Redirects

Overview

A redirect sends the visitor of one address — the source — to another — the target. Open RB Plugins → Redirection → Redirects.

Each row shows the source and where it goes, the code, how often it was used (hits) and when last. The grey line under it says where the redirect came from — Added by hand, Address changed, From the 404 log, Imported or Duplicate Post RB cleanup — and your note.

Add a redirect

Click + Add redirect.

Field	Meaning
Source address	the old address: `/old-page`, or the full URL of this site
Match	how the source is compared — see below
Target	the new address: `/new-page` or `https://…`
…or find a post or page	the target is a post: the redirect follows it even when its address changes
Code	the HTTP status — see below
Note	a reminder only you see, e.g. “Printed flyer, 2025”
Enabled	a disabled redirect is kept but does nothing

The source and the target are checked when you save: a pattern must be valid, the target must start with / or http(s)://, a redirect may not point to its own address, and there can be only one rule for the same source.

Match

Is exactly — this one address. Letter case and a trailing slash do not matter: /Old-Page/ and /old-page are the same.
Starts with — every address that begins like this, e.g. /old-blog/ for a whole section.
Contains — every address with this text anywhere in its path.
Regular expression — a pattern against the address and its query, e.g. ^/blog/(\d{4})/(.+)$. Use $1, $2 in the target for the parts in brackets: /news/$2.

An exact rule always wins over a pattern. Among patterns, the oldest rule wins.

The parts of the address a visitor sends ($1, $2) can never take the redirect to another site: a target such as /$1 always stays on your site, and a target such as https://example.com/$1 always stays on example.com.

Codes

Code	Use it when
301 Moved permanently	the page moved for good — search engines move its ranking (the usual choice)
302 Found, 307 Temporary redirect	for a while, e.g. a seasonal sale page
308 Permanent redirect	like 301, keeping the request method (forms, APIs)
303 See other	after a form was sent
410 Gone	the page was removed on purpose and will not come back — no target

The query string

/old?utm_source=mail goes to /new?utm_source=mail, so campaign tracking survives. A target with its own query string keeps its own. Switch this off in Settings.

Test an address

Type any address in Test an address and click Test: you see which redirect answers it, where it sends the visitor and with which code — or that WordPress shows the address as it is.

Manage

Search finds addresses and notes; the filter shows enabled or disabled redirects, or those of one origin.
Edit, Disable/Enable and Delete in each row; tick several rows for Enable, Disable or Delete at once.
Click the Hits or Last hit column to sort.

What is never redirected

The WordPress admin, the login page, the REST API, AJAX and WP-Cron requests and previews — so even a rule for / cannot lock you out.

Documentation