Create redirects in Shoporama

A redirect is an instruction that sends visitors and search engines from one URL to another. It’s important to use redirects when you change URLs in your store; otherwise, you’ll lose traffic and SEO value.

What is a redirect?

A redirect tells the browser (and Google) that the old URL is now located somewhere else. If you change the URL of a product, category, or page yourself, Shoporama automatically creates a redirect from the old address. You’ll need to set up redirects yourself when URLs disappear for other reasons, such as when you’re migrating from another platform. There are two types:

• 301 (permanent): The old URL has been permanently moved. Google transfers the SEO value to the new URL
• 302 (temporary): The old URL has been temporarily moved. Google retains the SEO value on the old URL

Shoporama always uses 301 redirects, which are the correct choice in the vast majority of cases.

Create a redirect in Shoporama

1. Go to Webshop → Redirects in the menu
2. Click Create New
3. Enter the old URL in the “From” field without the domain, e.g., /old-page
4. Enter the new URL in To. The field is pre-filled with your shop’s address, so you only need to enter the rest of the path. You can also delete it and enter a path, e.g., /new-page
5. If necessary, check the box next to “Regular Expression ” (see below) or “Include Arguments.” “Include Arguments” carries over whatever comes after the “?” in the old address (e.g., ?color=red) to the new one
6. Click Save

Using Regular Expressions

Shoporama supports regular expressions (regex) in redirects. This is useful if you need to redirect many URLs based on a specific pattern, such as when migrating from another platform. Check the “Regular Expression” box when creating the redirect.

Example: Remove /shop/ from all old URLs so that /shop/arduino is redirected to /arduino:

From: ^/shop/(.*)$
To: /$1

^ means the URL starts here, (.*) captures the rest of the URL, and $ means the URL ends there. Whatever is in parentheses in “From” is inserted into “To” where it says $1. You can also keep your shop’s URL in “To” and add $1 after it. If the pattern has multiple parentheses, use $2, $3, and so on for the next ones. The forward slash at the beginning of “From” is optional, so ^shop/(.*)$ works the same way.

A pattern can only redirect an address if the new address appears directly within the old one. If your products have been renamed in the address, they each need their own redirect.

If an address matches both a regular redirect and a pattern, the regular redirect is used. This means you can create a broad pattern and still send individual addresses to a specific location.

When should you create redirects?

• When you delete a product or page that has incoming links
• When you migrate your store from another platform
• When you restructure your store (e.g., change the category structure)

Also check out our comprehensive guide to redirects for advanced techniques. Need help? Contact us at support@shoporama.dk.