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URL Redirects Documentation

Menu Location: Settings > System Settings > URL Redirects

Access Level: Administrator and above

Last Updated: 2026-03-01

Overview

The URL Redirects page allows you to create and manage URL redirects (301 and 302) to guide visitors from old or outdated URLs to new destinations. Proper redirect management is essential for maintaining SEO value, preventing broken links, and providing seamless user experience during website restructuring.

Primary Functions:

  • Create 301 (permanent) redirects for SEO preservation
  • Create 302 (temporary) redirects for short-term changes
  • Fix broken links from old website structure
  • Preserve search engine rankings during site migrations
  • Redirect old product/category URLs to new locations
  • Track redirect usage and effectiveness
  • Bulk import redirects from spreadsheet
  • Monitor and manage redirect chains

Page Layout

Header Section

  • Add Redirect button: Create new redirect rule
  • Import Redirects button: Bulk upload from CSV
  • Search Bar: Find redirects by old or new URL
  • Filter Dropdown: Filter by redirect type, status, or usage
  • Test Redirect tool: Verify redirect works correctly

Redirects Table

Displays all redirect rules with columns:

  • Old URL (source): The URL being redirected FROM
  • New URL (destination): The URL being redirected TO
  • Type: 301 (Permanent) or 302 (Temporary)
  • Status: Active, Inactive, or Error
  • Hits: Number of times redirect has been used
  • Last Used: When redirect last triggered
  • Created Date: When redirect was added
  • Actions: Edit, Test, Delete buttons

Redirect Editor (when creating/editing)

  • Old URL field (source path)
  • New URL field (destination path)
  • Redirect Type selector (301 or 302)
  • Status toggle (Active/Inactive)
  • Notes field (optional documentation)
  • Test button to verify before saving

Understanding Redirect Types

301 Redirect (Permanent)

When to Use:

  • Permanently moved page/content
  • Old URL will never be used again
  • Want to transfer SEO value to new URL
  • Consolidating duplicate content
  • Site restructuring or migration
  • Changed product URLs
  • Renamed categories

How It Works:

  • Tells search engines: "This page has permanently moved"
  • Search engines transfer ranking power to new URL
  • Browsers remember redirect and go directly to new URL
  • Most common type (use unless temporary needed)

Example Scenarios:

  • Old: /products/organic-apples-old
  • New: /products/organic-apples
  • Redirect Type: 301 Permanent

SEO Impact:

  • Preserves 90-95% of SEO value
  • New URL inherits old URL's rankings
  • Essential for maintaining traffic during changes

302 Redirect (Temporary)

When to Use:

  • Temporarily moved content
  • Plan to restore original URL later
  • A/B testing different landing pages
  • Seasonal page redirects
  • Maintenance or updates
  • Short-term promotions

How It Works:

  • Tells search engines: "This page temporarily moved"
  • Search engines keep indexing original URL
  • No SEO value transferred
  • Used when original URL will return

Example Scenarios:

  • During summer: /boxes/weekly → /boxes/summer-special
  • After summer: Remove redirect, original URL returns
  • Redirect Type: 302 Temporary

SEO Impact:

  • Original URL retains SEO value
  • New URL doesn't inherit rankings
  • Use when original URL will be restored

Choosing Between 301 and 302

Use 301 (Permanent) if:

  • Content permanently moved
  • Old URL won't be used again
  • Want new URL to rank in search results
  • Consolidating duplicate pages
  • Most common use case

Use 302 (Temporary) if:

  • Content temporarily moved
  • Old URL will be restored
  • Don't want SEO transferred
  • A/B testing or experiments
  • Seasonal campaigns

When in doubt, use 301 - Most redirects are permanent

Creating Redirects

Basic Redirect Creation

Steps:

  1. Click "Add Redirect" button
  2. Enter Old URL (the URL to redirect FROM)
  3. Enter path only: /old-page
  4. OR full URL: https://yoursite.com/old-page
  5. Enter New URL (the URL to redirect TO)
  6. Can be internal: /new-page
  7. OR external: https://othersite.com/page
  8. Select redirect type: 301 Permanent or 302 Temporary
  9. Status: Active (enabled immediately)
  10. Optional: Add notes explaining why redirect exists
  11. Click "Test Redirect" to verify it works
  12. Click "Save Redirect"

Required Fields:

  • Old URL (source)
  • New URL (destination)
  • Redirect Type (301 or 302)

URL Format Guidelines

Old URL (Source):

  • Enter path starting with / : /old-product-page
  • Don't include domain: ~~https://yoursite.com/old-page~~ (just /old-page)
  • Include query parameters if redirecting specific URLs: /search?q=old
  • Case-sensitive: /Page is different from /page
  • Include leading slash: /page not page

New URL (Destination):

  • Can be internal path: /new-product-page
  • Can be full URL for external: https://example.com/page
  • Can redirect to homepage: / or /home
  • Can redirect to category: /products/category
  • Can include parameters: /page?utm_source=redirect

Examples:

Good Format:

  • Old: /discontinued-product
  • New: /products/replacement-product

Bad Format:

  • Old: discontinued-product (missing leading slash)
  • New: new-product (missing leading slash)

Wildcard Redirects

Redirect Multiple URLs with Pattern:

  • Old: /blog/*
  • New: /news/$1
  • Result: /blog/article-name → /news/article-name

Wildcard Syntax:

  • * = matches anything
  • $1 = inserts what * matched
  • Useful for category changes, folder moves

Example Wildcard Redirects:

Redirect entire folder:

  • Old: /old-folder/*
  • New: /new-folder/$1
  • /old-folder/page-1 → /new-folder/page-1
  • /old-folder/page-2 → /new-folder/page-2

Redirect with subdirectories:

  • Old: /products/old-category/*
  • New: /shop/$1
  • /products/old-category/item → /shop/item

Testing Redirects

Test Before Activating

Always test redirects before saving:

  1. Enter old URL and new URL
  2. Click "Test Redirect" button
  3. System shows where redirect leads
  4. Verify destination is correct
  5. Check for redirect loops
  6. Save if test passes

Test Results:

  • ✓ Success: Redirects correctly to destination
  • ✗ Error: Redirect loop detected
  • ✗ 404: Destination page doesn't exist
  • ⚠ Warning: Redirect chain detected

Testing Live Redirects

Test Existing Redirect:

  1. Find redirect in list
  2. Click "Test" button in Actions column
  3. OR use Test Redirect tool in header
  4. Enter old URL to test
  5. See actual redirect path

Manual Testing:

  1. Copy old URL
  2. Paste in new browser tab (incognito mode)
  3. Verify it redirects to new URL
  4. Check URL in address bar shows new URL
  5. Ensure page loads correctly

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Redirect Old Product URL

Scenario: Renamed product, old URL getting traffic

Goal: Preserve SEO, redirect traffic to new URL

Steps:

  1. Identify old URL: /products/organic-red-apples
  2. Identify new URL: /products/organic-apples-red
  3. Create redirect:
    • Old: /products/organic-red-apples
    • New: /products/organic-apples-red
    • Type: 301 Permanent
    • Status: Active
  4. Test redirect
  5. Save
  6. Monitor hits to confirm traffic redirecting

Use Case 2: Consolidate Duplicate Pages

Scenario: Multiple pages about same topic hurting SEO

Goal: Combine into one authoritative page

Steps:

  1. Decide which URL to keep (has best content or rankings)
  2. Keep URL: /recipes/chicken-soup
  3. Duplicate URLs to redirect:
    • /recipes/easy-chicken-soup
    • /recipes/homemade-chicken-soup
    • /recipes/chicken-soup-recipe
  4. Create redirects for each:
    • Old: /recipes/easy-chicken-soup
    • New: /recipes/chicken-soup
    • Type: 301
  5. Repeat for other duplicates
  6. Result: All traffic and SEO power goes to one page

Scenario: Migrated to new website, old URLs return 404 errors

Goal: Map old site structure to new structure

Steps:

  1. Export list of 404 errors from analytics
  2. For each 404, find equivalent page on new site:
    • Old: /about-us.html → New: /about
    • Old: /products.php?id=123 → New: /products/organic-tomatoes
    • Old: /contact-us → New: /contact
  3. Create 301 redirects for each mapping
  4. Test all redirects
  5. Monitor 404 reports to catch any missed
  6. Iteratively add redirects as needed

Use Case 4: Seasonal Campaign Redirect

Scenario: Summer promotion, redirect homepage to promo

Goal: Temporarily redirect for campaign

Steps:

  1. Create summer landing page: /summer-sale-2026
  2. Create redirect:
    • Old: /summer (short URL for marketing)
    • New: /summer-sale-2026
    • Type: 302 Temporary (campaign will end)
    • Status: Active
  3. Use /summer in all marketing materials
  4. After campaign, change redirect destination or delete
  5. Flexibility to reuse /summer for next year

Use Case 5: Redirect Entire Category

Scenario: Restructured shop, moved category

Goal: Redirect all products in old category

Steps:

  1. Old category: /products/organic-produce/...
  2. New category: /shop/produce/...
  3. Create wildcard redirect:
    • Old: /products/organic-produce/*
    • New: /shop/produce/$1
    • Type: 301
  4. Test with sample product:
    • Old: /products/organic-produce/tomatoes
    • Should redirect to: /shop/produce/tomatoes
  5. Save redirect
  6. All products in category automatically redirect

Bulk Redirect Management

Importing Redirects from CSV

Prepare CSV File:

  1. Create spreadsheet with columns:
    • old_url - Source URL path
    • new_url - Destination URL path
    • type - 301 or 302
  2. One redirect per row
  3. Save as CSV file

Example CSV: 

old_url,new_url,type
/old-page-1,/new-page-1,301
/old-page-2,/new-page-2,301
/temp-campaign,/promo-page,302

Import Process:

  1. Click "Import Redirects" button
  2. Download CSV template (if needed)
  3. Upload your CSV file
  4. System validates all redirects
  5. Shows preview of redirects to be created
  6. Fix any errors shown
  7. Confirm import
  8. Redirects created in bulk

Import Validation:

  • Checks for malformed URLs
  • Detects redirect loops
  • Identifies duplicate rules
  • Warns about existing redirects

Exporting Redirects

Download Current Redirects:

  1. Click "Export" button
  2. Select format (CSV or Excel)
  3. Choose filters (all, active only, etc.)
  4. Download file
  5. Use for backup or analysis

Export Uses:

  • Backup before major changes
  • Documentation
  • Share with SEO team
  • Migrate to new system

Monitoring and Maintenance

Tracking Redirect Usage

Metrics Available:

  • Hits: Total times redirect triggered
  • Last Used: When last visitor hit redirect
  • Most Used: Redirects with highest traffic
  • Unused: Redirects never triggered

Review Redirect Performance:

  1. Sort by "Hits" column (highest to lowest)
  2. Identify most important redirects
  3. Verify they're correctly configured
  4. Archive unused redirects after 6-12 months

Identifying Redirect Chains

What is a Redirect Chain:

  • A → B → C (visitor redirected multiple times)
  • Slows down page load
  • Hurts SEO
  • Should be avoided

Example Chain:

  • /old-page redirects to /new-page
  • /new-page redirects to /final-page
  • Problem: Two redirects to reach destination

Fix Redirect Chains:

  1. Update first redirect to point to final destination
  2. Change: /old-page → /final-page
  3. Remove intermediate redirect
  4. Result: One redirect instead of two

Chain Detection: System warns when saving redirect that creates chain.

Cleaning Up Old Redirects

When to Remove Redirects:

  • After 12 months with zero hits
  • Destination page no longer exists
  • Redirect no longer needed
  • Consolidating similar redirects

Redirect Cleanup Process:

  1. Filter redirects: Last Used > 12 months ago
  2. Review list
  3. Verify old URLs are truly dead (check analytics)
  4. Delete or deactivate unused redirects
  5. Keep redirects for high-authority external backlinks

Caution: Don't delete redirects if:

  • External sites link to old URL
  • Old URL has search rankings
  • Redirect has recent traffic
  • Uncertain if still needed (deactivate instead)

Troubleshooting

Redirect Not Working

Symptoms: Old URL doesn't redirect, shows 404 or loads original page

Check:

  1. Redirect status is "Active" (not inactive)
  2. Old URL exactly matches (case-sensitive)
  3. Cleared browser cache
  4. Tested in incognito/private browsing
  5. Verify redirect saved correctly
  6. Check for conflicting redirects
  7. Verify .htaccess or server config not overriding

Common Causes:

  • Redirect inactive
  • URL mismatch (typo or case issue)
  • Browser cache showing old page
  • Server cache not cleared

Redirect Loop Error

Symptoms: Page redirects to itself infinitely Browser shows "Too many redirects" error

Common Scenarios:

  • Old and New URLs are the same
  • A → B and B → A (circular)
  • Redirect chain loops back

Fix:

  1. Identify the loop
  2. Delete or edit one of the redirects
  3. Ensure destination URL doesn't redirect back
  4. Test after fixing

Example Loop:

  • Redirect 1: /page-a → /page-b
  • Redirect 2: /page-b → /page-a
  • Fix: Delete Redirect 2, or change destination

Redirect to Wrong Destination

Symptoms: Old URL redirects, but to incorrect page

Solutions:

  1. Edit redirect
  2. Verify New URL is correct
  3. Test redirect
  4. Save changes
  5. Clear cache and test again

Check for:

  • Typo in destination URL
  • Duplicate redirect rules (wrong one triggering)
  • Wildcard redirect catching unintended URLs

Redirect Not Preserving SEO

Issue: Created redirect, but old URL rankings not transferring

Possible Causes:

  1. Used 302 instead of 301 (SEO not transferred with 302)
  2. Redirect is too new (takes weeks/months for SEO transfer)
  3. Destination page is low quality
  4. Redirect chain dilutes SEO value

Solutions:

  1. Verify 301 redirect (not 302)
  2. Be patient (SEO transfer takes time)
  3. Improve destination page content
  4. Fix any redirect chains
  5. Monitor Search Console for indexing updates
  • Keywords - Monitor ranking changes after redirects
  • Business Settings - Site-wide URL settings
  • Cloudflare Settings - CDN caching affects redirects
  • Front Page - Homepage redirects
  • Products - Product URL changes require redirects

Permissions & Access

Required Access Level: Administrator or higher

Access Levels:

  • Manager: Cannot access URL Redirects (requires admin)
  • Administrator: Create, edit, delete redirects; import/export
  • Kiva Admin: All features + server-level redirect configuration

Restricted Features:

  • Creating Redirects: Requires Administrator
  • Bulk Import: Requires Administrator
  • Server Config: Requires Kiva Admin

Why Admin-Only: Incorrect redirects can break website navigation and hurt SEO.

Best Practices

Redirect Strategy

  1. Always use 301 for permanent changes
  2. Test redirects before activating
  3. Avoid redirect chains (direct A→C, not A→B→C)
  4. Document why redirects exist (use notes field)
  5. Monitor redirect usage regularly

SEO Protection

  1. Create redirects before changing URLs
  2. Use 301 to preserve search rankings
  3. Redirect old URLs with backlinks
  4. Avoid changing URLs frequently
  5. Monitor Search Console after major changes

Performance

  1. Keep redirect count reasonable (<500 ideal)
  2. Remove unused redirects annually
  3. Use wildcard redirects for bulk changes
  4. Avoid complex regex redirects
  5. Cache redirects for faster processing

Maintenance

  1. Review redirect reports quarterly
  2. Clean up unused redirects annually
  3. Export redirects for backup before changes
  4. Document major redirect implementations
  5. Train team on when to create redirects

Things to Avoid

  • ❌ Creating redirect loops
  • ❌ Long redirect chains (>2 hops)
  • ❌ Using 302 when 301 is appropriate
  • ❌ Deleting redirects with active traffic
  • ❌ Redirecting to 404 pages
  • ❌ Forgetting to test redirects
  • ❌ Changing URLs without redirects

Quick Reference Card

Task Action
Create redirect "Add Redirect" button
Test redirect Edit redirect > "Test" button
Bulk import "Import Redirects" > Upload CSV
Export redirects "Export" button
Find redirect Search bar > Enter old or new URL
Edit redirect Click old URL in list
Delete redirect Edit redirect > "Delete" button
View most used Sort by "Hits" column
Check redirect loops Save redirect > System warns

FAQs

When should I create a redirect?

Whenever you change a URL that has: existing traffic, search rankings, or external links. Create redirect BEFORE changing URL.

301 or 302 - which should I use?

Use 301 for permanent changes (99% of cases). Use 302 only for temporary redirects that will be removed.

How long should I keep redirects?

Keep redirects indefinitely if old URL has backlinks or rankings. Can remove after 12+ months if zero traffic and no external links.

Do redirects hurt SEO?

No, 301 redirects preserve 90-95% of SEO value. They're essential for site maintenance. Redirect chains and loops DO hurt SEO.

Can I redirect to external websites?

Yes, enter full URL in New URL field: https://external-site.com/page

What happens if I delete a redirect?

Old URL will return 404 error. Visitors and search engines won't find the page. Only delete if certain redirect is unnecessary.

Can I redirect homepage?

Yes, but be very careful. Can redirect specific paths (like /home → /). Redirecting main domain requires admin assistance.

How do I fix a redirect loop?

Identify the circular redirects and delete one. Ensure destination URLs don't redirect back to source.

Do I need redirects for every old URL?

Only for URLs with: traffic, rankings, backlinks, or customer bookmarks. Low-value pages with no traffic can 404.

Can I undo a redirect?

Yes, simply delete or deactivate it. Old URL will load normally again (if page still exists).

End of Documentation

For additional help, contact your system administrator or Kiva Logic support.