What is a 301 Redirect and How Do I Set One Up?

Sometimes a page on your website moves or gets deleted. When that happens, visitors and search engines need to know where to go next.

www.yoursite.com/website-services

A 301 redirect will automatically send anyone visiting the old URL to the new one.

Visitors won’t notice anything happening. They’ll just land on the right page.

How to Set Up a 301 Redirect

How you create a redirect depends on how your website is built. Here are a few common ways.

1. Use Your Website Platform

Many website platforms make redirects easy to set up.

For example:

• WordPress — use plugins like Redirection or RankMath
• Shopify — redirects can be added in the URL Redirects section
• Wix or Squarespace — redirects are available in site settings

Usually, you just enter the old URL and the new URL, then save the redirect.

2. Add a Redirect in Your .htaccess File (Advanced)

If your website runs on an Apache server, you can add a redirect to your .htaccess file.

Example:

Redirect 301 /old-page https://www.yoursite.com/new-page

This tells the server to permanently redirect the old page to the new one.

If you’re not comfortable editing server files, it’s best to ask a developer for help.

3. Use Your Hosting Provider

Some hosting providers include redirect tools in their dashboard.

Look for sections like:

• Domains
• Redirects
• URL forwarding

You can often add redirects there without touching any code.

Tips for Using 301 Redirects

A few best practices can help your redirects work better.

Redirect to the most relevant page.
If a page is removed, send visitors to the closest matching content.

Avoid redirect chains.
This happens when one redirect leads to another redirect, which can slow things down.

Update internal links when possible.
Redirects are helpful, but it's even better if your website links point directly to the new page.

Test your redirects.
After creating one, visit the old URL to make sure it sends you to the right place.