Add a 301 Redirect in Shopify

Why 301 Redirects are Your Best Friend

In the video, I show how we can “fix” a mistake on a third-party directory site from ten years ago. Because that directory pointed to a URL on our domain that no longer existed, the user encountered a 404 error. By adding a 301 redirect, we tell Google and the user’s browser: “That old page moved here permanently.”

This is crucial for two reasons:

1. User Experience: No one likes hitting a dead end.
2. SEO Authority: That “link juice” (the ranking power of a backlink) is wasted on a 404 page. The 301 redirect recovers that value and sends it to your homepage.

Today, I’m going to show you how to add redirects on the Shopify platform.

The scenario I’ll show today is a store where there is a link on a nice directory site that is a 404 error. We’ll fix that link on our end so the directory page creating a backlink is sent to the homepage.

Steps for Creating a Shopify Redirect

Referencing Shopify’s knowledge base, here are the steps for creating redirects.

1. When logged in, from your Shopify admin, go to Content > Menus.
2. Click View URL Redirects.
3. Click Create URL redirect.
4. In Redirect from, enter the old URL that you want to redirect visitors from.
5. In Redirect to, enter the new URL that you want to redirect visitors to. To redirect to your store’s home page, enter /.
6. Click Save redirect.

The “Never Broken” Rule

A successful Shopify store is like a well-maintained road…no potholes allowed. You should create a redirect every time you move or remove content.

Always create a redirect when you:

• Archive or Draft a Product: If a product is out of season or permanently discontinued, don’t just let the old link die. Redirect it to a similar product or the main collection page.
• Delete or Draft a Page: If you remove an “About Us” or “FAQ” page, redirect that URL to your new version or the homepage.
• Change a URL Handle: If you rename a product and the URL changes from /products/old-name to /products/new-name, Shopify usually asks to create a redirect for you—make sure that box is checked!

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Pro-Tip: Fixing Other People’s Mistakes

One of the coolest things about redirects is that you can fix typos made by other bloggers or site owners. If a high-traffic site accidentally links to yourstore.com/poducts (missing the ‘r’), you don’t have to email them and wait for an update. Just create a redirect from that misspelled URL to the correct one.

Note: This works anywhere you control the redirects (WordPress, Webflow, etc.), but Shopify makes it incredibly easy to manage right in the “Menus” section of your admin.

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Troubleshooting & Common Gotchas

• Relative vs. Absolute URLs: When entering the “Redirect from” field, you only need the part of the URL after your domain name (e.g., /old-page).
• Avoid Loops: Ensure you aren’t redirecting Page A to Page B, and then Page B back to Page A. This will cause a “Too many redirects” error for your customers.
• Check Your Work: After clicking “Save,” always open a new incognito window and type in the old URL to make sure it lands exactly where you intended.

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Conclusion: Why Redirects are your secret SEO weapon

Whether you are migrating an entire store from WooCommerce to Shopify (like I demo here, redirects for a move from Woocommerce to Shopify , keeping my blog intact) or simply cleaning up broken links from a decade-old directory, 301 redirects are the secret to keeping your site’s SEO healthy.

Remember: a 301 redirect isn’t just a technical fix; it’s a server-level reroute that ensures your hard-earned “link juice” and customer trust don’t vanish into a 404 error. While my previous migrations required managing redirects on a WordPress server to keep my history alive, Shopify makes it easy to handle these fixes directly within your admin.

Don’t let “other people’s mistakes” or archived products hurt your rankings. Stay proactive, keep your URLs tidy, and—as always—Happy Shopifying!