# Redirects A redirect is a signpost. It sits at an old web address and sends anyone who lands there to a new one. Visitors do not see it happen. They click the old link and the new page opens. Go to **Manage**, then **Redirects**. ## When you need one Three cases come up: **You changed a slug.** The slug is the last part of a page's address, and changing it moves the page. Every old link now lands on nothing. A redirect catches those people and takes them to the new address. See [Saving and publishing](/start-here/saving-and-publishing/) for the full slug warning. **You removed a page.** The page is gone, but the links to it are not. Send those visitors to the nearest thing you still offer. **A printed address is wrong.** Flyers, van signs, a card you handed out for two years. You cannot reprint them, but you can make the address work. ## The Redirects screen ![The Redirects screen with four numbered marks: 1 on New Redirect, 2 on the 404 Errors tab, 3 on the blue switch in the row, 4 on the trash icon in the row. One redirect points slash kitchen dash remodel dash special at slash services slash kitchen dash remodels.](../../../assets/screenshots/redirects-list.png) *One redirect. Source on the left, destination on the right.* **1. New Redirect.** Makes a new signpost. **2. 404 Errors.** A list of addresses visitors tried that do not exist. Covered further down. **3. The blue switch.** Turns this redirect off without deleting it. Gray means off, and the old address stops working again. **4. The trash icon.** Deletes the redirect for good. Read the warning further down first. The pencil beside the trash icon opens the redirect so you can change either address. **Code** is the kind of signpost. **Hits** counts how many people it has sent on so far. ## Adding a redirect Click **New Redirect**. ![The New Redirect box with three numbered marks: 1 on Source path, 2 on Destination path, 3 on Status code. Source reads slash kitchen dash remodel dash special and destination reads slash services slash kitchen dash remodels.](../../../assets/screenshots/redirects-add.png) *Old address on top, new address below.* **1. Source path.** The old address, the one that no longer works. Type everything after your website's name, starting with a slash: `/kitchen-remodel-special`. **2. Destination path.** The new address, the one that does work: `/services/kitchen-remodels`. **3. Status code.** Leave it on **301 Permanent**. That tells search engines the page has moved for good, and they update their records. Use **302 Temporary** only if the old address is coming back. **Enabled** is on already. Leave it on. **Group (optional)** is a label for your own filing, and can be left empty. :::caution[Warning] Check the destination before you click **Create**. Nothing here tests it. Point a redirect at an address that does not exist and every visitor lands on a "page not found" screen. That is worse than the dead link you were fixing, because now it looks deliberate. Type the destination into your browser first and make sure the right page opens. ::: :::caution[Warning] Never use a page that still works as the **Source path**. A redirect beats the page. Put `/pricing` in the source box and your pricing page stops opening for anybody: they get sent away instead. The page is not deleted, and nothing on the page looks wrong. It is simply unreachable until you delete the redirect. Source is always the address that is already broken. ::: Click **Create**. The signpost is up right away. ## Checking it worked Open a new browser tab. Type your website's name, then the old address, and press **Enter**. The new page should open. Look at the address bar: it now shows the new address, not the one you typed. That is the redirect doing its job. Come back to this screen and the **Hits** number for that row has gone up by one. That is you. ## Changing or removing one Click the pencil on the row, change either address, and save. To take a redirect down for a while, click the blue switch on its row. It turns gray and the old address stops working. Click it again to turn it back on. :::caution[Warning] The trash icon deletes the redirect for good, and the old address stops working at once. Anyone with that link, or a search result pointing at it, lands on nothing again. If you are not sure, use the switch instead. A turned-off redirect costs you nothing and can be turned back on in a second. ::: ## Loops are blocked for you A redirect that points at itself, or two that point at each other, would trap a visitor going round in circles. The panel will not let you make one. Try it and you get a message saying the redirect would create a loop, and nothing is saved. You cannot break your website this way. ## The 404 Errors list Click the **404 Errors** tab. This is every address a visitor has tried that does not exist on your website. ![The 404 Errors tab with three numbered marks: 1 on a path in the list, 2 on the small arrow button beside it, 3 on the 410 button. Each row shows a path, a hit count and a date.](../../../assets/screenshots/redirects-404s.png) *Busiest first. A high number means a lot of people are hitting a dead end.* **1. The path.** The address they tried. **2. The arrow button.** Starts a new redirect with this address already filled in as the source. You only have to type the destination. **3. The 410 button.** Marks the address as gone for good, so search engines stop asking for it. Leave this alone unless we tell you otherwise. Most rows are robots poking around, and you can ignore them. The ones worth your time are addresses that look like real pages of yours, with a high count and a recent date. Those are customers who cannot find you. ## When something goes wrong :::danger[Contact support] Contact us if: - a page of yours has stopped opening and you are not sure why - you need a redirect that covers a whole group of addresses at once - the 404 list is full of addresses you recognize Tell us the addresses involved. A redirect is quick to fix and quick to undo. Email [support@lookoutridgeit.com](mailto:support@lookoutridgeit.com). [Getting support](/help/getting-support/) says what to put in the message. :::