Every time you rename a page, restructure your navigation, retire an old offer, or migrate content, you create the risk of broken links and lost search equity. Redirects are the mechanism that preserves the SEO value of old URLs by directing both users and search engines to the correct new location. For Showit website owners, understanding how redirects work and how to implement them correctly can mean the difference between maintaining your search rankings through a site update and watching them decline unexpectedly. This guide covers every redirect scenario relevant to Showit.
What Redirects Are and Why They Matter for Showit SEO
A redirect is an instruction that tells a browser or search engine to go to a different URL than the one originally requested. When a visitor or a search engine crawler hits an old URL that no longer exists, the redirect delivers them to the correct current location automatically.
Without redirects, old URLs return a 404 error, which means the page is not found. Every 404 from a URL that previously had SEO value, backlinks, or organic traffic represents a loss that compounds over time.
Types of Redirects and When to Use Each
A 301 redirect is permanent. It tells search engines to transfer the full ranking authority of the old URL to the new one. Use 301 redirects when you are permanently changing a URL, merging two pages, or retiring old content with relevant replacement content available.
A 302 redirect is temporary. It tells search engines that the old URL will return and therefore does not transfer ranking authority. Use 302 redirects rarely and only for genuinely temporary situations, such as a page under construction or a seasonal offer temporarily offline.
A 307 redirect is the modern equivalent of 302 for temporary redirects. Most search engines treat 301 and 307 as equivalent to their permanent and temporary categories respectively.
For Showit websites, 301 redirects are the relevant type for nearly every scenario you will encounter during normal site management.
Redirect Implementation Methods for Showit
Showit’s approach to redirect management differs depending on which layer of the platform the URL exists on: the Showit canvas pages or the WordPress blog layer.
Redirects for Showit Canvas Pages
Showit does not include a built-in redirect management interface for canvas pages in the same way that WordPress plugins provide for blog posts. Canvas page redirects require one of two approaches.
The first approach is to use Showit’s page settings to update the URL slug when renaming a page and then manually manage the old URL. In practice, this means you need to implement the redirect through an external method, such as the hosting DNS level or through a JavaScript-based redirect on a placeholder page.
The second and more practical approach for most Showit users is to contact Showit support to implement server-level redirects for canvas pages. Showit’s support team can add redirect rules at the hosting infrastructure level, which is the cleanest and most SEO-safe implementation.
For an understanding of how Showit’s architecture handles URLs and page management, the Showit website setup checklist provides context on how pages, URLs, and publishing work across the Showit system.
Redirects for the Showit WordPress Blog Layer
Blog post redirects are significantly easier to manage because the WordPress layer supports redirect plugins natively.
Install the Redirection plugin by John Godley from the WordPress plugin repository. This free plugin provides a full-featured redirect management interface directly inside your WordPress dashboard.
To create a redirect, navigate to Tools, then Redirection inside your WordPress admin. Click Add New, enter the old URL in the Source URL field, and enter the destination URL in the Target URL field. Save and test.
The Redirection plugin also automatically captures 404 errors on your WordPress blog, logs them, and allows you to create redirects from the error log. This passive monitoring approach catches broken links you might not have realized existed.
Common Redirect Scenarios on Showit Websites
Understanding the practical situations where redirects are needed helps you handle them proactively before traffic and rankings are affected.
Scenario One: Renaming a Service Page
You originally named your photography packages page “Investment” but want to rename it “Photography Packages” with a cleaner URL slug.
The old URL receives traffic from search engines and possibly from backlinks on other websites. Changing the URL without a redirect means all of that existing value disappears immediately.
Contact Showit support to implement a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. Provide both URLs in your support request. Monitor your Search Console to confirm Google updates its index to the new URL within one to four weeks.
Scenario Two: Migrating from Another Platform to Showit
If you are moving your website from Squarespace, WordPress.com, or another platform to Showit, your existing URLs may change structure during the migration. Every old URL that previously ranked or received backlinks needs a redirect to the equivalent Showit page.
Create a redirect mapping spreadsheet before migration. List every old URL in one column and the corresponding new Showit URL in the adjacent column. This document becomes your redirect implementation guide.
For a comprehensive walkthrough of the migration process to Showit from other platforms, the Showit migration service page and the related moving from WordPress to Showit guide cover redirect planning as part of the full migration strategy.
Scenario Three: Retiring an Old Blog Post or Service
When you retire a blog post or service that previously attracted traffic, you have three options: keep the URL live with updated content, redirect it to a closely related page, or let it 404.
The 404 option is almost always the worst choice if the URL has any existing SEO equity or external links. Redirect the old URL to the most topically relevant active page. If no close replacement exists, redirect to your homepage rather than allowing the 404 to persist.
This principle, redirect to the closest relevant destination, applies to every retirement situation including discontinued course pages, past event pages, and outdated resource downloads.
Scenario Four: Restructuring Your Blog Category URLs
If you reorganize your WordPress blog categories, the category archive URLs change. All internal links pointing to the old category URLs, and any external links or search engine indexed URLs, will break.
Use the Redirection plugin to create 301 redirects from each old category URL to its new equivalent. Run a site crawl using Screaming Frog SEO Spider to identify all internal links that reference the old URLs and update them to the new URLs directly, rather than relying entirely on redirects.
Redirects are a fallback for external links and search engine indexes. Internal links should always be updated to point directly to the correct current URL.
Auditing Your Showit Site for Broken Links and Missing Redirects
Proactive auditing finds redirect needs before they impact visitors and search rankings rather than after.
Using Screaming Frog to Find Broken Links
Screaming Frog is a desktop crawler that visits every URL on your website and reports on their status codes. URLs returning 404 indicate broken links that may need redirects.
Run a full crawl of your Showit site quarterly. Review the 404 report and for each broken URL, determine whether it needs a redirect, an internal link update, or can be safely left as a 404 because it has never had any traffic or inbound links.
The free version of Screaming Frog crawls up to 500 URLs, which is sufficient for most Showit sites. Larger sites with extensive blog archives benefit from the paid license.
Monitoring 404s in Google Search Console
Google Search Console’s Coverage report shows which URLs Google has attempted to crawl and encountered as 404 errors. These are the broken URLs that Google is aware of, which represent the highest priority redirect needs from an SEO perspective.
Review the Coverage report monthly and address any 404 errors that correspond to URLs with previous traffic, backlinks, or search rankings. Ignoring 404s that Search Console reports means knowingly leaving ranking equity on the table.
For guidance on connecting and reading Google Search Console data for your Showit site, the Showit SEO guide covers how to use Search Console data to inform your ongoing SEO decisions.
Internal Linking and Redirect Best Practices
Redirects should be a backup system, not the primary internal link infrastructure of your site.
Updating Internal Links After URL Changes
Every time you create a redirect because a URL has changed, also update the internal links across your Showit site that point to the old URL. This is a two-step process: create the redirect for external and search engine purposes, then update internal links to eliminate the redirect chain.
Redirect chains, where URL A redirects to URL B which redirects to URL C, add server response time and dilute link equity. Keeping internal links pointing directly to current, live URLs prevents chains from forming.
Avoiding Redirect Loops
A redirect loop occurs when URL A redirects to URL B and URL B redirects back to URL A, or in a longer circular chain. Browsers detect loops and display an error rather than loading the page.
Test every redirect immediately after implementation by visiting the old URL in a browser. If the browser displays an error or returns to the originating URL, a loop exists that needs immediate resolution.
Maintain a redirect log document that records every redirect you implement, including the date, old URL, new URL, and reason for the redirect. This document prevents accidental loops when team members or collaborators make future changes without full context.
Redirects are one of the least glamorous but most consequential technical elements of a Showit website’s SEO foundation. A well-maintained redirect system protects years of accumulated search visibility from being eroded by the normal evolutionary changes of a growing business and active website.
FAQ
Can I set up redirects in Showit without contacting support?
For canvas pages, most redirect scenarios require either Showit support assistance or a DNS-level solution, as Showit does not include a self-service redirect manager for canvas pages in its standard editor. For the WordPress blog layer, the free Redirection plugin provides complete self-service redirect management without any support contact required. If redirects for canvas pages are a frequent need for your business, discuss options directly with Showit’s support team.
How long does it take Google to recognize a new redirect?
Google typically recognizes a 301 redirect and updates its index within a few days to a few weeks, depending on how frequently Google crawls your site. For high-traffic, frequently crawled pages, index updates often appear within a week. For lower-traffic pages, it can take four to eight weeks. You can accelerate the process by submitting the new URL to Google Search Console’s URL Inspection tool and requesting indexing.
Do redirects affect my Showit site’s page speed?
Individual redirects add a small amount of latency to page loads because the browser must make an additional request to follow the redirect. For occasional redirects from old to new pages, the impact is negligible in practice. Redirect chains, where multiple redirects are followed in sequence, add more noticeable overhead and should be avoided by ensuring each redirect goes directly to the final destination URL.
Should I redirect my non-www URL to my www URL or vice versa on Showit?
Showit typically handles the www and non-www canonicalization automatically during the domain connection setup. Check that your site consistently loads on one version (either www or non-www) by testing both in a browser. Whichever version you prefer, ensure the other version redirects to it. Inconsistency between the two versions can create duplicate content issues in search engine indexes.
What should I do if I have hundreds of old blog post URLs that need redirects?
Create a bulk redirect implementation using the Redirection plugin’s CSV import feature, which allows you to upload a spreadsheet of old and new URL pairs rather than entering each redirect manually. Prepare your redirect mapping spreadsheet with the old URL in one column and the new destination URL in the adjacent column, format it to match the Redirection plugin’s import template, and upload the file in the plugin’s import settings.
