Creating and managing URL redirects

URL redirects can be used to redirect traffic from one web page to another. When you change a URL on your Shopify store, you can create a URL redirect to ensure your customers can still find what they're looking for.

For example, if you delete a product, then you can set up a URL redirect so that when customers enter the URL for that product, they're redirected to a similar product on your store.

Considerations for creating URL redirects

Before you create any URL redirects, review the following considerations:

  • You can't redirect URLs that begin with the following prefixes: /apps, /application, /cart, /carts, /orders, or /services.
  • You can't redirect URLs that use fixed Shopify paths: /products, /collections, /collections/all.
  • You can redirect only from broken URLs. Broken URLs display error messages, such as Page not found or 404, on a page or in the page title. If the URL still loads a valid webpage, then the URL redirect won't work.

Create a URL redirect

You can create a URL redirect. When creating a redirect, the new URL can be a relative URL, such as /collection/shirts, or a full URL, such as http://www.example.com/collection/shirts. To redirect traffic within your primary domain, use a relative URL. To redirect outside your primary domain, use a full URL. URL redirects start working immediately.

You can also add Liquid to your Redirect from and Redirect to fields. Full field validation can't be performed when using Liquid in your paths.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.
  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Online store.
  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Navigation.

  5. Click View URL Redirects.

  6. Click Create URL redirect.

  7. In Redirect from, enter the old URL that you want to redirect visitors from.

  8. In Redirect to, enter the new URL that you want to redirect visitors to. To redirect to your store's home page, enter /.

  9. Click Save redirect.

Troubleshooting URL redirects

URL redirects start working immediately. If your redirect isn't working immediately, then you can try the following troubleshooting steps:

  • Review both Redirect from and Redirect to URLs for any typos.
  • Ensure the Redirect from URL doesn't have an active page.
  • Ensure that the Redirect from URL isn't a fixed path or contains a prefix that you can't redirect.
  • Clear your browser's cache and test the redirect again or try on another device.

Redirects and subfolders

Creating a URL redirect applies to all language or market subfolders set up using International.

For example, John's primary market is the United States on example.com. He also has a market for Canada on a subfolder at example.com/en-ca. John decides to stop selling a blue t-shirt on his store, so he deletes the product, and then creates a single URL redirect from /products/blue-t-shirt to /collections/t-shirts.

After creating the URL redirect, customers in the United States who try to visit /products/blue-t-shirt are automatically redirected to example.com/collections/t-shirts, and customers in Canada who try to visit example.com/en-ca/products/blue-t-shirt are automatically redirected to example.com/en-ca/collections/t-shirts.

John can still create individual redirects for each subfolder if he wants to redirect people to a different destination for each market.

Managing your URL redirects

You can manage your URL redirect list in the following ways:

Filter URL redirects by date

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.
  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Online store.
  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Navigation.

  5. Click Date added.

  6. From the drop-down menu, choose the date period that you want to filter.

Save a URL redirect filter

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.
  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Online store.
  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Navigation.

  5. Create a filter using the search box or by filtering URL redirects by date.

  6. Click Save filters.

  7. Select a name for your filter.

  8. Click Save filters. Filters are saved as a new tab at the top of the list.

Delete a URL redirect filter

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.
  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Online store.
  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Navigation.

  5. Select the filter that you want to delete.

  6. Click Saved.

  7. Click Remove tab, and then click Remove.

Edit the name of a URL redirect filter

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.
  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Online store.
  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Navigation.

  5. Select the filter that you want to edit.

  6. Click Saved.

  7. Edit the tab name, and then click Save filters.

Edit URL redirects individually

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.
  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Online store.
  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Navigation.

  5. Click the URL redirect that you want to edit.

  6. Enter the changes.

  7. Click Save redirect.

Edit multiple URL redirects at the same time

You can edit URL redirects in bulk. To learn more about editing multiple URL redirects at the same time, refer to using Bulk actions.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.
  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Online store.
  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Navigation.

  5. Select the URL redirects that you want to edit.

  6. Click Edit redirect.

  7. Enter the changes.

  8. Click Save.

Export your URL redirects

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.
  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Online store.
  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Navigation.

  5. Click Export.

  6. Choose which redirects you want to export.

  7. Select which type of CSV file you want to export.

  8. Click Export URL redirects.

Import your URL redirects

You can import your existing URL redirect to Shopify. You can download and view a sample URL redirect CSV file to use as a template.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.
  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Online store.
  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Navigation.

  5. Click Import.

  6. Click Add File and select a CSV file.

  7. Click Upload file.

  8. Review the import.

  9. Click Import redirects.

  10. Click Close.

Delete URL redirects

You can delete URL redirects. To learn more about deleting multiple URL redirects at the same time, refer to using Bulk actions.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.
  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Online store.
  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Navigation.

  5. Select the URL redirects that you want to delete.

  6. Click More actions.

  7. Click Delete selected redirects.

  8. Click Delete to confirm your decision.

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