How To Update Permalinks With Divi WordPress Subdirectory Woocommerce Products

How to Update Permalinks with Divi, WordPress Subdirectory, and WooCommerce Products

Introduction:

Changing your website’s permalinks is a crucial task that can significantly impact your SEO and user experience. However, navigating permalink updates, especially within a complex setup like a WordPress subdirectory using Divi and WooCommerce products, can be tricky. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to safely and effectively update your permalinks while minimizing the risk of broken links and SEO penalties. We’ll cover best practices to ensure a smooth transition. It is best if permalinks are set to preferred ones Explore this article on How To Add Logo To An Invoice In Woocommerce before starting to add content and new products.

Main Part:

Understanding the Importance of Permalinks

Permalinks, or permanent links, are the URLs of your individual web pages. They provide a stable address for users and search engines to access your content. Well-structured permalinks are SEO-friendly because they:

• Incorporate relevant keywords, helping search engines understand the content of the page.
• Improve user experience by providing clear and predictable URLs.
• Can influence click-through rates from search results.

Planning Your Permalink Structure

Before making any changes, define your desired permalink structure. For WooCommerce products, you have several options:

• Plain: (e.g., `/?p=123`) – Not recommended as it is not SEO-friendly.
• Day and name: (e.g., `/2023/10/27/sample-post/`) – Good for time-sensitive content but can make URLs long.
• Month and name: (e.g., `/2023/10/sample-post/`) – Similar Discover insights on How To Install Musexpress For Woocommerce to day and name, just without the day.
• Numeric: (e.g., `/archives/123`) – Not SEO-friendly as it lacks keyword context.
• Post name: (e.g., `/sample-post/`) – Most popular and often recommended for SEO.
• Custom Structure: Offers the most flexibility. You can use tags like `%postname%`, `%category%`, etc.

Given you’re using WooCommerce and Divi within a WordPress subdirectory, consider these factors:

1. Subdirectory: Your website is installed in a subdirectory (e.g., `https://yourdomain.com/wordpress/`). All your URLs will be prefixed with this subdirectory.

2. Divi: Divi doesn’t directly interfere with permalink settings, but its page builder structure should be considered when choosing the right structure. Clear and simple permalinks will make page management easier within the Divi builder.

3. WooCommerce: WooCommerce adds its own specific settings for product permalinks. Pay close attention to Learn more about How To Create Custom Woocommerce Theme these.

Updating Permalinks: A Step-by-Step Guide

Here’s the process for safely updating your permalinks:

1. Backup Your Website: This is crucial! Before making any significant changes, back up your entire website (files and database). You can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus or BackupBuddy.

2. Deactivate Plugins (Optional but Recommended): To avoid conflicts, temporarily deactivate any plugins that might interfere with permalink settings, such as SEO plugins or caching plugins. Remember to re-activate them after the update.

3. Access Permalink Settings:

• Log into your WordPress admin panel.
• Go to Settings > Permalinks.

4. Choose Your Permalink Structure:

• Select the desired structure from the options provided. For most cases, choosing “Post name” (`/sample-post/`) is a good starting point.

5. WooCommerce Product Permalink Settings:

• Scroll down to the “Product permalink base” section.
• Consider using these options:
• Shop base: (e.g., `/shop/product-name/`)
• Shop base with category: (e.g., `/shop/category/product-name/`)
• Custom base: Use this to create a custom structure, like `/products/%product_cat%/` or `/product/%product_cat%/` (make sure you understand the implications of using custom structures).

6. Save Changes: Click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page.

7. Update .htaccess File (If Needed): WordPress should automatically update your `.htaccess` file to reflect the new permalink structure. However, in some cases (especially on older servers), you may need to manually update it.

• Access your .htaccess file: You can do this via FTP or a file manager in your hosting control panel.
• Ensure the file is writable: Check the file permissions (usually 644).
• Verify WordPress updates the file: If WordPress can’t update it, you’ll see a warning message.

If manual updating is required, the code should look something like this:

 RewriteEngine On RewriteBase /wordpress/ # This is VERY important for subdirectory installations. RewriteRule ^index.php$ - [L] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteRule . /wordpress/index.php [L] # Also important for subdirectory. 

Important considerations for subdirectory installations:

• Pay special attention to the `RewriteBase` directive. It MUST match the name of your subdirectory: `/wordpress/`.
• Verify the line which directs unresolveable requests back to `index.php`. It should also contain the subdirectory name: `/wordpress/index.php`. If you don’t have these set correctly, the site will not work.

8. Test Your Website:

• Navigate through your website, checking various pages, posts, and WooCommerce products.
• Ensure all links are working correctly.
• Pay close attention to product category pages and individual product pages.

9. Fix Broken Links (404 Errors):

• If you encounter any 404 errors, you’ll need to create redirects.
• The easiest way to manage redirects is to use a plugin like Redirection or Yoast SEO Premium (which includes redirect management).
• Read more about How To Delete Products In Woocommerce Through Cpanel Create 301 redirects from the old URLs to the new URLs. 301 redirects tell search engines that the content has permanently moved. This is essential for preserving SEO value.

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10. Update Internal Links: Search your website’s content (posts, pages, product descriptions) for old URLs and update them to the new permalink structure. Plugins can assist with this.

11. Resubmit Sitemap to Search Engines: Generate a new sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console and other search engines to help them crawl and index your updated website.

12. Reactivate Plugins: If you deactivated any plugins in step 2, reactivate them now.

Potential Issues and Troubleshooting

• 404 Errors: This is the most common problem. Implement 301 redirects to resolve them. Check your `.htaccess` file for errors.
• Infinite Redirect Loops: This can happen if your `.htaccess` file is configured incorrectly or if there are conflicts with other plugins.
• Category or Tag Pages Not Working: Ensure your category and tag base settings are correct in the WordPress settings.

Conclusion:

Updating permalinks with Divi, a WordPress subdirectory, and WooCommerce products requires careful planning and execution. By following these steps, you can minimize the risk of errors and maintain your website’s SEO performance. Remember to always back up your website before making any major changes and test thoroughly after the update. When working in a subdirectory, it is extremely important to check the `RewriteBase` setting. The key to success is testing, testing, and testing to ensure your website remains functional and search engine-friendly. Remember to use redirects strategically to maintain your SEO ranking.