A Shopify redirect sends visitors and search engines from an old URL to the most relevant new URL. It protects customers from broken links and helps preserve search value when a product, collection or page address changes.

Create the redirect before removing the old page where possible, and always choose a genuinely equivalent destination rather than sending everything to the homepage.

Create the redirect

1. Copy the old path. Record everything after the domain, such as /products/old-product. Remove tracking parameters and check whether the URL currently resolves.
2. Choose the destination. Use the replacement product, closest collection or a useful informational page. If no relevant destination exists, allowing a proper 404 can be more honest than an unrelated redirect.
3. Open Shopify admin. Go to Content, then Menus, then View URL redirects. In older admin layouts this may appear under Online Store and Navigation.
4. Select Create URL redirect. Paste the old path into Redirect from and the new internal path or full external URL into Redirect to. Keep internal destinations on the preferred domain.
5. Save and test. Open the old URL in an incognito window. Confirm it lands on the intended page in one step, returns no warning and works on mobile.
6. Update links at source. Change menus, collection copy, blogs, email templates and paid adverts that still use the old address. A redirect is a safety net, not a reason to keep publishing outdated links.

Avoid redirect chains

If URL A already redirects to B and B is moving to C, update A so it points directly to C. Multiple hops slow the journey and make migrations harder to diagnose. Export the redirect list before a large restructure, then crawl the old URLs after launch.

Shopify automatically creates some redirects when handles are changed, but do not assume every link is covered. Check high-traffic pages in Google Search Console, paid campaign destinations and external links before changing a handle.

Verification notes

Create the redirect from the old relative path to the closest relevant live destination, then test the old URL in a signed-out browser. Avoid redirect chains and do not send every removed product to the homepage.

Source checked

This guide was checked against Shopify URL redirect documentation.