Migrating site to WP.com – how to manage 301 redirects

  • Unknown's avatar
    notesfromthewilderness · Member ·

    I am considering migrating an existing (simple) website [http://mysite.com] to a new paid WP plan [https://mysite.com], which would include mapping my existing domain name to WP servers. Is there a WP .htaccess file that I can use to redirect the existing [/pagename.html] format to the WP [/pagename/] format, so as not to lose my existing Google ranking? Or is there a WP.com widget that I can use to handle the 301 redirect in a simple manner? Thank you in advance for your help!

    The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

  • Unknown's avatar
    kmk3s · Member ·

    Hello! There are indeed many plugins to manage 301 redirects in a straight-forward simple manner. For the 2 listed below, you will need a business plan.

    Redirection
    This is one of the simplest ways to add and manage redirects in WordPress. Install and activate the plugin. Once activated, visit Tools » Redirection to setup your redirects.

    Simple 301 directs
    Another easy to use plugin is Simple 301 Redirects. As the name suggests, it makes 301 Redirects simple. Simply install and activate the plugin and then visit Settings » 301 Redirects to add your URLs.

    The .htaccess method sets fast 301 redirects, but bear in mind that even a tiny mistake can make your website inaccessible, so make sure you do a backup of this file before you make any changes, should you choose this method. The steps are detailed here (at the bottom of the page).

  • Unknown's avatar
    justjennifer · Member ·

    @notesfromthewilderness All WordPressdotcom sites, including custom domains on any plan, are served over HTTPS, but anyone accessing your site via HTTP would be redirected to HTTPS. How and if that would impact your search engine ranking I do not have an answer.

    Also, we do not have direct access to our htaccess file and I don’t believe that this changes regardless of upgrade plan, but to be certain I’m tagging this for Staff attention and input regarding the Business plan.

  • staff-zinnia · Staff ·

    Hi –

    Thanks for looping us in here, justjennifer.

    In order to use a plugin you will have to upgrade to the Business plan.
    Those details are available at wordpress.com/pricing/

    A 301 redirect is going to negate most of the impact you’ve expressed concern with.

    http redirecting to https should not affect your rankings.

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