AnQiCMS as a powerful content management system plays a core role in website operation.Among them, the flexible configuration of pseudo-static rules is a key factor in improving user experience and search engine friendliness.An URL structure that is clear, concise, and semantically rich, which not only makes it easier for visitors to understand the content of the page, but also effectively helps search engines to better crawl and index the website, thereby bringing higher visibility and traffic.

The importance of understanding URL structure

Before delving into the pseudo-static rules of AnQiCMS, let's first think about why URL structure is so important.

From the perspective of user experience, a good URL is like a map, allowing users to have a general expectation of the page content without clicking. For example, a URL named/news/company-updates-2023.htmlThe URL, users can immediately tell that this is a news article about the company's 2023 update. On the contrary, if the URL is/index.php?id=123&cat=456It is completely unable to provide any semantic information, and the user may feel confused. A clear URL is also easier for users to remember and share, enhancing the professional image of the website.

For a search engine, the URL is one of the important signals it uses to understand the content of web pages.An URL containing keywords helps search engines determine the thematic relevance of the page.In addition, a concise and hierarchical URL structure can help search engine spiders crawl the website more efficiently, understand the overall structure of the website, which is crucial for the inclusion and ranking of the website.A URL that is deeply nested or contains too many dynamic parameters may cause search engines to misjudge it as a low-quality page, or even abandon crawling.

AnQiCMS knows the importance of URL structure, therefore it built powerful pseudo-static and 301 redirection management functions, aiming to help operators easily build URLs that are friendly to both users and search engines.

English built-in pseudo-static mode

In order to help users quickly get started, AnQiCMS provides some preset rules for pseudo-static modes that can be selected and used directly without manual configuration:

  • Digital Mode:In this mode, the URLs of document details, category lists, single pages, and tag pages are usually identified by ID numbers, such as/article/123.html。It is suitable for Chinese sites that have low semantic requirements for URLs.
  • Model Naming Pattern:In this mode, the URL will include the content model (such asarticle/product) and the combination of filenames, for example/article-about-anqicms.html。This is more advantageous for websites with mainly English content or those that hope to differentiate content types using the model.
  • Category Naming Pattern 1/2:These two modes combine the category name and content title, aiming to provide richer semantic information. Mode 1 may be more inclined to the habits of Chinese sites, while Mode 2 may be more suitable for English sites, such as/news/company-updates.html.

These built-in patterns can meet the needs in most cases, but the real strength of AnQiCMS lies in its flexible customization ability.

Custom URL structure: Unleash the powerful features of AnQiCMS

When the built-in mode cannot meet your refined needs for URL structure, AnQiCMS's custom rewrite rules can come into play.You can find the 'URL Rewrite Rule' option in the 'Feature Management' section of the backend, and select 'Custom Mode' to enable advanced configuration.

The custom mode allows you to set URL structures separately for different types of pages on the website (document details, document list, model homepage, single page, tag list, tag details).Each rule follows the format 'rule name===rule value', where the rule value part can be constructed using a series of predefined variables.

  • {id}: This is the unique numeric identifier for the content. Although concise, it has a low degree of semanticization, which is not conducive to SEO.
  • {filename}This variable corresponds to the 'Custom URL' or 'URL Alias' field filled in when editing documents, single pages, tags, and other content.It is usually the pinyin of the title content or a customized English phrase, which is the most flexible and recommended way to achieve semanticized URLs.
  • {catname}: with{filename}It corresponds to the "Custom URL" or "URL Alias" field filled in during editing. It is used to build semantic URLs for category pages.
  • {catid}分类的唯一数字标识ID，与{id}类似，语义化程度一般。
  • {module}：对应内容模型（如文章、产品）的英文名称。例如，文章模型的moduleit may bearticle。It helps to reflect the model ownership of the content in the URL.
  • {page}：When pagination is present on the page, and it must be enclosed in parentheses, such as(-{page})./list-{page}.htmlThis ensures that the URL does not contain unnecessary parameters when pagination is not used.

Through combining these variables, you can build a highly customized URL structure. For example, if you want the URL of the article detail page to be域名/文章模型名/文章标题别名.htmlYou can configure it like this:

archive===/{module}/{filename}.html

If you want the URL of the category page to be域名/分类别名/page-页码.htmlauto

category===/{catname}/page-{page}.htmlauto{page}auto

auto(-{page})auto

Content Management URL Alias Settings

The custom rewrite rule requires the corresponding alias information provided by the content itself.In AnQiCMS backend content management, whether you are adding articles, products, categories, tags, or single pages, you will see the option to fill in 'Custom URL' or 'URL Alias'.

  • Documents and Single Page:When editing documents or single pages, the system will automatically generate a custom URL in pinyin form based on the title you enter.You can manually modify it as needed to make it more semantically meaningful and keyword relevant.The system will perform a uniqueness check, and if a duplicate is found, it will automatically add a number at the end to ensure the uniqueness of the URL.{filename}a variable.
  • Category:You can also set a custom URL alias when adding or editing categories. This alias will correspond to the pseudo-static rules in:{catname}a variable.
  • Content model:In the "Content model" management, each model has a "URL alias" field, which is usually in English lowercase letters. This alias will correspond to the static rules in the pseudo-static rules.{module}a variable.

Use these aliases effectively to ensure the perfect realization of your custom URL structure strategy.

Custom URL strategy and practical suggestions

When customizing the URL structure, the following suggestions will help you achieve **effect:**

  1. Maintain simplicity and readability:The URL should not be too long, avoid using redundant words and special characters. Clear English words or short pinyin combinations are usually better choices.
  2. Integrate core keywords:Integrate the core keywords of the page into the URL without sacrificing readability, which helps enhance the search engine's understanding of the page content.
  3. Reflect the hierarchical structure of the website:The URL structure should reflect the information architecture of the website as much as possible. For example, news articles can be placed/news/in the catalog, and products can be placed/products/the directory.
  4. Maintain consistency across the entire site:Establish a unified URL naming convention and strictly adhere to it. For example, all article detail pages should use/{module}/{filename}.htmlformat.
  5. Avoid using special characters:URL should avoid using special characters other than hyphens (-) to enhance compatibility and accessibility.
  6. Use 301 redirects wisely:If you decide to modify the existing URL structure, be sure to use the built-in 301 redirect function of AnQiCMS.This will inform the search engine that the old URL has been permanently moved to the new URL, thus avoiding loss of traffic and SEO weight.

Through the pseudo-static rules and custom features of AnQiCMS, website operators can build URL structures that are both user-friendly and SEO-friendly, thereby enhancing the user experience and online visibility of the website.

Common Questions (FAQ)

Q1: How is the custom URL alias generated? Will it affect the normal access to the website if I modify it manually?

A1：When you create documents, categories, or single pages in the AnQiCMS backend, if you do not manually fill in the "Custom URL" or "URL Alias" field, the system will usually automatically generate pinyin as the default alias based on the title you enter. For example, "About Us" might be generated asguanyu-women.You can always manually modify these aliases to make them more suitable for your SEO or brand needs.Ensure that the modified alias is unique (the system will automatically detect and prompt or add a numeric suffix to ensure uniqueness), and that the new URL conforms to the structure you set in the pseudo-static rules, and your website access will not be affected.If your rewrite rules have changed but the content URL alias has not been updated accordingly, it may result in inaccessible pages. In this case, you need to check the rewrite rules or manually modify the alias, and set up a 301 redirect if necessary.

Q2：If I modify the rewrite rule, will the old URL become invalid? How should I handle it?

A2：Yes, if you modify the pseudo-static rules of the website, the old URLs (especially those that have been launched and indexed by search engines) may become invalid, leading to users