Whether you’re rebranding, consolidating product pages or redesigning your site structure, managing redirects properly is crucial to maintaining your search engine rankings and ensuring a smooth user experience. One of the most important tools in your SEO toolkit is the 301 redirect – a permanent redirect that passes the majority of link equity from one URL to another.
If you’re using BigCommerce, you’re in luck – the platform provides built-in tools for managing redirects effectively. However, understanding how to implement them correctly is key to preserving your hard-earned SEO value.
This guide walks through the process of setting up 301 redirects in BigCommerce, highlight common pitfalls, and offer expert tips to help ensure your site’s performance remains strong. For those who’d prefer a hands-off approach or want to elevate their strategy, working with a BigCommerce SEO agency can provide peace of mind and long-term results.
What’s a 301 Redirect?
A 301 redirect is a status code sent to browsers and search engines, telling them that a page has permanently moved to a new URL. When implemented correctly, it:
- Automatically sends users and bots to the new URL,
- Transfers most (typically 90–99%) of the SEO authority from the old page to the new one,
- Prevents broken links and 404 errors, which can harm user experience and search rankings.
Why 301 Redirects Matter in BigCommerce
Online stores are dynamic by nature – products change, categories evolve, and URLs often need updating. Without proper redirection, any changes to your URL structure can lead to lost traffic, broken links, and a significant drop in rankings. In BigCommerce, this is especially important during:
- Site redesigns
- Category or product restructures
- Discontinued or seasonal product removals
- URL slug updates for SEO purposes
- Platform migrations (e.g. from Shopify to BigCommerce)
Managing 301 redirects effectively helps search engines understand these changes and maintain your website’s authority.
Setting Up 301 Redirects in BigCommerce
BigCommerce makes it easy to manage URL redirects through the Redirects Manager – here’s how to set them up step-by-step:
Access the Redirects Section
- From your BigCommerce dashboard, navigate to Storefront > URL Redirects.
- Click on Create a Redirect.
Choose Your Redirect Type
BigCommerce offers two redirect types:
- Manual Redirects: You create these yourself.
- Automatic Redirects: When you change a product, category, or web page URL, BigCommerce can generate a redirect automatically.
For SEO purposes, manual redirects offer more control and are recommended for major changes.
Fill in the Redirect Details
- Old URL path: This is the original URL that users or search engines would be trying to access (e.g. /old-product-name/).
- New URL path: The destination you want them to reach (e.g. /new-product-name/).
- Type: Select 301 – Permanent.
Be sure to omit the domain name when entering these paths – use only the slug (e.g. /category-name/old-product/).
Save the Redirect
Click Save to activate the redirect. BigCommerce will now reroute traffic from the old URL to the new one.
Here are Some Best Practices to Preserve SEO Value
While setting up a 301 redirect is technically straightforward, following best practices can help you avoid losing organic search traffic.
- Audit URLs Before Making Changes: Before altering any URLs, create a backup list of your existing structure. Use tools like Screaming Frog or Google Search Console to export a list of indexed pages – this helps you ensure that all changes are accounted for in your redirect strategy.
- Redirect One-to-One Wherever Possible: Avoid redirecting multiple URLs to a single page unless it’s absolutely necessary. For example, if you’re consolidating two similar products, it’s better to redirect each to its closest equivalent or a detailed explanation page rather than the homepage.
- Keep Internal Links Updated: While 301 redirects handle external traffic and search bots, it’s still important to update your internal links to reflect the new URL structure. This ensures a smoother crawl experience and faster indexation by search engines.
- Avoid Redirect Chains: A redirect chain occurs when a redirected URL points to another redirected URL, and so on. This can dilute link equity and slow down page load times. The key here is to always point your redirects directly to the final destination page.
- Monitor Performance Post-Redirect: After implementing 301s, keep an eye on traffic, rankings, and crawl errors via tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics. Look for any unexpected drops or errors and address them promptly.
When to Use a 301 Redirect vs a 302
BigCommerce also supports 302 redirects, which indicate a temporary move – however, if you’re making a permanent change, always use a 301 redirect. Search engines treat 302s differently and may not transfer SEO value.
Here are Some Common Redirect Mistakes to Avoid
Even with a user-friendly platform like BigCommerce, a few missteps can impact your site’s SEO health:
- Forgetting to set a redirect after deleting a product or category
- Using 302 redirects for permanent moves
- Redirecting to irrelevant pages (e.g. old blog posts pointing to the homepage)
- Failing to update sitemap files with the new URLs
- Allowing expired pages to return 404 errors without a redirect
By avoiding these issues, you’ll protect your rankings and ensure a seamless user journey.
Advanced Tip – Bulk Import Redirects
If you’re migrating from another platform or changing a large number of URLs, BigCommerce allows bulk imports of redirects via CSV.
How to do it:
- Go to Storefront > URL Redirects.
- Click Import.
- Upload a properly formatted CSV file with two columns: Old URL and New URL.
- Choose 301 as the redirect type.
This is a massive time-saver for larger ecommerce stores or SEO professionals managing multiple changes at once.
301 redirects may seem like a small technical detail, but they can make or break your BigCommerce store’s SEO performance
By implementing them correctly, you retain the trust of both search engines and customers – keeping your rankings intact and your revenue steady. Need help managing your BigCommerce SEO strategy? Reach out to the experts and ensure every redirect works in your favour.