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How to Set Up 301 Redirects

Redirect visitors from an old URL to a new one — keeping your links working, preserving SEO value, and ensuring guests always land on the right page.

Written by Gil Chan
Updated this week

Overview

A 301 redirect permanently sends traffic from one URL path to another. This is useful when you:

  • Rename or reorganize pages on your site

  • Have QR codes or printed materials pointing to an old URL

  • Want to consolidate traffic from multiple paths to a single page

  • Need to preserve search engine rankings after moving content

Why 301 Redirects Matter for SEO

  • Link equity transfers: Search engines pass ranking value from the old URL to the new one.

  • No broken links: Visitors from bookmarks, emails, or external sites still reach your content.

  • Clean indexing: Search engines update their index to reflect the new URL over time.

CraftedStays handles 301 redirects at the server level, so they work instantly for both visitors and search engines.

Step 1: Open Redirect Settings

  1. Log into your CraftedStays dashboard.

  2. Go to Site.

  3. Click Configure SEO.

  4. Scroll to the Redirects section.

Step 2: Add a Redirect

  1. Click Add Redirect.

  2. In the From field, enter the old path you want to redirect away from (e.g., /old-page).

  3. In the To field, enter the new path you want visitors sent to (e.g., /new-page).

  4. Click Update to save.

Path Format

  • Use internal paths only — start with a / (e.g., /vacation-rentals/old-listing).

  • DO NOT use full URLs like https://yoursite.com/... — just the path after your domain.

  • Trailing slashes are automatically removed, so /old-page/ and /old-page are treated the same.

  • If you forget the leading /, it will be added automatically.

Step 3: Test the Redirect

  1. Open your site in a browser.

  2. Visit the old URL path.

  3. Confirm you're redirected to the new page.

Tip: If the redirect doesn't seem to work immediately, try a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R) or open the URL in an incognito/private window to bypass browser cache.

Rules and Limitations

Rule

Details

Internal paths only

You cannot redirect to an external URL. Both "from" and "to" must be paths on your site.

No self-redirects

The "from" and "to" paths must be different.

No duplicate sources

Each "from" path can only be used once.

Exact matching only

Redirects match the exact path — no wildcards (*) or patterns.

Query strings preserved

If a visitor hits /old-page?ref=email, they'll be sent to /new-page?ref=email. Query parameters carry over automatically.

No redirect chains

If you redirect A → B and B → C, a visitor hitting A will land on B, not C. Always point redirects to the final destination.

Common Use Cases

Renamed a Page

You changed a page from /about-us to /our-story:

  • From: /about-us

  • To: /our-story

Consolidated Property Pages

You merged two listings into one:

  • From: /property/beach-house-1

  • To: /property/oceanfront-retreat

Moved Blog Posts

You reorganized your blog URL structure:

  • From: /blog/pet-friendly-tips

  • To: /guides/traveling-with-pets

QR Codes or Print Materials

You printed QR codes pointing to /promo-summer and want to reuse them:

  • From: /promo-summer

  • To: /specials/summer-2026

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