Overview of URL redirects in Shopify

URL redirects are supported natively by Shopify and allow you to send visitors visiting one URL on your Shopify store to another URL. Every time someone accesses your store, Shopify will see if any redirects match the URL the visitor is trying to access. If the URL matches a redirect, Shopify will tell the browser to go to the new URL instead. This occurs before your theme is loaded and is known as an HTTP 301 permanent redirect.

Parts of a URL redirect

Each redirect has two parts:

1. Redirect from - this is compared to the URL the visitor requests to see if the redirect should be used
2. Redirect to - this is where the visitor will be sent if the redirect matches

'Redirect from' needs to start with a slash and is everything in a URL after your store's domain. For example, if we wanted to redirect visitors trying to go to http://mystore.example.com/collections/winter-2019 , the 'redirect from' would be /collections/winter-2019 . Capitalization does not matter for 'redirect from', it is case-insensitive.

The 'redirect to' can be a URL on your store or to another website. If the URL is on you store, we recommend that you don't include your store's domain, just the start with the slash that comes after it. For example, if you want to send visitors to https://mystore.example.com/collections/winter , the 'redirect to' value would be /collections/winter . If you want to send visitors to your homepage you can just enter / (eg, a single slash character).

Restrictions on URL redirects

There are several limitations to using URL redirects:

1. Redirects must match the URL exactly (ignoring capitalization). You cannot say "redirect any URL that starts with '/old/' to a new location". If you need this kind of redirect you can use pattern redirects instead.
2. Redirects cannot point to other redirects
3. Some URLs in Shopify cannot be redirected. For example, if you have a published product at a URL, Shopify will ignore any redirects for that URL since there is a product there. (However, if you un-publish the product the redirect would be checked).
4. You are limited to 100,000 redirects

Managing URL redirects with Ablestar

You can access URL redirects using the Ablestar Link Manager by clicking on the Redirects link on the left-hand menu. From there you can search, update and create new redirects.

It is also possible to create redirects in the 'Broken Link Visits' section of the app.

Managing URL redirects in the Shopify Admin

You can also manage your URL redirects within the Shopify admin by:

1. Clicking on Online Store under the 'Sales channels' in the left-hand menu of the Shopify admin
2. Selecting Navigation from the sub menu under 'Online Store'
3. Clicking on the 'View URL redirects' button on the top right of the page