> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.scayla.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create a 301 redirect

> Create a 301 redirect to send visitors from a broken or removed URL to a new active one. 301 redirects only work on 404 pages and preserve your SEO rankings.

## When to use 301 redirects

301 redirects only work on broken pages that return a 404 error. They are server-side, permanent redirects that preserve your SEO rankings.

Use permanent 301 redirects when you:

* Delete or unpublish a product, collection, or page
* Change a URL structure
* Migrate content from one URL to another
* Want to fix broken links that customers are trying to access

<Warning>
  **301 redirects don't work on active pages.** The "Redirect from" URL must return a 404 error. If you need to redirect visitors from an active page that must remain live, use a [live redirect](/redirect-pro/guides/using-live-redirects/create-live-redirect) instead.
</Warning>

<Info>
  **301 redirects vs. redirect rules vs. live redirects**: Use individual 301 redirects for specific broken URL changes. For pattern-based redirects affecting multiple broken URLs, use [redirect rules](/redirect-pro/guides/working-with-redirect-rules/redirect-rules-overview). For redirecting visitors away from active pages, use [live redirects](/redirect-pro/guides/using-live-redirects/create-live-redirect).
</Info>

## Create a 301 redirect

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Redirect Pro">
    From your Shopify admin, open the **Redirect Pro** app.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to URL redirects">
    Click **URL redirects** in the app navigation menu.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Create 301 redirect">
    Click the **Create 301 redirect** button in the top right corner.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the redirect details">
    In the form that appears:

    * **Redirect from**: Enter the old URL path (e.g., `/old-product`)
    * **Redirect to**: Enter the new URL where visitors should be sent

    <Tip>
      For the "Redirect from" field you only need to enter the URL path, not the full domain. For example, use `/old-page` instead of `https://yourstore.com/old-page`.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save the redirect">
    Click **Save redirect**. The redirect is now active and will immediately start sending visitors from the old URL to the new one, and transfer search rankings to the new URL.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Redirect from options

The "Redirect from" field only accepts **internal URL paths** from your store - no need to add your domain.

✓ **Accepted formats:**

* **Path only**: `/old-product` (recommended)
* **Path with query parameters**: `/old-product?variant=12345`

✗ **Not accepted:**

* Full URLs with your domain: `https://yourstore.com/old-product`
* External URLs: `https://othersite.com/page`

<Warning>
  You can only create 301 redirects from broken URLs that return a 404 error. If the URL still loads a valid webpage, the 301 redirect won't work. To redirect visitors from an active page, use a [live redirect](/redirect-pro/guides/using-live-redirects/create-live-redirect) instead.
</Warning>

### URLs you cannot redirect from

Certain URL paths are reserved by Shopify and cannot be used for redirects:

* **URLs beginning with** `/apps`, `/application`, `/cart`, `/carts`, `/orders`, `/services`, or `/shop`.
* **Fixed Shopify paths**: `/` (your homepage), `/404` (your 404 template), `/products` (the main products index), `/collections` (the main collections index), `/collections/all`.
* **Reserved paths**: `/collections/vendors`, `/collections/types`, `/a/`, `/community/`, `/tools/`
* You can't redirect MyShopify domain paths ending `/shop` or `/services`

**Collection tag filtering:** Shopify does not allow 301 redirects for URLs that use collection tag filtering (such as `yourstore.com/collections/collection-name/tag-name`). Even if no products exist with that tag, the URL path is still considered valid so can only be redirected with a [live redirect](/redirect-pro/guides/using-live-redirects/live-redirects-overview).

**Example of what won't work:**

* ❌ `/cart` → `/checkout`
* ❌ `/products` → `/collections`

<Note>
  These are Shopify platform restrictions that apply to all redirect apps, not just Redirect Pro.
</Note>

## Redirect to options

The "Redirect to" field accepts both internal paths and external URLs, for example:

**Internal pages** (use path only):

* `/collections/new-arrivals`
* `/products/blue-shirt`
* `/pages/about`
* `/` (homepage)

**External URLs** (use full URL with `https://`):

* `https://example.com`
* `https://blog.yourcompany.com/article`

<Tip>
  For internal redirects, use paths only (e.g., `/products/shirt`). For external redirects, include the full URL with `https://`.
</Tip>

## Redirect limitations and special cases

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="HTML file extensions">
    You cannot redirect from a URL ending in `.html` to the same URL without `.html`. Shopify treats these as the same URL because the platform automatically handles HTML formatting for cleaner URLs.

    **Example that won't work:**

    * ❌ `/old-page.html` → `/old-page`
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Query strings and special characters">
    URLs with complex query strings or special characters (such as `/brands/dell.html?_bc_fsnf=1&interface=type`) may not redirect as expected.

    Test these redirects thoroughly after creation. Consider using simpler URLs when possible.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="International markets and subfolders">
    Creating a URL redirect applies to all language or market subfolders set up using international sales tools.

    **How it works:** For example, your primary market is the United States on `example.com`. You also have a market for Canada on a subfolder at `example.com/en-ca`. You decide to stop selling a blue t-shirt on your store, so you delete the product, and then create a single URL redirect from `/products/blue-t-shirt` to `/collections/t-shirts`.

    * It works for ALL subfolder markets:
      * US (primary) customers are automatically redirected from `/products/old-shirt` to `/collections/shirts`
      * Canada customers are automatically redirected from `/en-ca/products/old-shirt` to `/en-ca/collections/shirts`

    **Specific locale redirects:** You can still create individual redirects for each subfolder if you want to redirect people to a different destination for each market.

    For example, if you need to redirect specific locales (such as `yourstore.com/en-ca/old-page` to `yourstore.com/en-fr/new-page`), then you can create individual redirects for each subfolder.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Browser and search engine caching">
    301 redirects are cached by browsers and search engines. If you remove a redirect after customers have accessed it, then the redirect might continue to work in their browsers until the cache expires.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Redirects and online store visibility">
    You can use URL redirects with your online store's visibility settings to temporarily redirect customers from hidden content to active content.

    For example, if you have a `/collections/fall` collection that you want to temporarily hide during summer and redirect customers to `/collections/summer`, you can:

    1. Set the fall collection's Online store visibility to "Hidden".
    2. Create redirect from `/collections/fall` to `/collections/summer`
    3. When the fall collection is hidden, the URL becomes a 404 page which allows the redirect to work.

    **Important:** If you later make the fall collection Visible again, **the redirect will stop working** because redirects only work on 404 URLs.

    **Also works for products:** Set products to Draft status or remove from sales channels to make them eligible for redirects.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Tips for effective 301 redirects

<Accordion title="Use the right URL format">
  **Redirect from**: Always use internal paths only (e.g., `/old-product`). Don't include your domain name.

  **Redirect to**: Use internal paths for pages on your store (e.g., `/new-product`), or full URLs with `https://` for external sites (e.g., `https://example.com`).
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Test your redirects after creating">
  After saving, visit the old URL in your browser to verify it redirects to the correct destination. See [redirects troubleshoot guide](/redirect-pro/help/redirect-issues/redirect-not-saving) for testing guidance.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Avoid the total 301 redirects limit">
  While Redirect Pro supports unlimited visits to each 301 redirect, Shopify has platform limits:

  * **Standard stores:** 100,000 redirects maximum
  * **Shopify Plus stores:** 20,000,000 redirects maximum

  Keep track of your total redirect count to avoid hitting these limits.
</Accordion>

## What happens next

Once saved, your 301 redirect:

* **Takes effect immediately** - visitors are redirected right away
* **Preserves SEO** - search engines transfer ranking signals to the new URL
* **Handles unlimited visits** - 301 redirect visits don't count toward your usage quota
* **Appears in your redirect list** - you can edit or delete it anytime

## Related guides

* [Import redirects in bulk](/redirect-pro/guides/managing-301-redirects/import-301-redirects) - Upload multiple redirects from a `.csv` spreadsheet
* [Edit or delete 301 redirects](/redirect-pro/guides/managing-301-redirects/edit-delete-301-redirects) - Modify existing redirects
* [Understanding redirect rules](/redirect-pro/guides/working-with-redirect-rules/redirect-rules-overview) - Learn about pattern-based redirect automations

## Need help?

If you're having trouble creating a redirect, see our troubleshooting guide:

* [Redirect creation errors](/redirect-pro/help/redirect-issues/redirect-not-saving) - Fix common validation errors