Understanding URL Redirects

Modified on Mon, 20 Apr at 3:29 PM

Understanding

URL Redirects

What they do, when they work, and how to set them up.

What is a URL redirect?

A URL redirect is an instruction that automatically sends anyone who visits an old web address to a new one. From the visitor’s perspective, they click a link or type an address and land on the right page, even if that page has moved.

For your Buddi SEO Menu, redirects serve one main purpose: preserving the search authority that your old web pages may have built up over time. If a page on your previous website was ranking well on Google, setting up a redirect from that old address to its equivalent on your new site tells Google to transfer that ranking credit to the new page.

Example: Your old website had a page at yourstore.com/products/pink-kush that ranked well on Google. On your Buddi site, the same product lives at yourstore.com/flower/pink-kush. A redirect from the old address to the new one ensures Google associates any existing ranking with your new product page.

When redirects work

Redirects on your Buddi SEO Menu are processed on the server side. This means they activate whenever a page is loaded fresh from the internet. Here is when a redirect will fire:

Direct links. A customer types an old URL directly into their browser, or clicks a link from an external source such as a Google search result, a social media post, or a saved bookmark.
Google and other search engines. When Google’s crawler visits one of your old URLs, the redirect tells it where the content now lives. This is the most important use case for SEO.
Reloading a page. If a visitor is already on an old URL and refreshes their browser, the redirect will fire and send them to the correct page.

Good to know: The scenario above covers everything that matters for SEO. Google discovers your redirects the same way a visitor would, by visiting the old URL directly. As long as your redirects are set up correctly, Google will update its index to point to the new addresses.

One thing to be aware of

Redirects will not fire when a visitor clicks a link that is already part of your Buddi website. For example, if a customer is browsing your site and clicks a navigation link that happens to use an old URL, the redirect will not activate during that in-page click.

In practice, this is not a problem. The links within your Buddi site should already point to the correct, current URLs. Redirects are designed for traffic arriving from outside your site: from Google, from old bookmarks, or from other websites that may still link to your old addresses. Those are exactly the situations where redirects do their job.

Redirect fires	Redirect does not fire
Visitor arrives from a Google search result	Visitor clicks a link within your Buddi site
Visitor types the old URL directly into their browser	Visitor uses the navigation menu on your site
Visitor clicks an old link saved in their bookmarks
Visitor clicks a link from another website or social post
Visitor reloads the page while on an old URL

Testing your redirects

After setting up a redirect, changes take effect on your website right away. However, your browser may have already stored (cached) a previous version of the page, which can make it look like the redirect isn’t working when it actually is.

If you set up a redirect and want to test it, always use a hard reload rather than a regular page refresh. A hard reload forces your browser to fetch the page fresh from the server, bypassing anything it has stored locally.

How to do a hard reload

Windows and Linux: Hold Ctrl and press Shift + R, or hold Ctrl and press F5.
Mac: Hold Cmd and press Shift + R.
Any browser: You can also open the page in a private or incognito window, which starts with no cached data.

If your redirect still isn’t working: Double-check that the old URL is entered exactly as it appears, including any slashes or hyphens. Even a small typo will prevent the redirect from matching. If everything looks correct and it’s still not working, contact Buddi support.

Setting up redirects

Redirects are managed in the Redirects section of your site settings. Here is how to add them:

Open your site settings. Navigate to the Redirects section.
Click “Add Redirect.” A form will appear at the bottom of the page.
Enter the old URL. This is the previous address you want to redirect away from. Use the full path, for example /products/pink-kush.
Enter the new URL. This is the current address where visitors should land instead, for example /flower/pink-kush.
Save. The form stays open after saving, so you can continue adding more redirects without reopening it. Click “Close” when you are done.

If you have many redirects to add: It helps to collect all your old and new URLs in a spreadsheet before you start, so you can work through them efficiently. If you’re migrating from another platform and aren’t sure which URLs need redirects, your Buddi contact can help you figure that out.

Questions? Contact your Buddi account manager or visit our support centre.