How to Set Up Redirects in WordPress (Redirection Plugin and .htaccess)

Applies to: WordPress 7.1 with the Redirection plugin 5.10, or Apache/LiteSpeed .htaccess

A redirect sends visitors and search engines from an old address to a new one, for example after you change a post’s URL, delete a page or restructure your site. Use a 301 (permanent) redirect so search engines move the old page’s ranking to the new one.

Option 1: the Redirection plugin (no code)

1. In WordPress, go to Plugins › Add Plugin, search for Redirection (by John Godley), install and activate it. With WP-CLI: wp plugin install redirection --activate. We tested version 5.10.1 on WordPress 7.1.2.
2. Open Tools › Redirection and complete the short setup.
3. Click Add New: enter the Source URL (the old path, for example /old-page/) and the Target URL (the new page), and save. It uses a 301 by default.

The plugin can also log 404 errors, so you can see which old links need a redirect, and create redirects automatically when you change a post’s permalink.

Option 2: .htaccess (Apache and LiteSpeed hosting)

Add rules above the # BEGIN WordPress block in .htaccess, so WordPress updates don’t overwrite them:

Redirect 301 /old-page/ https://example.com/new-page/
RedirectMatch 301 ^/blog/(.*)$ https://example.com/news/$1

The first line redirects one page; the second moves a whole section and keeps the rest of the path. Test with curl -I https://example.com/old-page/, which should show 301 and the new Location.

Good practice

• Redirect to the most similar page, not everything to the home page.
• Avoid chains (A to B to C): point old addresses straight to the final page.
• Keep redirects in place for at least a year; longer is better.

Moving the whole site to a new domain: forward visitors to a new domain. More .htaccess redirects: URL redirection.