Is the 'Custom URL' field of AnQiCMS required to be unique across the entire site, and what negative impacts may arise otherwise?

The meaning and function of custom URLs in AnQiCMS

AnQiCMS provides the "Custom URL" feature, aimed at giving website operators great flexibility to optimize the link structure of their website content.No matter whether you are publishing a deep article, a product detail page, a website category, or an independent tag page, you can specify a concise, descriptive URL path for it.System defaults to intelligently automatically generating a pinyin-formatted custom URL based on the title content you enter, which is very convenient in most cases.However, when you are not satisfied with the automatically generated URL, or you want to more precisely control the URL to meet specific SEO strategies or brand needs, the function of manually entering a custom URL becomes particularly important.

The core value of this feature lies in its close integration with the pseudo-static rules of AnQiCMS. By utilizing the pseudo-static configuration{filename}/{catname}Variables such as `auto`, custom URLs can be converted into easy-to-remember and search engine-friendly static links.An well-structured, semantically clear URL, which not only helps search engines better understand the content of the page and improve keyword ranking, but also allows users to predict the general content of the page when they see the link, enhancing their willingness to click.

the uniqueness principle of custom URLs

However, while enjoying the convenience and advantages brought by custom URLs, AnQiCMS also sets a strict rule for this field: custom URLs must ensure the uniqueness across the entire site.This means that, whether it is an article, product, category, tag, or single page, their custom URLs in the website cannot be duplicated from each other.This is a fundamental and core constraint, ensuring that each website resource has a clear and unambiguous access address.

System has a clear execution mechanism for this uniqueness requirement.When you try to save a custom URL that duplicates existing content, AnQiCMS will not directly reject your operation, but will take an automatic correction measure - automatically appending random numbers to the end of the URL you enter to force it to become unique./products/new-productFollowing this, it may try to set the same URL for another product/products/new-product-12345.

Negative impacts of non-uniqueness of custom URLs

Although AnQiCMS's automatic correction mechanism technically guarantees the uniqueness of URLs, this 'unwilling' modification often brings a series of significant negative impacts on website operation and SEO performance:

Firstly,搜索引擎优化（SEO）效果的削弱.The search engine prefers concise, descriptive URLs without redundant characters.Custom URLs may have random numbers automatically added by the system, making the URL long and lacking in semantics, which directly reduces the friendliness of the URL to search engines.Search engines may find it difficult to extract effective keywords from this 'noise', which may affect the inclusion, understanding, and ultimately the ranking performance of the page.This goes against the original intention of customizing the URL to optimize SEO.

Secondly,用户体验（UX）的损害.A URL with random numbers that is neither beautiful nor easy to remember.Users will find that such URLs seem unprofessional and difficult to intuitively judge their content when browsing websites, sharing content, or visiting again.This chaotic URL structure may reduce users' trust in the website and the convenience of use, and even affect the efficiency of content dissemination.

Moreover,网站内容管理复杂度的增加.For operators, managing a large number of URLs automatically modified by the system will be a nightmare.When random numbers are appended to the URL, you will not be able to identify the original intent or classification of the content at a glance.This not only increases the workload for content search and maintenance, but also makes URL planning and the implementation of internal linking strategies complex and uncontrollable.For example, you may plan to construct the website hierarchy through the URL structure, but the insertion of random numbers will completely destroy this carefully designed structure.

Finally,潜在的品牌专业度损害.A well-organized website with standardized URLs is a manifestation of a professional image.Frequent appearance of URLs with random numbers can give people the impression that the website is disorganized and lacks planning, thus affecting the brand's professionalism and credibility.

Therefore, even though AnQiCMS may "kindly" correct duplicate custom URLs for you, as a website operator, we should still attach great importance to the uniqueness of this field.Thoroughly check the content before publishing, or incorporate URL naming conventions into the content strategy from the outset, is a crucial step to ensure the healthy development of the website and achieve**operational effects.

Common Questions and Answers (FAQ)

问：Why does AnQiCMS force the custom URL to be unique throughout the entire site?

答：Custom URL is a universal principle of internet resource management, ensuring that each page or content item on the website has a clear and unique address.From a technical perspective, this avoids ambiguity in the server's request parsing, ensuring the accuracy of routing.From an SEO perspective, a unique URL helps search engines clearly identify and index each page, avoiding potential duplicate content issues, thereby improving the overall ranking and visibility of the website.

What if the custom URL I manually set is duplicated with existing content? Will the system provide any prompts?

答：When you input a custom URL that duplicates existing content, AnQiCMS will automatically append a random number to the end of the URL you set to ensure its uniqueness technically, for example/example-pagemight become/example-page-12345.Although the document does not explicitly mention any pop-ups or significant user prompts, it is usually the case that after content is saved in the background, you will see these automatically added numbers included in the URL field.This means that your original intention has been modified, and you need to pay attention to it yourself.

问：How should I avoid the system automatically adding random numbers to my custom URL? Are there any **practices?