Redirects keep your links working when things move. Whether you have renamed a page, switched domains, or want to enforce a single canonical address, a clean redirect preserves your search rankings and saves visitors from dead ends. Kelma lets you create redirects at the server level — faster and more reliable than a WordPress plugin.
Redirect types, briefly
- 301 — Permanent. Use this for almost everything. It tells browsers and search engines the move is permanent and passes your SEO value to the new URL.
- 302 — Temporary. Use only when the move is genuinely short-term, such as a maintenance page.
Create a redirect
- Open your site and go to the Redirects tab.
- Enter the source path — the old URL, for example
/old-page. - Enter the destination — the new URL or full address.
- Choose 301 (permanent) unless you specifically need a temporary redirect.
- Save. The redirect takes effect immediately at the server level.
Common redirects
| Goal | Source → Destination |
|---|---|
| Renamed a page | /old-page → /new-page |
| Enforce non-www | www.example.com → example.com |
| Moved to a new domain | oldsite.com/* → newsite.com |
| Retired a section | /promo-2024 → /offers |
Why server-level beats a plugin
A redirect plugin runs inside WordPress, which means the request loads PHP before it bounces. A Kelma redirect happens at the web server, before WordPress is even touched — so it is faster, works even if WordPress is down, and adds zero overhead to every other page load. For site-wide and domain-level redirects, always prefer the server-level option.
Redirects and your SEO
Redirects are one of the few SEO tools that are entirely in your control. When you retire or rename a URL, a 301 carries most of its accumulated ranking value to the new address and stops search engines from indexing a dead page. After a migration or a big restructure, map every important old URL to its closest new equivalent — do not just send everything to the homepage, which search engines treat as a soft 404. Test a handful of redirects after you create them, and keep a simple list of what points where so future changes do not create chains.
Frequently asked
301 or 302 — which should I use?
Use a 301 (permanent) for anything that has genuinely moved for good. Reserve 302 (temporary) for short-lived situations like a maintenance page, because it does not pass ranking signals.
Will a redirect slow my site down?
No. Server-level redirects resolve before WordPress loads, so the overhead is negligible — far lighter than a plugin-based redirect.
Can I redirect a whole old domain to a new one?
Yes. Attach the old domain to the site and redirect all of its traffic to the new domain. This is the standard way to move a brand without losing search rankings.
In short
Redirects keep your links — and your search rankings — alive when content moves. Reach for a permanent 301 in almost every case, point old URLs straight at their closest new equivalent, and avoid chains and loops. Because Kelma applies redirects at the server level, before WordPress even loads, they are faster and more reliable than any plugin. A few minutes spent mapping old URLs to new ones after a rename or migration saves you from broken links and lost traffic later.
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