Custom URL rewrites
A custom rewrite can be used to manage miscellaneous redirects, such as redirecting a page from your store to an external website. For example, you might have two Commerce websites, each with their own domain. You can use a custom redirect to reroute requests for a product, category, or page to the other website. Unlike other redirect types, the target of a custom redirect is not chosen from a list of existing pages in your store.
Before you begin, make sure that you understand exactly what the redirect is to accomplish. Think in terms of target / source or redirect to / redirect from. Although people might still navigate to the former page from search engines or outdated links, the redirect causes your store to switch to the new target.
Step 1. Plan the rewrite
To avoid mistakes, write down the URL of the redirect to page and the URL key of the redirect from page.
If you are not sure, open each page, and copy the URL from the address bar of your browser.
Example
Redirect to:
http://www.different-website.com/page.html
Redirect from:
cms-page
category.html
category/subcategory.html
product.html
category/product.html
Step 2. Create the rewrite
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On the Admin sidebar, go to Marketing > SEO & Search > URL Rewrites.
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Before you proceed, do the following to verify that the request path is available:
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In the search filter at the top of the Request Path column, enter the URL key of the page that is to be redirected and click Search.
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If there are multiple redirect records for the page, find the one that matches the applicable store view and open it in edit mode.
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In the upper-right corner, click Delete. When prompted, click OK to confirm.
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When you return to the URL Rewrites page, click Add URL Rewrite.
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Set Create URL Rewrite to
Custom.
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Under URL Rewrite Information, do the following:
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If you have multiple store views, select the Store where the rewrite applies.
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For Request Path, enter the URL key and path—if applicable—of the product, category, or CMS page that is to be redirected.
note note NOTE The request path must be unique for the specified store. If there is already a redirect that uses the same request path, you receive an error when you try to save the redirect. The previous redirect must be deleted before you can create one. -
For Target Path, enter the URL of the destination. If the target is on another website, enter the fully qualified URL.
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Set Redirect to one of the following:
Temporary (302)Permanent (301)
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For your reference, enter a brief description of the rewrite.
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Before saving the redirect, review the following:
- The Request Path contains the URL key or path of the original redirect from page.
- The Target Path contains the URL of the redirect to page.
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When complete, click Save.
The new rewrite appears in the grid at the top of the list.
Step 3. Test the result
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Go to the home page of your store.
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Do one of the following:
- Navigate to the original redirect from page.
- In the address bar of the browser, enter the name of the original redirect from page immediately after the store URL and press Enter.
The new target page appears instead of the original page request.
Field descriptions
Custom / For category / For product / For CMS pageNo - No redirect is specified.
Temporary (302) - Indicates to search engines that the rewrite is for a limited time. Search engines generally do not retain page rank information for temporary rewrites.
Permanent (301) - Indicates to search engines that the rewrite is permanent. Search engines generally retain page rank information for permanent rewrites.