Settings → Permalinks

Permalink Settings: Giving Your Pages Friendly Addresses

In your WordPress dashboard, click Settings → Permalinks.

Every page and post on your website has its own web address, also called a URL. A permalink is the permanent address WordPress creates for that particular page or post.

For example, suppose Joe’s Auto Repair has a page describing its services. Which of these addresses would you rather put on a business card?

https://joesautorepair.com/?p=123

Or:

https://joesautorepair.com/services/

The second address is easier to read, remember and share. It also gives visitors an idea of what they’ll find on that page.

Fortunately, WordPress lets you choose how these addresses are structured.

Choosing Your Permalink Structure

Near the top of the screen, you’ll find several options under Common Settings.

Let’s look at what they mean.

• Plain: Uses a number to identify the page or post. An address might look like yourdomain.com/?p=123.
• Day and name: Includes the publication year, month, day and post name. This can be useful for certain news websites.
• Month and name: Includes the publication year, month and post name.
• Numeric: Uses a numbered address instead of a descriptive page name.
• Post name: Uses the name of the page or post to create a readable address.
• Custom Structure: Lets you create your own URL format using special WordPress tags.

For our small-business website, we’re going to use Post name.

It’s simple, readable and works well for the type of website we’re building.

Let’s Change Your Permalinks

1. Under Common Settings, select Post name.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
3. Click Save Changes.

That’s it! WordPress will now use the Post name permalink structure for your website.

What If You Don’t Like the Address WordPress Creates?

When you create a page or post, WordPress usually generates part of its address from the title.

That part is called the slug.

For example, a page titled Our Auto Repair Services might automatically receive a slug such as:

our-auto-repair-services

But perhaps you’d rather use something shorter:

services

You can edit the slug when creating or editing your page. We’ll practice doing that when we build your website’s pages.

What About Category and Tag Bases?

Farther down the Permalink Settings screen, you’ll see optional fields for Category base and Tag base.

These control the addresses WordPress uses for category and tag archive pages, primarily when you’re publishing blog posts.

For example, a category archive might use an address such as:

yourdomain.com/category/repair-tips/

There’s no need to change these settings for our website. Leave both fields blank and WordPress will use its normal structure.

One Important Warning About Changing Permalinks Later

We’re choosing our permalink structure now for a reason.

Once your website is published, other websites, search engines and customers may begin linking to your pages. If you change their addresses later, those old links may stop working.

If you ever need to change an existing page’s address, you may need to create a redirect that sends visitors from the old address to the new one.

That’s why it’s a good idea to choose a sensible permalink structure before you start publishing your website.

Want the Down & Dirty Version? Step 6 WordPress – Settings

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