URL Redirects

Overview

URL redirects let you send visitors and bots from one URL to another. This is essential when you rename pages, restructure your site, or consolidate duplicate content. RndrKit handles redirects at the service level, so they work for both bot and human traffic without requiring changes to your application.

Why Redirects Matter for SEO

When a search engine has indexed a page and you move it to a new URL, the old URL loses its ranking value unless you set up a redirect. A proper 301 redirect tells search engines:

• The page has permanently moved to a new location.
• Transfer the ranking signals (link equity) from the old URL to the new one.
• Update the index to show the new URL in search results.

Without a redirect, the old URL returns a 404 error, and you lose any SEO value the page had accumulated.

Creating a Redirect

1. Go to your domain's detail page and click the Redirects tab.
2. Click Add Redirect.
3. Configure the redirect:

5. Click Save.

The redirect takes effect immediately for all traffic (both bots and humans).

Redirect Types

301 -- Permanent Redirect

Use a 301 redirect when a page has permanently moved to a new URL. Search engines will:

• Transfer ranking signals to the new URL
• Update their index to show the new URL
• Stop crawling the old URL over time

Use for:

• Renamed pages (/about-us to /about)
• Consolidated content (merging two pages into one)
• Changed URL structure (/blog/2025/post to /blog/post)

302 -- Temporary Redirect

Use a 302 redirect when a page is temporarily unavailable or you are testing a new URL. Search engines will:

• Keep the old URL in their index
• Not transfer ranking signals
• Continue checking the old URL for changes

Use for:

• A/B testing different URLs
• Seasonal content changes
• Pages under maintenance

Managing Redirects

Viewing All Redirects

The redirects page shows all active redirects for your domain in a table:

Editing a Redirect

Click on any redirect to modify its source path, target URL, or type. Changes take effect immediately.

Deleting a Redirect

Click the Delete button next to a redirect to remove it. The old URL will no longer redirect and will return whatever response your origin serves for that path.

Redirect Chains

Avoid creating redirect chains where one redirect points to another redirect:

/page-a --> /page-b --> /page-c   (bad: chain of redirects)
/page-a --> /page-c               (good: direct redirect)
/page-b --> /page-c               (good: direct redirect)

Redirect chains slow down page loading and can cause search engines to drop pages from their index. If you need to change a redirect's target, update the existing redirect rather than adding a new one.

Pattern-Based Redirects

For bulk redirects following a pattern (e.g., moving all blog posts to a new path), you can use path patterns:

Source: /blog/2025/*
Target: /articles/2025/$1
Type:   301

The * wildcard matches any path segment, and $1 inserts the matched content into the target URL.

Best Practices

• Use 301 for permanent moves -- When a page has permanently moved, always use a 301 redirect to preserve SEO value.
• Avoid redirect chains -- Keep redirects pointing directly to the final destination.
• Clean up old redirects -- Periodically review your redirects and remove ones that are no longer needed.
• Test after creating -- Verify redirects work by visiting the source URL in your browser.
• Redirect to HTTPS -- Make sure target URLs use HTTPS.

Testing Redirects

Verify your redirects are working correctly:

# Check the redirect response
curl -I https://www.example.com/old-page

You should see a 301 Moved Permanently or 302 Found response with a Location header pointing to your target URL.

Next Steps

• Sitemaps -- Update your sitemap to reflect URL changes
• SEO Audit -- Check for broken links after setting up redirects
• Robots.txt Editor -- Update crawling rules if needed