How To Set Up Shopify 301 Redirects

Implementing Shopify 301 redirects allows merchants like you to redirect users and search engines from a broken or 404 URL to a new and active URL. This way, you preserve your store’s SEO value and improve user experience. On the other hand, if your website doesn’t address broken/404 URLs, it will negatively impact SEO and user experience, resulting in frustrated customers.

Applying 301 redirects is also essential when migrating from another e-commerce platform, changing a folder structure, or fixing broken links.

In this blog, we shall discuss how to set up 301 redirects in your Shopify store, Shopify limitations and guidelines when setting up 301 redirects and more.

Let’s get started!

How to Create a 301 Redirect in Shopify?

You can create Shopify redirects in the Shopify admin or using third-party apps. In this section, we will walk you through the 301 redirect creation process in Shopify.  In Shopify admin panel, you can create redirect in two ways. First way is through the URL redirects section. Second is a quick way of editing a product’s URL that automatically creates a redirect. Let’s look at both of them.

Method 1

In the following sections, we shall also look at the step-by-step process of creating 301 redirects using third-party apps.

Step 1: From your Shopify admin, go to Content >> Menus >> Click URL Redirects.

Step 2: Click Create URL redirect. 

Step 3: You will find two fields: Redirect from and Redirect to. In the ‘Redirect from’ field, enter the old URL you want to redirect visitors. In the ‘Redirect to’, enter the new URL to which you want to redirect visitors. And save the changes.

As you can see in the image shared above, the merchant is using a ‘relative URL.’ Relative URL is part of your product page’s URL and starts with a backward slash ‘/.’ 

You can either use a relative URL or enter the full URL. However, note that a relative URL only works if you create redirects in your primary domain.

For example, if you’re creating 301 redirects to migrate from another e-commerce platform to Shopify, you will have to enter the full URL and not a relative URL. 

• Full URL: https://mystore.com/shop/winter
• Relative URL: /shop/winter

Important: If you’re looking to perform large-scale redirects, the Shopify bulk redirects option lets you redirect multiple broken URLS to new ones. You can implement these bulk uploads within the Shopify admin and using third-party apps. Within the Shopify admin, you can use the import and export feature. This involves a CSV file containing old and new URLs. 

Method 2

Step 1: In your Shopify admin >> go to Products >> select a specific product you wish to create a redirect for. Scroll down to find search engine listing, click on the pencil icon.

Step 2: You will see the ‘URL handle’ field. Start making changes to the URL, ensure you’re using the correct URL so as to successfully redirect the current URL to a new one. As you make changes, you will see a checkbox down below, confirming to apply the redirect. Ensure the checkbox is enabled.

Step 3: Go to URL redirects section and check if the redirect is applied. That’s all!

Now, let’s understand the Do’s and Don’ts when applying Shopify 301 redirects.

Shopify Limitations & Guidelines

Here are a few limitations when applying 301 redirects using Shopify’s built-in tools:

1. Restricted URL Paths: You cannot create redirects for URLs that begin with any of the following prefixes: /apps, /application, /cart, /carts, /orders, /services, or /shop. Redirects cannot be created for fixed Shopify system paths such as /products, /collections, or /collections/all. For example:
   • You cannot apply a redirect to a page that starts with /cart, as it is a system path used by Shopify’s checkout process.
   • You cannot redirect /collections/all to /collections/summer-collection because /collections/all is a reserved path that always lists all products.
2. Redirect Eligibility: You can apply redirects to broken URLs alone, those that display errors such as Page not found or 404. If the original URL still leads to an active page, the redirect will not function.
3. Redirect Limits: You can create up to 100,000 redirects per store. However, Shopify Plus stores can create up to 20,000,000 redirects. Note that URL redirects are not supported within customer account menus. For example:
   • You can’t redirect /account/orders → /my-orders. The customer dashboard pages use fixed paths that Shopify controls.
4. Reserved Paths: Certain URL paths are reserved by Shopify. Therefore, they cannot be used for redirects, these paths include: /collections/vendors, /collections/types, /collections/all, /apps/, /a/, /community/, /tools/, and MyShopify domains ending with /shop or /services. For example:
5. Shopify does not allow you to redirect /community/forum to /blog/forum because /community/ is reserved for internal Shopify use.
6. Collection Tag Filtering: Redirects cannot be created for collection URLs that use tag filtering (for example: yourstore.com/collections/collection-name/tag-name). Even if no products exist for that tag, Shopify still recognizes these URLs as valid. For example:
   • You can’t redirect /collections/shoes/sale to /collections/discounted-shoes, even if no products have the “sale” tag. Shopify treats /collections/shoes/sale as a valid filter path.
7. HTML File Extensions: Shopify treats URLs ending in .html and their non-HTML counterparts as the same page. Therefore, you cannot create redirects solely to remove or add the .html extension. For example:
   • You won’t be able to redirect the following URL/products/blue-shirt.html to /products/blue-shirt because Shopify considers both URLs identical.
8. Query Strings and Special Characters: Redirects may not function as expected for URLs that include query strings or special characters. For example:
   • If you try to redirect a URL with query strings, like /brands/dell.html?_bc_fsnf=1&interface=type_a to /collections/dell, it might fail or work partially. The reason behind this is that Shopify ignores query parameters in redirect matching.
9. International Markets and Subfolders: URL redirects do not automatically apply across different market subfolders. For example:
   • If you create a redirect from /en-ca/old-page to /en-ca/new-page, it won’t apply to /en-fr/old-page. You must add a separate redirect for the French market.
10. 301 Redirect Caching: Browsers and search engines cache 301 redirects. Users might still be redirected until the cache expires, even after a redirect is deleted. For example:
    • If you had /sale to /offers and later delete that redirect, visitors may still be taken to /offers until their browser cache expires, because the 301 response was stored locally.

Using Shopify Apps for Redirects

You might be familiar that the Shopify app store gives you access to third-party apps to apply redirects for your store. 

For demonstration purposes, we shall look into how to create redirects, and more using one of the Built for Shopify apps, 404/301 URL Redirects by Nabu.

Create 301 Redirects

404/301 URL Redirects by Nabu is a Shopify redirect manager app that automatically detects 404 broken links in your store and shows them instantly in your dashboard. 

It offers the fastest 301 redirect, wildcard patterns for bulk redirects, import redirects via CSV and more.

To learn more about Shopify redirect apps, we have a blog that discusses the best Shopify redirect manager apps available in the market. We highly recommend you to give it a read to identify the best app for your business needs.

Before we jump into the process, let’s get acquainted with the app.

As soon as you install the app from the Shopify app store, you will see the following dashboard.

It has three sections:

Unresolved 404s: When a user is trying to reach a broken URL/404 on your store, the app detects this action and shows it under the unresolved 404s section. 

Ignored: You can choose to ignore a particular broken/404 URL, and it falls under the Ignored section. 

Shopify redirects: redirects will be displayed under this tab as soon as you create a redirect for a broken URL. 

Let’s explore more with the step-by-step process of creating redirects.

Here’s how to set up 301 redirects:

Step 1: Go to your Shopify admin >> search for apps >> enter ‘redirect’. You will find many apps; pick the ‘404/301 URL Redirects by Nabu’ or directly visit this link to install the app.

Step 2: After installing, the app allows you to perform a test on redirecting a broken link in your store. After the testing process, click on ‘continue.’ You will see the following screen. The app has options to:

• Create a redirect, 
• Import and export redirects. 

For now, let’s look at how to create a redirect for a single 404 error page. For that, click on ‘create redirect.’

Step 3: Add the source URL and target URL and click ‘Create Redirect.’ 

Step 4: Come back to the homepage and click on the ‘Shopify redirects’ tab. You will see that the redirect is added under this tab. And it is automatically synced to Shopify redirects without any manual intervention. 

Step 5: To verify if the redirect is synced to Shopify, go to Shopify admin >> Content >> menus >> URL redirects. You will be able to see the redirect you just added.

Step 6: As a part of the process, ensure you are manually testing if the redirect is properly functioning.

Wildcard Redirects

Wildcard redirects allow you to redirect an entire group of URLs that match a specific pattern.

For example, if you want to change your folder structure from /blogs to /news, you don’t have to manually apply this change for each URL; you can use ” * “ and redirect all URLs that follow a specific pattern.

You can provide source and destination URLs, likewise:

• Redirect from: /blog/*
• Redirect to: /news/*

When you use ‘*’ and apply redirects, all the broken URLs that begin with blog, now will have news. 

Here are the results of applying wildcard redirects:

• /blog/summer-sale → /news/summer-sale
• /blog/2023/announcements → /news/2023/announcements

This saves you from creating dozens of manual redirects.

Important: Shopify doesn’t support wildcard redirects; you will have to use third-party apps.

Here’s how to create wildcard redirects within the AdNabu redirect manager app:

Step 1: Click on ‘Wildcard Redirects’ on the left-hand-side menu. Next, click ‘Create Wildcard Redirect’ on the right-hand side of the page.

Step 2: Add source and destination URLS in the app and click on ‘Create.’

The process is complete. You have now changed the path from products to collections.

Shopify Store Migration Using 301 Redirects

If you’re planning to move from an e-commerce platform like Magento to Shopify, the process of applying redirects remains the same. However, this process has some nuances that need special attention. 

 Here’s how you can approach the migration process using 301 redirects:

• Before creating redirects, have a CSV file ready, so you can bulk upload all the old URLs to the new URLs.
  • Note: If your old platform has different URL structure (handles, collections, paths) than Shopify’s patterns, you’ll need to create a one-to-one mapping for all the pages. For example: /old‐platform/product/blue‐tshirt → /products/blue-tshirt. 
• As shared earlier, keep in mind Shopify’s limitations and guidelines and plan accordingly.
• For the redirects to work as expected, the source URL must return a 404 error page. If the page is active, the redirect doesn’t work.
  • For this, you don’t have to delete a product, but you can make a specific URL no longer resolve. This means setting the product to draft or removing it from all sales channels so it shows 404. This workaround helps you apply Shopify redirects successfully without having to delete products.
• Once all these steps are in place, create URL redirects using your mapping sheet. Use the import and export options to upload redirects in bulk.
• After the migration process is complete, ensure to test redirects and monitor their performance continuously.

How to Monitor Shopify 301 Redirect Performance?

You have created a redirect. How do you test the impact of the redirect on SEO and user experience. You can track the performance via tools like Google Search Console and GA4.

Google Search Console

Using Google Search Console, you can verify which of your old URLs are still receiving traffic and are resulting in a 404 error.

Here’s how:

• Firstly, you must add and verify your Shopify store to use Google Search Console. After successful verification, you can view 404 pages by navigating to Indexing >> Pages and reviewing the list of pages with a Not Found (404) error.
• Now, come back to your Shopify admin and cross-check the URLs that have been redirected. If you see that a page is still returning a 404 error after applying a redirect, there might be several issues causing this error. To identify and resolve them, we recommend that you to checkout this guide on Shopify redirects not working.

Google Analytics (GA4)

You can also use Google Analytics to track redirect performance:

• For this, you must set up event tracking, which requires technical expertise but guarantees displaying precise data.
• Check the referral report in GA4 and filter your old domain (in case of domain migration) to see if you’re still receiving traffic from your old backlinks.
• To analyze, if the performance has improved since the redirect, compare the traffic, bounce rate, conversion rate for the old url and new one.

If you notice there’s been spike in bounce rate, you can conclude that the new page is not he relvenat replacement for the old URL. Try redirecting it to another most relevant page.

Tip: You can also track the redirects’ performance using third-party apps like SEOAnt and SC Easy Redirects.

Conclusion & Key Takeaways

Implementing 301 redirects in Shopify is a critical step in maintaining SEO authority and ensuring a smooth user experience during website restructuring, migration, or when fixing broken URLs. 

Key takeaways include:

• Create 301 redirects for all outdated or broken URLs to maintain SEO equity.
• Use the Shopify admin panel for manual redirects and the CSV import feature for bulk uploads.
• Redirect only inactive or 404 URLs; active URLs cannot be redirected.
• Avoid restricted URL paths such as /apps, /cart, /orders, and other reserved system routes.
• Set up separate redirects for each international market or locale subfolder.
• Test all redirects after implementation to confirm proper functionality.
• Use third-party apps for wildcard redirects and automated 404 detection.
• Regularly review and update redirects to stay within Shopify’s limits and prevent conflicts.
• Keep a redirect log to track updates, maintain accuracy, and simplify future audits.

FAQs

What if my Shopify store has a large number of redirects to manage?

If you want to redirect a large number of old URLs, download a CSV template available in Shopify and add all the old and new URLs. Ensure the old URLS are 404 error pages. Upload the CSV file to your Shopify admin, and you will be able to redirect a large number of old URLs to new ones. To avail additional features like wildcard redirects, you can use third-party Shopify redirect manager apps.

How can I ensure my redirects do not negatively impact SEO?

Be cautious when creating a 301 redirect to a particular URL. Ensure you’re adding the right and relevant page to a broken/404 page. If the new page isn’t a suitable equivalent, it might increase bounce rates, affecting your traffic and more. Avoid redirect chains, and update all internal links to point to the new URLs. Use URLs with correct capitalization and slashes. Monitor performance through tools like Google Search Console to fix any errors promptly.

What should I do if a redirect is not working as expected?

The most common reason for this issue is the browser cache. First, clear the cache and reload the page. If the issue persists, verify HTTPS settings, disable all plugins and reenable one after the other to find the culprit, clear server-side caching, review redirect chains and use tools

like Google Search Console and GA4 to track their performance. With these steps, you will be able to find the reason behind the redirect not functioning as expected.  

Can I use Shopify redirects for temporary changes? 

No, you cannot use Shopify built-in redirects tool for temporary changes. Shopify redirects only allows 301 redirects. However, you can use third-party apps that are available in Shopify app store and choose a tool that allows you to make temporary changes.

How do I handle redirects during a Shopify store migration?

To migrate from another e-commerce platform to Shopify using 301 redirects. Create a list of old URLs and their corresponding new URLs, then manually create individual redirects or import them in bulk via a CSV file through the Shopify admin.

Check Out These Related Articles:

• How to Create Shopify Redirects to External URLs