Automatic Redirects - Plugixa Permalink Manager

Changing an address is only safe if the old one keeps working. In Plugixa Permalink Manager it does, without you doing anything.

Old addresses

Whenever an item’s address changes, by hand, by a pattern or by a bulk tool, the previous address is kept as an old address of that item. A visitor who arrives at it is redirected to the current one.

On the demonstration site the Granite boot has had three addresses:

Both old addresses go straight to the current one, in one step. There is no chain of hops, however many times an item has moved.

An item’s old addresses are listed in the URI Editor, on the Old addresses tab of its history panel.

If an old address is wanted again

Addresses are unique, but an old address is only a redirect. If you give that address to another item, the item gets it and the redirect is retired.

How many are kept

Old addresses kept per item in Redirects settings caps the list at 50 by default. When an item passes the limit its oldest ones are dropped.

WordPress addresses

An item with a custom address still has the address WordPress would have given it. Visitors who use that one are sent to the custom address:

This is the setting Send WordPress addresses to the custom ones.

Small corrections

In the same redirect the plugin also fixes:

• Trailing slash - /stores becomes /stores/, or the reverse, following the trailing slash setting.
• Letter case - /Stores/ becomes /stores/.
• http to https - on a site that uses https, an address requested over http is corrected in the same redirect, so a visitor is not bounced twice.

The query string is kept, so /sale/?utm_source=newsletter still arrives with its tracking intact.

The redirect type

Redirects are 301 Moved permanently by default. Change it under Redirect type. Browsers remember a 301 for a long time, so use 302 while you are still experimenting with addresses, and switch back when you are happy.

Switching things off

Each behaviour above has its own switch in Redirects settings, except the letter-case correction, which is always on. Setting Redirect type to No redirects at all stops everything, manual redirects included.

Seeing and managing every redirect PRO

The free plugin shows an item’s old addresses on that item. Pro adds the Redirects screen: every redirect on the site in one list, where you can switch any of them off, change its type, delete it, or add redirects of your own.

Why an address does what it does

Type any address into Debug and tick Also request it to see whether it shows an item or redirects, where to, and who sent the redirect.