WordPress Permalinks: What They Are and How to Change Them
What is a permalink? It’s a simple concept, really. A permalink is the permanent URL link used to access a piece of content on the internet. These URLs are, well, permanent — and it’s vital that they’re rarely changed or adjusted.
This article will explain what permalinks are, how they work, how to change them if you really need to, and more.
Specifically, we’ll talk about permalinks in the context of WordPress. Let’s go!
Explaining permalinks in WordPress
A permalink in WordPress isn’t much different than a permalink elsewhere on the internet. From a technical perspective, the official WordPress website defines a permalink as, “the permanent URLs of your posts, pages, categories, and other archive pages on your website.”
In other words, if something exists on the internet created through the WordPress platform, it’s accessed by a WordPress permalink. But it’s not just the obvious pages like blog posts. It’s anything within the website’s structure — such as archive pages or category pages.
Let’s look at an example of permalinks in WordPress.
Say you create a website with WordPress and call it Jetpack (we think it’s a cool name). Here are some examples of permalinks for that site:
- The homepage may be located at the permalink of jetpack.com.
- The blog may be found at jetpack.com/blog.
- A category page may have a permalink of jetpack.com/blog/category/performance
But, again, permalinks exist for every single piece of content on your website — not just specific areas. It’s a holistic concept. Everything has its own permalink: individual blog posts, landing pages, category pages, and whatever else is under the umbrella of your website.
The details of this structure depend wholly on how your site is built and mapped, and what this looks like in practice is determined by how your website is set up.
Why are WordPress permalinks important?
- User experience and perception
Permalinks are also useful signals to visitors about the information they’re seeking. They help people anticipate what pages or posts will be about — similar to headings or subheadings — or understand where they are in the context of the site.
Not to mention, a well-crafted permalink is much easier to remember, helping visitors share and return to your website. In a basic way, it’s like a sign that hangs in front of a physical store.
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
From a technical perspective, WordPress permalinks broadcast to search engines what a post or page is about. A well-structured permalink that includes keywords can improve a website’s indexing and search ranking. This is vital, for improving the overall ranking of your website.
What to do before changing your WordPress permalinks
The internet is constantly evolving. What works today may not work tomorrow. To keep up with and stay ahead of trends, websites regularly receive updates and redesigns. Sometimes, those changes mean a shift in permalinks.
If your website needs to make these types of changes, you must take the proper steps to ensure a smooth transition.
Before you start the process of changing WordPress permalinks, make sure you review the following:
Prepare to redirect broken links
Broken links are not only bad for the user experience, but hurt your website’s overall SEO. So, after updating your permalinks, you’ll need to redirect each one of your impacted URLs.
Before getting started, make a list of all the pages, posts, and other content that will need to be updated. Then, familiarize yourself with the options available to redirect a URL:
- Create a 301 redirect in the .htaccess file.
- Set up a permanent redirect in cPanel.
- Use a plugin like Redirection to create your redirects.
Remember, you’ll want to actually create the redirects after updating your permalinks. For now, choose a method and familiarize yourself with the process.
Can you create a custom permalink structure in WordPress?
Yes, you can create a custom permalink structure in WordPress. By customizing a permalink, you can control the way your links look and highlight the most important information while improving SEO, making your links more trustworthy and clickable.
Will changing permalinks affect previously published posts?
Yes. Without proper preparation, changing WordPress permalinks runs the risk of breaking the connections between links and hurting the overall search rankings of a website. Any user who clicks on an old URL will end up seeing a 404 error.
But, if you plan ahead, strategize, and set up 301 redirects following your permalink change, you’ll avoid these risks.
What should I do if I can’t change my WordPress permalinks?
There are a couple of things you can try if you’re having trouble changing the permalinks of your WordPress site.
First, try resetting your permalinks. Go to Settings → Permalinks on your WordPress dashboard. Without selecting anything, click Save. This sometimes can trigger a reset for any issues you might be having.
If that doesn’t work, check for issues with plugins or themes. Deactivate each one by one, and check if your permalinks work. There might be something going on that you don’t realize, and this process might also reset it.
What is the difference between a permalink and a URL?
Permalinks and URLs are essentially interchangeable terms as they are both used to direct you to a specific place online. The term permalink is more often used when describing a specific, categorized ending added to a primary domain (yoursite.com) by a content management system.
However, the permalink structure, in its entirety (yoursite.com/blog/what-is-a-permalink) is a URL.
What is the difference between a permalink and a slug?
A permalink and a slug are connected to each other, and both are part of the URL of a website.
A permalink is the full URL to a specific page or piece of content. It consists of the domain name, directories (if applicable), and the slug. Meanwhile, the slug is the part of the permalink that follows the domain name, highlighting a particular page or post in a simple and easy-to-read form. It’s the part of the permalink that explains the page’s content.
In the following URL, /check-out-this-website is the slug:
https://www.yourwebsite.com/check-out-this-website
Understanding how permalinks work in WordPress
You want to use a system that makes it easy for both visitors and search engines to find and understand the content on individual pages and find their place within your website as a whole.
AI Overview
It is often considered wise for a WordPress permalink (URL slug) and the page title to be different, particularly when optimizing for both user experience and search engine optimization (SEO).
Reasons for differentiation:
- SEO and Keywords:
Permalinks should be concise and include relevant keywords to signal content to search engines. Page titles, while also containing keywords, can be more descriptive and engaging for users.
- Readability and User Experience:
A page title can be longer and more descriptive to attract clicks in search results and provide clear context on the page. A permalink, on the other hand, benefits from being short, clean, and easy to remember or share. Removing “stop words” (like “the,” “a,” “and”) from the permalink can improve its conciseness and SEO value.
- Flexibility:
Separating the permalink from the title allows for greater flexibility. You can craft a compelling, user-friendly title while simultaneously creating an SEO-optimized, keyword-rich permalink without being constrained by the title’s length or phrasing.
In summary: While WordPress automatically generates a permalink based on the page title, it is beneficial to manually edit the permalink for clarity, conciseness, and keyword optimization, even if it means it differs slightly from the page title. This approach helps to improve both SEO performance and user experience.
In WordPress, permalinks (the URLs for your posts and pages) should be short, descriptive, and include relevant keywords, ideally under 75 characters. While there’s no strict length limit, shorter URLs are generally better for user experience and SEO. Aim for clarity and conciseness, using hyphens to separate words and avoiding unnecessary stop words according to the ultimate guide to WordPress permalinks on YouTube.
Here’s why shorter permalinks are preferred:
- Improved User Experience:
Shorter URLs are easier to remember, share, and type, leading to a better user experience.
- Better SEO:
Search engines tend to favor shorter, more focused URLs, as they indicate the content’s relevance according to the ultimate guide to WordPress permalinks on YouTube.
- Clarity and Readability:
Shorter URLs are easier for both humans and search engines to understand the content of the page.
To optimize your permalinks:
- Choose the right structure:
The “Post Name” structure (e.g., /%postname%/) is often recommended as it uses the post title as the URL slug according to SiteGround’s guide on configuring WordPress permalinks.
- Use keywords:
Include relevant keywords in your permalink to help search engines understand the page’s topic.
- Use hyphens:
Separate words in your permalink with hyphens, as they are more readable than underscores.
- Keep it short and descriptive:
Aim for brevity while accurately describing the page’s content.