A Guide to Permalink Manager's Redirect Functions

Even after updating a permalink, the original URL may still be requested by visitors or search engine crawlers. If no redirect is implemented, the server responds with a 404 error. This can negatively affect user experience and SEO.

Permalink Manager automatically redirects these outdated URLs to the current permalink using three built-in redirect functions.

The first integrates with WordPress’s built-in canonical redirect and is enabled by default. The second stores previously used custom permalinks as "extra redirects". The third function allows redirecting a post, page, or term to an external URL.

Redirect Functions

Canonical Redirect

WordPress can identify and handle invalid URLs to some extent. That is, when an outdated URL is requested, WordPress looks for the new, updated URL and redirects the visitor if it finds it.

The original permalinks used before installing the plugin will automatically redirect visitors to the new modified URLs. The built-in canonical redirect is covered in more detail in a separate article.

WordPress does not always handle redirects consistently. To avoid this, the plugin offers a more reliable fallback redirect for old permalinks, which reduces the risk of organic traffic loss.