Set 301 redirects to maintain SEO ranking - Webflow help

Mr Bird
Mr Bird
@mrbirddev

Use 301 redirects to route traffic from an old URL to a new URL.

When to set 301 redirects

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While Webflow currently doesn't have a hard limit for total redirects, we recommend 1,000 maximum as best practice. Each redirect rule is uploaded to a site's manifest.json file, which provides site information to visitors' browsers. As the manifest file grows, there's more data for browsers to download. For the best SEO and site performance, use wildcard redirects where possible, which minimizes the total number of redirect rules.

301 redirects are useful for permanently routing traffic from an old path to a new URL — for example, when you:

  • Reorganize your URL structure (e.g., /mysite to /)
  • Replace or redesign your site and have new URLs (e.g., /oldhomepage to /)
  • Move to a completely new domain (e.g., webflowiscool.com to webflow.com)
  • Secure alternative domains in case of site visitor typos (e.g., webflow.net, webflow.org, webflow.io to webflow.com)

When an old URL is replaced with a new URL, your old URL may still be visible in search results, referenced in a blog or forum post, bookmarked, or printed on business cards or other materials. Anyone who visits the old URL will be led to a 404 page. But if you set up a 301 redirect, site visitors visiting the old URL will be redirected to the specified new URL.

Google will eventually index your new site structure and old URLs will get updated. However, 301 redirects are a best practice, especially if you want to maintain ranking power from the old URL.

There are other types of redirects — such as 302 redirects, which indicate a temporary relocation — but 301 redirects are best used if you need to permanently route incoming traffic to a new URL.

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301 redirects are relative to your root domain and won't apply to localized slugs or subdirectories. For example, if you'd like both /old-url and /es/old-url to redirect to /new-url, set these up as two separate redirect rules.

How to redirect a page

You can permanently redirect old pages or entire folders of pages to new locations in your Webflow site. To set a 301 redirect:

  1. Go to Site settings > Publishing > 301 redirects
  2. Enter the old URL in the Old path field (e.g., /old-url)
  3. Enter the new URL in the Redirect to path field (e.g., /entirely/new-url/structure)
  4. Click Add redirect path
  5. Publish your site

Now, you can test the redirect by entering the old URL in a new browser tab. It should redirect to the new URL.

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You can also bulk import/export 301 redirects via CSV file.

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To redirect an existing static page on your Webflow site to a new URL, you'll need to delete or save the page as a draft, or change its slug before setting the redirect. To redirect an existing Collection item page on your Webflow site to a new URL, you'll need to archive, delete, or unpublish the item, save it as a draft, or change its slug before setting the redirect.

How to redirect a folder

To redirect the contents of a folder — whether to a single page or multiple pages — use capture groups.

Basic steps for redirecting a folder to multiple pages:

  1. Go to Site settings > Publishing > 301 redirects
  2. Enter a URL with a capture group (.*) in the old URL structure in the Old path field (e.g., /oldfolder/(.*))
  3. Enter a URL with a target path %1 in the new URL structure in the Redirect to path field (e.g., /entirely/new-url/structure/%1)

You can add multiple capture groups for more complex redirect rules. Example: /blogs/(.*)/(.*) to /articles/%1/%2

Wildcard redirect examples

If you want to redirect multiple pages in a folder to a single URL, for example:

  • /collections/women
  • /collections/men
  • /collections/children

All redirect to /collections using:

  • Old path: /collections/(.*)
  • Redirect to path: /collections

For redirecting URLs like /domain.com?category=food&post=pie to /blog/food/pie, use capture groups:

  • Old path: /%?category%=(.*)%&post%=(.*)
  • Redirect to path: /blog/%1/%2

Examples:

  • /domain.com?category=music&post=beyonce → /blog/music/beyonce
  • /domain.com?category=travel&post=london → /blog/travel/london
  • /domain.com?category=food&post=pie → /blog/food/pie

How to use escape characters

You need to escape special characters in all Old path URLs and URLs with wildcards by using the % symbol before the character:

  • %
  • -
  • &
  • *
  • (
  • )
  • =
  • _
  • +
  • ?

Example: Redirect mysite.com?category=food to mysite.com/blog/food

  • Old path: %?category%=food
  • Redirect to path: blog/food

The % signs before ? and = are required.

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You only need to escape characters in the old path — not in the new redirect path.

How to redirect an entire domain

Steps to redirect one domain to another:

  1. Connect both old and new domains to your site
  2. Set the new domain as the default
  3. Publish your site

How to search and sort redirects

You can search for your site's existing redirects using the search bar in Site settings > Publishing > 301 redirects. Matching results appear as you type.

Sort site redirects by:

  • Last modified (default)
  • Date created
  • Alphabetical (Old path)
  • Alphabetical (New path)

How to delete 301 redirects

  1. Go to Site Settings > Publishing > 301 redirects
  2. Click the "trash" icon next to the redirect you want to remove
  3. Publish your site
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Related topics: Upload an llms.txt file, Block bots, Set robots.txt rules, Create a sitemap, Disable search engine indexing, Set up Google Analytics, Google site verification, Add meta description, Intro to paid vs organic search.

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