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301 redirects is a web server process to move a URL from one web site to another. With a 301 redirect, the new URL is created based on the content of the old one and it is not necessary that both URLs will be accessible at the same time. A URL rewrite is a server process where you replace all or part of an old URL with new one. This allows you to create two different URLs pointing to the same content and it also means that both URLs are accessible at the same time. Here’s how to tell them apart for your website.
What are the pros and cons of using URL rewrite or 301 redirects?
URL rewrite is a technique that allows you to change the URL of an existing website. When someone clicks on a link in your content, your site will redirect them to another page.
In theory, this should improve SEO rankings. However, there are some downsides to using it:
The URL rewrite might not be accessible if certain search engines aren’t indexing your new domain. This means that people won’t be able to find links from your site that are pointing to your old domain.
You may have duplicate content issues with other sites on the same network. This means that you could be sharing the exact same content on different pages of your own site and others because of the way URLs are constructed. This can be problematic for SEO if it’s not corrected by Google or other search engines.
The problem with 301 redirects is that they don’t always work as intended (i.e., they’re not completely transparent). With a 301 redirect, when someone searches for your old domain name, they will get redirected to another page instead of the one they expected (which is often what happens when people use 301 redirects incorrectly).
How do I decide which one to use?
In the past, many companies have chosen to use one of two methods to redirect visitors of their websites. There’s a lot of debate around these methods, but there’s no question that they’re effective.
The first method is URL rewrite. This allows your website to be located at an alternate URL (e.g., https://www.example.com), which is more likely to be search-engine friendly than the original site (e.g., https://www.example.com).
But it’s also a potential security risk for your website, as there could be malware in sites that are hosted on this alternate URL address. The alternative option is 301 redirects, which specifies the new location for your website and can help protect against malware or other security issues on your site by using a different domain name for your website instead of the original site URL (e.g., example1http://www.example1website).
Keep in mind that both these methods must be used correctly so that no harm comes to other people who visit your site and don’t go through the proper process with you first when they go online and navigate to https://www.example1website/ .
Which one should I use for my website?
Have you ever seen a site that has amazing content and a professional website design, but your URL is so clunky that it takes forever to load? Or are you seeing 404 errors in your CMS? URL rewriting or 301 redirects can be an effective way to improve the speed of your current website.
If you’re using a standard URL like “www.yourdomain.com” and want to change the URL to “http://www.anotherdomain.com”, how long will it take for the browser to load? Well, using HTTPS means that it could take up to 7 seconds before pages start loading over HTTP and no longer have SSL encryption. This can be disastrous for site visitors who have slow internet connections and don’t get enough bandwidth for their bandwidth caps!
Using 301 redirects gives you the ability to use URLs that are more optimized for mobile devices (i.e., http://mobile-url). HTTP is also king on mobile devices, which makes them incredibly popular with brand owners as well; they give your audience something faster than what’s offered by HTTPS, even if they don’t support HTTPS yet.
What are some of the other uses for URL Rewrites and 301 Redirects?
URL Rewrites and 301 Redirects are two types of redirects you can use to help your website’s SEO.
When a browser sees a URL that it hasn’t visited before, it usually goes to the site that has that URL. This is called a “redirect.”
By using these redirects, your site gets to show people the most relevant results for their search queries. They do this by rewriting previous URLs into new ones.
Redirecting an existing URL gives you the opportunity to change its meaning so that they take users directly to your quality content instead of returning them to some other page or result on another site.
In addition, with these redirects you get access to more visitors and potential customers because they won’t be confused by this link between your website and another page.
Last Updated on January 4, 2022
Aires Loutsaris is a content marketing specialist working with some of the world’s biggest VC funded startups and eCommerce companies. He has 15 years of experience in organic search optimisation and content writing with over 2500 students enrolled in his Udemy SEO course. An ex-head of two award-winning agencies, he has lectured at the University of the Arts, London College of Fashion on content marketing and has consulted for all three of the Universities he studied at: The Open University, The University of Hull and Kings College University of London. Feel free to connect with Aires on LinkedIn or Facebook.