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A permalink is a permanent URL for a page or post, meant not to change. Search engines treat the URL as the page’s identity. Here is how to set, read and fix permalinks on a small site without losing traffic.
By Théophile Louvart, founder of Porteur · Updated 14 September 2026 · Markdown
What a permalink means for a small site
Your permalink is the address people bookmark, share and cite. Search engines also use it to identify the page. If you change it, you need a redirect from the old URL to the new one.
Words in the slug are a small relevance signal and mostly for readers. Keep URLs short, lowercase and hyphenated. Skip stop words like “and” or “the”. Avoid dates unless the content is tied to a date, for example a pattern like “/news/YYYY-MM-DD-release-notes”.
WordPress permalink settings
WordPress calls URL formats “permalinks”. You will find the setting under Settings, Permalinks. Common patterns include Post name and Date and name.
- Use Post name for most sites: “/pricing”, “/blog/how-to-choose-a-plan”. It is readable and short.
- Use Date and name only if posts are time sensitive and you keep dates visible to readers.
- Avoid long category chains in the URL unless categories are few and stable.
Example fixed page: “yourproduct.com/guides/getting-started”, not “yourproduct.com/YYYY/MM/DD/how-to-get-started-with-yourproduct-guide/”.
How to read and measure permalinks
- Scan your main navigation and top posts. Are the URLs short, lowercase, hyphenated and stable?
- Check internal links. Do menu and blog links point to one clean URL, with no tracking parameters?
- In Search Console, open the Pages view in the Performance report. Look for duplicate paths that suggest an old and a new URL for the same content.
- Click a few old links from social or newsletters. Confirm they load the intended page and do not 404 or redirect in loops.
- Keep a list of canonical URLs for core pages like “/pricing”, “/features”, “/blog/”. Use that list when you add links.
Choosing a good permalink structure
Choose a stable base for each content type. For evergreen pages, use the root where possible: “/pricing”, “/features/integrations”. For articles and guides, use one folder like “/blog/” or “/guides/”.
- Slug: 3 to 6 words that match the topic, like “how-to-export-data”.
- Lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens only. No underscores.
- No dates in slugs unless the content is dated. If you must date, keep it consistent.
- Do not stuff keywords. Write for recognition, not density.
- One canonical URL per page. Avoid serving the same content at both “/post” and “/post/”. Pick one and redirect the other.
Changing a permalink safely
Map old to new
Export a list of current URLs. Add the new target for each one. Include case variants and trailing slash variants if they exist.
Add 301 redirects
Create one permanent redirect from each old URL to the new canonical URL. Do not chain multiple hops if you can avoid it.
Update internal links
Replace old paths in menus, footers, posts and sitemap. Link only to the new canonical URLs.
Submit and test
Update your XML sitemap. Use a redirect checker to spot chains and loops. In Search Console, inspect a few changed URLs and monitor coverage.
Leave redirects in place
Keep them indefinitely. People will click old links for years.
Questions
A permalink is the permanent URL for a page or post. It should not change. Search engines use it to identify the page, and readers share and bookmark it.
Publish the page and copy its URL from your browser or CMS. In WordPress, set your structure under Settings, Permalinks, then view the post and copy the address bar URL.
All permalinks are URLs, but not all URLs are good permalinks. A permalink is a clean, stable URL meant to last, not a temporary link with tracking parameters.
Use Post name for most sites. It keeps URLs short and readable. Add a folder like “/blog/” if you want to separate articles from core pages.
It can if you do not add 301 redirects. With one-to-one redirects, expect some temporary shifts while search updates, then it should settle.
These are unrelated. Jewellery uses “permanent” as a brand idea, and APA permalinks refer to stable library links. This page covers web page URLs for sites.
Sources
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