In website operation, content adjustments, page redesigns, or website structure optimization are common things.However, every adjustment may come with risks, the most common and far-reaching of which is traffic loss.When the old page address is no longer available and not properly handled, search engines will encounter dead links, and users will see a 404 error page, which will undoubtedly seriously damage the website's SEO performance and user experience.This is where the 301 redirect becomes particularly important, as it is the key tool to ensure a seamless transition and avoid traffic loss after content adjustments.

AnQiCMS as a content management system that focuses on SEO optimization, built-in features for pseudo-static and 301 redirect management, aiming to help us efficiently solve such problems.Properly configuring 301 redirects not only guides search engines and users to the new page, but also effectively passes on the weight and ranking signals of the old page, thereby minimizing the negative impact of content adjustments.

Understand 301 redirects and their importance

301 redirect, in short, it is to inform the browser and search engines that a certain page has permanently moved to a new location.The 'permanence' here is the core, it means that the value of the old URL (including external links, ranking, user trust, etc.) will be mostly transferred to the new URL.If the 301 redirect is not set correctly, users and search engine crawlers accessing these old URLs after they are deleted or changed will encounter a 'Page not found' (404) error.This not only makes users frustrated, but also makes search engines think that the website is poorly maintained, which in turn affects the inclusion and ranking of pages.Therefore, it is crucial to configure 301 redirects accurately and in a timely manner, whether it is to delete a content, merge multiple pages, or simply modify the URL path of a page.

Configure 301 redirects in AnQiCMS

AnQiCMS provides an intuitive management interface for configuring 301 redirects.Generally, you can find the option '301 Redirect Management' under the 'Function Management' menu in the system's background management interface.This is the core area where you manage all redirect rules.

When you need to set up a 301 redirect for an old page, you generally follow the following steps:

  1. Enter the redirection management interfaceLog in to the AnQiCMS backend, navigate to "Function Management", and then click on "301 Redirect Management".
  2. Add a new redirection rule：On this page, you will see an entry to add a new rule. Clicking it will prompt you to enter the old URL and the new URL.
  3. Enter the old URLThis is the original page address you wish to be redirected to. Please ensure that this URL is accurate and correct, it can be a relative path (such as/old-page.html) or a complete absolute path (such ashttp://www.yourdomain.com/old-page.htmlIn most cases, using relative paths is more flexible, as it can adapt to domain changes.
  4. Enter the new URL.This is the latest page address where your old page content is now located. Similarly, it can be a relative path or an absolute path, ensuring that it points to a valid target page.
  5. Select Redirect TypeAnQiCMS usually defaults to providing the '301 permanent redirect' option, make sure to select this type.301 represents permanent redirection, which is the **choice** we hope search engines pass weight and ranking.
  6. Save and TestComplete the filling of the old URL and new URL and the selection of the redirection type, then save your settings.After saving, be sure to enter the old URL in the browser for testing to confirm that it correctly redirects to the new URL, and check the HTTP status code in the developer tools to see if it is 301.

For more complex website structure adjustments, such as changes to the entire category directory, if AnQiCMS's 301 redirect feature supports wildcards or regular expressions (you can check AnQiCMS's detailed documentation or backend interface to see if there are such advanced options), then you can configure more flexible rules to process in batches.If not supported, all affected old URLs and their corresponding new URLs need to be listed and configured one by one.

Ensure Redirect Works and Efficiently

Configure 301 redirect is just the first step, ensuring it runs effectively and efficiently is equally important.As a system developed based on the Go language with a high-performance architecture, AnQiCMS has built-in static caching and SEO optimization features that ensure rapid response to redirect requests, which is crucial for user experience and search engine crawling efficiency.

  • TimelinessAfter the content is published or adjusted, the corresponding 301 redirect should be configured immediately. Any delay may lead to search engine crawlers encountering dead links during crawling or users accessing invalid pages.
  • AccuracyCheck the old URL and the new URL carefully to avoid input errors or configuration of circular redirects (i.e., A redirecting to B, and B redirecting back to A), which will result in the page being inaccessible.
  • Regular reviewThe website content and structure will constantly change. It is recommended to regularly check and clean up unnecessary redirect rules, and ensure that the existing rules are still valid.
  • Combined with other SEO tools【en】AnQiCMS also provides advanced SEO tools such as Sitemap generation and Robots.txt configuration.After performing a lot of page redirects, updating the Sitemap and ensuring that Robots.txt does not block search engine crawling of new URLs will help search engines discover and index new pages faster.

Through the powerful 301 redirection management feature of AnQiCMS, combined with detailed operation strategies, we can effectively avoid traffic loss caused by content adjustments, maintain the search engine rankings and user experience of the website, and make every content upgrade an opportunity to enhance the website's value.

Common Questions (FAQ)

1. What is the difference between 301 and 302 redirects? When should I use 301?

A 301 redirect indicates thatpermanentMove to a new location, it will inform the search engine to transfer all the weight and ranking of the old page to the new page. While a 302 redirect indicates that the page istemporaryMove, when the search engine is crawling, it will retain the index and weight of the old page and usually will not transfer.Adjust content in AnQiCMS, such as when the page URL is permanently changed, the page is deleted, or content is merged into other pages, a 301 redirect should be used to ensure the continuity of SEO assets.Only consider using 302 when it is indeed a temporary redirect, such as for short-term promotional pages, seasonal content, etc.

2. What should I do after configuring 301 redirect to notify search engines?

Theoretically, once you have correctly configured the 301 redirect, search engine crawlers will automatically identify and follow the new URL when they visit the old URL next. However, to accelerate the discovery and update of search engines, you can take some proactive measures:

  • Update SitemapSubmit the latest Sitemap file generated and submitted on the AnQiCMS backend to search engines (such as Baidu Resource Platform, Google Search Console), ensuring that new URLs are included and old URLs are removed or redirected to new URLs.
  • Manually submitFor particularly important old URLs, you can submit them for deletion or modification using the tools provided in the search engine's management platform to remind the search engine to handle them as soon as possible.
  • Internal Link Optimization: Update internal links on the website to point directly to new URLs as much as possible, reducing the number of redirects and improving efficiency.

What are the effects of configuring a wrong 301 redirect on the website? How can it be traced?

Configuring a wrong 301 redirect can lead to various issues:

  • Infinite redirect loopFor example, A redirects to B, and B redirects back to A, which will cause users and search engines to be unable to access the page.
  • Redirecting to irrelevant contentRedirecting old pages to new pages that do not match the original content can harm user experience and may lead search engines to consider the redirect as a 'soft 404', which can lower the ranking of the new page.
  • Redirect to a non-existent page: After 301 redirect, the final response is still 404 error.

Troubleshooting methods include:

  • Manual testingEnter the old URL configured with 301 in the browser and observe whether it correctly redirects to the target page.
  • Use the browser's developer toolsIn Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers, open the Developer Tools (F12), switch to the 'Network' or 'Network' tab, and access the old URL.Check if the HTTP status code is 301 and verify if the redirect chain is normal.
  • SEO tool checkUse professional SEO crawling tools (such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider, etc.) to perform a full crawl of the website, which can batch check if all redirects are correct, and whether there are redirect chains or circular redirects.