How to use the Redirect Module
Changing URLs is restricted in Virteom CMS - Why? Because it can wreak havoc on your website. Changing your URL can result in:
- Loss of SEO Ranking
- Loss of referring site traffic. Have you ever been to a site linked from a blog you were reading and then get a 'Page does not exist error?' - It is likely that they changed the URL.
- Email Clicks go to Dead URLs
& much more! To learn more about why changing URLs can devastate your SEO traffic CLICK HERE.
But we understand that sometimes changing your URL is neccesarry. We suggest adding a redirect on your page. Redirection is the process of forwarding one URL to a different URL. This allows you to send users and search engines to a different URL than the one that was originally requested.
Virteom CMS makes it easy for you to add a redirect on your website. Keep reading this how-to guide to get the scoop:
How to add a redirect on your website
First things first, you'll need to login to the back-end of your website.
Type in your name and password and click login.
Now that you're logged in, you'll be greeted by your homepage.
In top black Navigation click on Manager
Accessing Modules from the Website Tools
In the left hand panel Website Tools you'll see a item listed asModules. Click on it.
On the left you should see a dropdown of all the modules (or commonly known as plugins) that are installed on your website. They also display on the right hand side.
1. From the menu select Redirect
Adding a new redirect
Now that you're in the redirect module, you'll see a record of all of the redirects that are currently on your website.
To add a new redirect click the 'Add New' button.
Once you're on the New Redirects page you'll be asked two things.
1. Page to redirect from - This will be the URL they will type in to get to the actual URL
2. Page to Redirect to - This will be the actual URL of your page.
For example, I created a redirect from 'redirect-example' to 'how-to-use-the-redirect-module'. So, if you were to type in your browser virteom.com/redirect-example - you would actually land on the virteom.com/how-to-use-the-redirect-module page.
When entering in your redirects, you do not need to include the backslash (/) before the page name. Redirects only work on relative links within your website.
To do this, in box 1 - type in what you would like the URL to be (Remember: use best practices for URLS - no spaces, no capital letters or symbols)
In box 2 - type in the ACTUAL page URL.
Then click 'Save'
After you click save, your redirect will appear on the main redirects page.
Give it a try! Go to virteom.com/redirect-example and see where it takes you!
How to Edit a Redirect
To edit your redirect you can click on the 'Edit' button from the main redirect page.
Once your changes are made - click 'Save'.
How to Remove a Redirect
If you need to remove a redirect, go back to the main redirect page and click 'Delete'.
After you click delete you will be prompted with a window to confirm you want to delete the redirect.
There you have it. That is how to add a redirect, edit a redirect, and delete a redirect in Virteom CMS. Although redirection doesn't give you the exact same results as a complete name change - you won't sacrafice your SEO.
If you still need help with changing a URL name - contact a Virteom representative today!