What’s your current URL or website address? Is it something complicated like an abbreviation or acronym of the name of your animal shelter or rescue?
If your URL is anything like this: pcshnw.org, those who are new to your organization might find it difficult to remember.
But why does it matter? They could still just ask around or look you up on Google, right?
Well, while it’s true that they could still find you online, some might not want to go through the trouble, which could mean a lost opportunity for you.
Making your URL simple and memory-friendly makes it more convenient for people to find your website and can also help you ensure that you won’t be losing any potential connections.
So how do you change your present URL into something more memorable without having to purchase a new website domain name? Through a URL redirect!
What’s A URL Redirect?
A URL redirect, also known as URL forwarding, is a technique that allows you to dedicate more that one URL or website address to a single web page.
That means you can set up yournewurl.com to redirect to youroldurl.com.
People would be able to type in yournewurl.com on their browser and get redirected to the same web page that youroldurl.com is assigned to.
Three Types of URL Redirects
1. 301 Redirect
A 301 redirect is when a web page is permanently moved to another. This is the type of redirect that you’ll need to do if you want to change the URL of a web page or delete a one for good so you don’t end up with 404 errors.
2. 302 Redirect
A 302 redirect is used for temporary URL redirection. You’d use this type of redirect when you want to send your visitors to a new web address for a certain period of time, like when your site is undergoing maintenance or revamping.
3. Masked Redirect
This type of redirect allows you to people to a new web address without revealing the URL of the destination web site.
However, while it hides the original URL to site visitors, search engines still see it. And this creates duplicate content, which is bad for SEO.
How to Create A URL Redirect
The process for creating a URL redirect varies from one web host to another, but it’s nothing a quick Google search can’t fix.
To help you out, we listed popular web hosts below and hyperlinked them to articles that show instructions on how to create URL redirects with each of them.
Benefits of Using URL Redirects
Aside from allowing you to change a complex URL to a simpler, more memorable one without having to start from scratch, URL redirects can also be useful in the following circumstances:
1. When you want to move to a new domain but don’t want to sacrifice your website traffic.
Spreading the word about your new web address to the people who have been using your old one can be difficult and time-consuming. So instead of doing that, you could simply have your old web address redirect to your new one.
2. You moved or deleted some of your content.
When you move or delete pages, posts, and categories from your website, it doesn’t just disappear forever. They become dead pages that can drag down your search rankings.
So what you can do to prevent that from happening is to always, always redirect them to a web address.
Using WordPress? Check Out These URL Redirect Plugins
If you’re using WordPress, you might want to try out these URL redirect plugins. They can help you save time and make things easier for you.
Redirection is pretty much an all-around URL redirect tool. From managing 301 redirections to making sure that your site is free from 404 errors, it can definitely help you out. And it’s free!
If you’re planning to heed our advice about simplifying your more complex URLs but just don’t trust yourself with anything tech-related, you should definitely check out Page Links To. It’s perfect for beginners!
