Redirects: questions and answers
Answers to the questions people ask: 36 of them, free to read before you buy.
- Do I have to do anything after installing it?No.
- What is a redirect, in plain words?A page's address is what every link to it points at — search results, old emails, other people's sites, somebody's bookmark.
- I renamed a page. Do I need to do anything?No, as long as it was published before you renamed it.
- I changed my permalink structure. Do I need to do anything?Not if Keep old addresses working when the permalink structure changes is on under Settings → Renamed pages.
- I renamed a category. Do I need to do anything?No.
- I deleted a category. What happens?Its address goes onto Broken links straight away, at the top, marked you deleted this category and carrying its name, as long as the list is switched on, you have not already…
- Which kind should I choose?301 — Moved for good nearly always.
- My redirect does not seem to workUse Test an address, at the top of the Redirects screen.
- Does a campaign tag reach the new page?Yes, while Carry anything after the ?
- Can I check an address without visiting it?Yes.
- I deleted a page. Do I need to do anything?It is already on Broken links, at the top, marked you deleted this page and carrying its title.
- I binned a page by mistake. Are its redirects gone?Only while it is in the bin.
- Do my redirects still work?The plugin checks for you, once a week.
- What does "points at another redirect" mean?Your redirect sends people to an address that is itself redirected.
- It says a destination is fine but I know that page is goneThe check asks your own site for the address and believes what comes back.
- What is the "Probably meant" column?Where the plugin can see an obvious candidate for a broken address — a published page whose name is close enough that it is almost certainly the one — it offers it.
- Can I change several redirects at once?Yes.
- Does a redirect slow the visit down?No.
- How do I move a whole section?End the old address with a star.
- Can I use a regular expression?No, and deliberately.
- What does Broken links show me?Every address somebody asked this site for and did not find: how many times, when it was last asked, and the page that linked to it.
- I removed an address from Broken links and it came backRemove from the list only deletes the row, so the next visit to that address lists it again.
- Does it record anything about my visitors?No.
- Why is my missing image not in the list?Missing files are left out by default, under Settings → Watching for broken links.
- Will the list grow forever?No.
- Will it slow my site down?No.
- Can I bring my redirects over from another plugin?Yes.
- Where do I add an old address while writing a page?There is an Old addresses panel beside the editor on every page and post.
- Can editors or shop managers manage redirects?Yes, once you say so.
- Why can I not redirect to another site?The Redirects screen says "That destination is on another site, and your account can only redirect to addresses on this one." Sending visitors to another site is for…
- Is there a command line?Yes: wp trrd list, add, delete, test, check, import, export, broken, ignore and unignore.
- Can I copy my setup to another site?Two separate exports on the Settings screen.
- Why will it not let me redirect /wp-admin?Because a rule over /wp-admin, /wp-login.php or /wp-json locks you out of your own site, and you would find out at the moment you could no longer do anything about it.
- Does an expired licence stop it working?No.
- Does it work on a multisite network?Yes, on one site or network-activated across all of them.
- What happens if I delete the plugin?Nothing is deleted unless you asked for it.
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