Shopify Redirects: 5 Steps to Change URLs Safely

Every store changes its URLs eventually. You rename a collection, tidy up product handles, discontinue a line, or move to Shopify from another platform. Each of those changes can quietly break links that customers bookmarked, other sites shared, and search engines spent months learning to trust.

Redirects are how you change URLs without losing that. A redirect sends anyone who visits an old address to the right new one, automatically. Here is how redirects work on Shopify, when to use them, and five steps to change URLs safely.

What is a redirect, and why does it matter for SEO?

A redirect tells browsers and search engines that a page now lives somewhere else. The most common type for a permanent move is a 301, which MDN Web Docs, the open web reference maintained by Mozilla, defines as a response meaning the requested page has been permanently moved to a new URL.

For SEO, redirects protect two things. They keep visitors from hitting dead pages when they follow an old link, and they help search engines understand that the new page replaces the old one. Google’s guidance on moving a site with URL changes recommends permanent server-side redirects from each old URL to its new location.

When do you need redirects on Shopify?

1. Renaming a product, collection, page, or blog post handle. The handle is the end of the URL, so changing it changes the address.
2. Discontinuing a product for good. Send the old URL to the closest replacement or the most relevant collection.
3. Merging or reorganizing collections. Point each retired collection to the one that now holds those products.
4. Migrating to Shopify from another platform. Old URL patterns rarely match Shopify’s, so most pages need a redirect.
5. Fixing broken links you have found, such as old URLs that still get visits or links from other sites.

How do you create redirects in Shopify?

Shopify’s own URL redirect documentation covers the steps. In short, redirects live in your Shopify admin under Online Store, then Navigation, then URL redirects. From there you can:

1. Create a single redirect by entering the old path in “Redirect from” and the new destination in “Redirect to.”
2. Import many redirects at once from a CSV file with two columns: the old path and the new path.
3. Edit, export, or delete redirects as your store changes.

When you change a handle in Shopify, look for the option to create a redirect from the old URL as you save. Do not assume it happened; check your redirect list afterward.

How do you change URLs on Shopify safely?

1. List every URL you are changing. Export the current URLs for the products, collections, and pages involved before you touch anything.
2. Map each old URL to its best new home. One to one wherever possible: old product to new product, old collection to new collection. Avoid sending everything to the homepage.
3. Create the redirects, individually for a few changes or by CSV import for many.
4. Update your own links. Change internal links, menus, and any links in emails or ads to point straight to the new URLs, rather than relying on the redirect.
5. Test and monitor. Visit a sample of old URLs to confirm each lands on the right page, then watch Search Console for not-found errors over the following weeks.

How do you plan redirects when moving to Shopify?

A platform migration is the biggest redirect job most stores ever do, because nearly every URL changes at once. Shopify uses its own URL patterns, such as /products/ and /collections/, which rarely match the old platform. Plan it as its own project:

1. Crawl or export every URL on the old site before the move, including products, categories, pages, and blog posts.
2. Rank them by value. Pages with search traffic, links from other sites, or sales history come first and deserve the most careful matches.
3. Build the redirect map in a spreadsheet, with the old path in one column and the new Shopify path in the other.
4. Import the map into Shopify before or at the moment you switch the domain, so there is no gap where old links break.
5. Check the top pages first on launch day, then keep watching for not-found errors in Search Console for several weeks.

Most of the risk sits in the first step. A page you forgot to list is a page with no redirect, so take the time to capture everything before the old site goes away.

What are the common Shopify redirect mistakes?

1. Redirecting everything to the homepage. It confuses shoppers and tells search engines little about where the content went.
2. Chains of redirects. Old URL to second URL to third URL slows things down. Point the original straight to the final page.
3. Forgetting deleted products. Deleting a product does not create a redirect. Decide where its URL should go before you delete it.
4. Never testing. A single typo in a redirect sends visitors to a not-found page.
5. Redirecting temporarily out-of-stock products. If a product is coming back, keep its page. Our guide to out-of-stock product pages explains when to keep, redirect, or remove a page.

How do redirects fit into your wider SEO?

Redirects protect what you have already built, but they do not create rankings on their own. They matter most during big changes, which is also when traffic drops tend to happen. If organic traffic fell after a migration or a cleanup, our traffic recovery checklist includes checking for missing redirects. For the full picture, see our ecommerce SEO guide.

If you would rather have a migration or URL cleanup planned and checked for you, our SEO Optimization service covers technical fixes and indexing management.

Frequently asked questions about Shopify redirects

Does Shopify create redirects automatically?

Shopify can create a redirect when you change the handle of a product, collection, page, or blog post, if you choose that option as you save. Deleting a product does not create one, so add those yourself.

How many redirects can a Shopify store have?

Stores can hold a large number of redirects, and bulk import by CSV makes big changes practical. Keep the list tidy by removing redirects that point to pages you later delete.

Should I redirect out-of-stock products?

Not if they are coming back. Keep the page live with a restock date or a notify-me option. Redirect only when a product is gone for good.

How long should redirects stay in place?

Keep them for as long as the old URLs might still be visited or linked. For most stores, that means leaving them in place indefinitely.

Final thoughts on Shopify redirects

Redirects are how you change your store without breaking it. List what is changing, map each old URL to its best new home, create the redirects, update your own links, and test them. Handle discontinued products deliberately and avoid shortcuts like pointing everything to the homepage. If you are planning a migration or cleanup, book a call with one of our hive specialists today to plan your redirects before anything changes.