com/troubleshooting)