Smart Redirections

Smart Redirections automatically handle URL differences between WordPress and Shopify, preserving your SEO rankings and ensuring visitors always find your content.

Why Redirections Matter

When you sync content from WordPress to Shopify, URLs change:

WordPress URL:
https://yourblog.com/2024/01/15/ultimate-guide-to-skincare/

Shopify URL:
https://yourstore.com/blogs/news/ultimate-guide-to-skincare

Without redirections:

• Old links return 404 errors
• Search engine rankings are lost
• Bookmarks break
• Backlinks become worthless

How Smart Redirections Work

Automatic Detection

Wash: Blog Manager automatically detects:

1. Original WordPress URL - Stored during sync
2. New Shopify URL - Generated after article creation
3. URL differences - Compared to determine redirect needs

Redirect Types

Type	Code	Use Case
Permanent	301	Content moved permanently
Temporary	302	Content temporarily redirected
Canonical	-	SEO signal, no redirect

Default: 301 permanent redirects (best for SEO)

Redirect Flow

User/Search Engine
        │
        ▼
┌───────────────────┐
│ WordPress URL     │
│ /blog/post-title  │
└─────────┬─────────┘
          │
          ▼
┌───────────────────┐
│ Redirect Check    │
│ Wash: Blog Manager Rules  │
└─────────┬─────────┘
          │
          ▼
┌───────────────────┐
│ 301 Redirect      │
└─────────┬─────────┘
          │
          ▼
┌───────────────────┐
│ Shopify URL       │
│ /blogs/news/      │
│ post-title        │
└───────────────────┘

Enabling Smart Redirections

Step 1: Enable in WordPress Plugin

1. Go to Wash: Blog Manager > Settings
2. Find the Redirections section
3. Toggle Enable Smart Redirections to On
4. Configure redirect type (301 recommended)
5. Save settings

Step 2: Configure Redirect Handling

Choose where redirects are processed:

Option A: WordPress Handles Redirects

• Redirects processed by your WordPress server
• Best if WordPress stays online
• No Shopify app changes needed

Option B: Shopify Handles Redirects

• Redirects stored in Shopify URL Redirects
• Works even if WordPress goes offline
• Requires Shopify Plus for bulk redirects

Option C: Hybrid Approach

• WordPress handles initially
• Export to Shopify after migration complete

Step 3: Verify Redirects

1. Visit an old WordPress URL
2. Confirm redirect to Shopify URL
3. Check HTTP response code (should be 301)

Configuration Options

Global Settings

Setting	Description	Default
Enable redirections	Turn feature on/off	Off
Redirect type	301, 302, or canonical	301
Handle location	WordPress or Shopify	WordPress
Include archives	Redirect category archives	Yes
Preserve query strings	Keep URL parameters	Yes

Per-Article Settings

Override global settings for specific articles:

Post: "Ultimate Guide to Skincare"
├── WordPress URL: /2024/01/ultimate-guide/
├── Shopify URL: /blogs/guides/ultimate-guide/
├── Redirect enabled: ✓
└── Redirect type: 301

URL Pattern Rules

Create rules for URL transformation:

Pattern Rules:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Rule 1: Date-based to clean URLs           │
│ From: /YYYY/MM/DD/{slug}/                  │
│ To: /blogs/{blog}/{slug}                   │
├────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Rule 2: Category prefix                    │
│ From: /category/{cat}/{slug}/              │
│ To: /blogs/{cat}/{slug}                    │
├────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Rule 3: Remove "blog" prefix               │
│ From: /blog/{slug}/                        │
│ To: /blogs/news/{slug}                     │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Managing Redirects

View Active Redirects

1. Go to Wash: Blog Manager > Redirections
2. See list of all active redirects
3. Filter by status, date, or article

Redirect Dashboard

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Smart Redirections Dashboard                              │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Total Redirects: 156                                      │
│ Active: 152 │ Paused: 4 │ Errors: 0                      │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ From URL              │ To URL              │ Status     │
│ /2024/01/post-1/     │ /blogs/news/post-1  │ ✓ Active   │
│ /2024/01/post-2/     │ /blogs/news/post-2  │ ✓ Active   │
│ /category/news/      │ /blogs/news         │ ⏸ Paused   │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Edit Redirect

1. Click on a redirect entry
2. Modify source or destination URL
3. Change redirect type
4. Enable/disable redirect
5. Save changes

Delete Redirect

1. Select redirect(s)
2. Click Delete
3. Confirm deletion

Warning: Deleting redirects may cause 404 errors for old URLs.

Bulk Operations

• Import redirects: CSV upload
• Export redirects: Download as CSV
• Bulk enable/disable: Select multiple
• Sync to Shopify: Push to Shopify URL Redirects

Advanced Features

Redirect Chains

Wash: Blog Manager detects and optimizes redirect chains:

Before optimization:
URL A → URL B → URL C → URL D

After optimization:
URL A → URL D
URL B → URL D
URL C → URL D

Regex Redirects

For complex patterns, use regex rules:

Pattern: ^/blog/(\d{4})/(\d{2})/(.+)/$
Target: /blogs/news/$3
Example: /blog/2024/01/my-post/ → /blogs/news/my-post

404 Monitoring

Track failed redirect attempts:

1. Go to Wash: Blog Manager > Redirections > 404 Log
2. View URLs that returned 404
3. Create redirects for common 404s

Redirect Analytics

Track redirect usage:

Metric	Description
Total hits	Number of redirect requests
Unique visitors	Distinct users redirected
Referrers	Where traffic came from
User agents	Bots vs humans

SEO Considerations

Best Practices

1. Use 301 redirects - Signals permanent move to search engines
2. Redirect promptly - Set up before or immediately after migration
3. Maintain redirects long-term - Keep for 1+ years minimum
4. Avoid chains - Direct redirects are better for SEO
5. Update internal links - Point to new URLs when possible

Search Engine Communication

When you enable Smart Redirections:

Search Engine Crawl:
1. Bot requests /old-url/
2. Server responds: 301 Moved Permanently
3. Location header: /blogs/news/new-url
4. Bot updates index
5. Rankings transfer to new URL

Google Search Console

After migration:

1. Submit new sitemap
2. Use URL Inspection tool
3. Monitor Coverage report
4. Check for crawl errors

Troubleshooting

Redirect Not Working

Check:

• Feature enabled in settings
• Redirect entry exists
• Source URL matches exactly
• WordPress is accessible (if handling redirects)

Redirect Loop

Symptoms: Browser shows "too many redirects" Fix:

1. Go to Wash: Blog Manager > Redirections
2. Find conflicting rules
3. Remove or modify duplicate entries

404 Instead of Redirect

Check:

• Redirect is active (not paused)
• URL slug matches exactly
• No typos in configuration

Performance Issues

If redirects are slow:

1. Check server response times
2. Consider moving redirects to Shopify
3. Optimize redirect rules (avoid regex if possible)

Migration Workflow

Complete Migration Steps

1. Before sync: Enable Smart Redirections
2. Sync content: All posts to Shopify
3. Verify redirects: Test sample URLs
4. Update DNS: Point domain to Shopify (optional)
5. Monitor: Check analytics for 404s
6. Maintain: Keep redirects active long-term

Keeping WordPress Alive

If keeping WordPress for content management:

Public: yourstore.com (Shopify)
Hidden: blog.yourstore.com (WordPress)
Redirects: blog.yourstore.com/* → yourstore.com/blogs/*

See Best Practices for detailed recommendations.

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Related Documentation

• Best Practices
• Connection Settings
• Shopify Limitations