Wordpress: Taking off categories?

by 10 replies
12
Okay, I think I know the answer but since it doesn't satisfy me, I thought maybe somebody has some ideas.

One of my websites had the permalink structure of /category/postname/. Now, I want to get rid of the category (I have no idea how I forgot about it).

How do I stop including category in my new posts, but keep older links that are with category still active? As soon as I make the change, older links will change too (which is pretty stupid; Wordpress should've done something about a long time ago), and since I have a lot of quality websites linking to those, I don't want to lose them.

Any ideas?
#search engine optimization #categories #taking #wordpress
  • The URLs are generated dynamically so you can't save an old URL form and start using a new one.

    You could use a redirect plugin that gives a permanent 301 redirect of the old URL to the new one to preserve your backlinks.
    • [1] reply
    • How exactly would I go about this? It's obvious when you're just changing a category, or removing a post and putting it elsewhere, but in case of taking of category on WP... I'm not really sure how one would use 301 here.
  • You don't need a plugin to keep your links working if you change your permalink structure in the settings or if you change the post url in the post editor.

    When you change your permalink structure or the url in the editor, all your links should automatically redirect from your old permalink to the new one. So if someone finds your old link on another site and clicks it, they will be taken to the page with the new link structure.

    Just change your permalink structure in the settings, wait a bit and test the old permalink structure with the "category". It should redirect to the new link without the "category". Whenever I've done this, it has always worked.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies
    • Hm, it did work. It's been a while since I've tried it. Thanks a lot, haha!
    • Could you please give us example because I am little afraid to do that
  • Make sure you use a 301 redirect plugin to redirect old URLs to new otherwise Google will show lot of not found errors.
    • [1] reply
    • Not keeping up with the thread? WordPress' build-in redirect feature already solved the issue and saved the day. It's been there since 3.5 or something.
  • Its so easy with the latest WordPress version, just change your permalink structure and old link will be automatically convert to new link.
  • Here is how I did in the same situation.
    1. Install the plugin WP No Category Base - WPML compatible to get rid of redirection.
    2. Install the plugin Redirection.
    3. Go to Redirection control panel and one-by-one add all urls with "category" in 1st field and URLs without "category" to second field.

    This way you will permanently (301) redirect old pages to new ones and will let Google know that these are the same pages and you won't loose rankings.

    If you have a lot of pages to redirect (>100) then prepare sitemap text document to make sure you wont miss anything.
  • [DELETED]
  • Guys, just like one of the answers said, the new WP automatically redirects everything and updates the sitemap. There won't be any errors or 404s. That's it.
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    Wordpress: Taking off categories?

    Okay, I think I know the answer but since it doesn't satisfy me, I thought maybe somebody has some ideas. One of my websites had the permalink structure of /category/postname/. Now, I want to get rid of the category (I have no idea how I forgot about it).