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Redirects & SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, the practice of helping search engines like Google understand and rank your website so that more of the right visitors find you. You do not need to be a marketing expert to benefit from good SEO; SitePack builds many of the technical basics in automatically, and this guide covers the parts you control directly: redirects and page-level SEO settings.

What is a URL redirect, and why does it matter?​

Every page on your website has its own web address, called a URL (for example, yoursite.com/old-product-name). A redirect automatically sends visitors (and search engines) from an old URL to a new one whenever a page's address changes or the page is removed.

Redirects matter because, without one, anyone who clicks an old link (from Google, a bookmark, or a shared link) will land on a broken "page not found" error. That is a poor experience for visitors and can hurt your search engine rankings, since search engines dislike sending people to dead links.

Creating a URL redirect​

Whenever you rename a page's URL or delete a page that used to exist, set up a redirect right away to avoid broken links:

  1. Go to Content → Redirects in your Admin Portal.
  2. Click Create Redirect.
  3. Old Slug: Enter the previous URL path exactly as it was, the part after your domain name (for example, old-product-name).
  4. New Slug: Enter where visitors should now be sent. This can be a path on your own site (for example, new-product-name) or a complete external web address.
  5. Choose a Redirect Type:
    • 301 (Permanent): Tells search engines the page has moved for good, and transfers the old page's search ranking value to the new one. This is the right choice for almost all situations, including renamed pages, discontinued products, or restructured sections of your site.
    • 302 (Temporary): Signals that the move is short-term, for example, temporarily pointing a page to a seasonal promotion. Search engines will not permanently transfer ranking value to the new destination, since they expect the original page to return.
  6. Hits Tracking: SitePack automatically counts how many times each redirect has been used. Reviewing this over time helps you see which old links are still actively bringing in traffic, which can be useful when deciding what content to prioritize keeping alive.

SEO best practices inside SitePack​

Beyond redirects, a handful of simple, ongoing habits make a real difference in how well your site performs in search results.

Meta titles & descriptions​

Every individual page and blog post has its own meta title and meta description, editable directly within that page's editor. These are the blue, clickable headline and the short line of gray text that appear in Google's search results for your page.

  • Write a meta title that clearly and specifically describes what the page is about. Think of it as a short, honest headline written for someone scanning a list of search results.
  • Write a meta description as a brief, compelling summary (roughly one to two sentences) that gives someone a reason to click through to your page rather than a competitor's.

Search engine visibility​

If your website is still under construction, or you are testing changes you do not want the public to find yet, you can temporarily block search engines from indexing your site.

  • Go to Settings → General and enable Block Search Engines.
  • While this is turned on, search engines are asked not to list your pages in their results at all.
  • Remember to turn this setting back off once your site is ready to go live. A site left blocked indefinitely will never appear in search results, no matter how well the rest of your SEO is set up.

Clean, descriptive URLs​

The path portion of a URL (called a "slug") should be short, readable, and describe the content of the page, both because it helps visitors understand what a link leads to before they click it and because search engines use it as one small signal of relevance.

  • Prefer yoursite.com/wooden-garden-chairs over yoursite.com/product-8213.
  • Use hyphens to separate words, avoid unnecessary numbers or symbols, and keep slugs reasonably short.

Frequently asked questions​

What happens if I delete a page without setting up a redirect?​

Visitors who follow old links (from search engines, bookmarks, or shared links) will land on a "page not found" error. Setting up a redirect avoids this and preserves as much of the page's search ranking value as possible.

Should I use a 301 or 302 redirect?​

Use a 301 (Permanent) redirect for almost every situation: renamed pages, retired products or restructured content. Reserve 302 (Temporary) redirects for genuinely short-term changes, such as briefly redirecting a page during a seasonal campaign.

What is the difference between a meta title and the page's main heading?​

The main heading (H1) is the title visitors see displayed on the page itself. The meta title is what appears as the clickable blue headline in search engine results. The two can be worded the same way, but the meta title should be optimized for how someone might search for your page.

How do I stop search engines from finding my site while I'm still building it?​

Turn on Block Search Engines under Settings → General. Just remember to disable it again once you are ready to launch, or your site will remain invisible in search results.

Does SitePack handle any SEO automatically?​

Yes. Technical basics such as secure HTTPS connections and clean site infrastructure are handled automatically by SitePack. Page-level details (titles, descriptions, and redirects) are the parts you control directly, as covered in this guide.

How often should I check my redirects?​

There is no strict schedule, but it is good practice to review your Redirects list whenever you restructure a section of your site, and periodically check the hits tracking to see which old URLs are still receiving traffic.