Permalinks

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Understanding and Setting Up Permalinks

Permalinks are the permanent URLs to your website pages and posts. Setting them up correctly is essential for your PremiumPress theme to work properly, improve SEO, and create user-friendly links.

Reading time: 6 minutes

⚠️ IMPORTANT: This must be configured immediately after theme installation. Incorrect permalink settings will cause your site to display 404 errors and broken links.

Why Are Permalinks Important?

For PremiumPress Themes

Your PremiumPress theme requires proper permalinks to function. Without the correct settings:

  • Listing pages will show 404 errors
  • User profiles won't load
  • Search functionality will break
  • Category pages won't display
  • Custom post types won't be accessible

For SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

  • Better rankings: Search engines prefer clean, descriptive URLs
  • Keyword visibility: URLs containing keywords rank better
  • Click-through rates: Users are more likely to click readable URLs
  • Social sharing: Clean URLs look more professional when shared

For User Experience

  • Readable: Users can understand what the page is about from the URL
  • Memorable: Easier to remember and type manually
  • Trustworthy: Clean URLs appear more legitimate
  • Shareable: Easy to copy, paste, and share

Setting Up Permalinks (Required)

⚠️ THIS IS A REQUIRED STEP - You must do this immediately after installing your PremiumPress theme.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Log into your WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Go to Settings > Permalinks in the left sidebar
  3. Select Post name option (this is required for PremiumPress themes)
  4. Scroll down and click Save Changes
  5. You should see a confirmation message: "Permalink structure updated"

Visual Guide

When you open the Permalinks page, you'll see several radio button options. The correct setting for PremiumPress is:

○ Plain
○ Day and name
○ Month and name
○ Numeric
● Post name         <-- Select this one
○ Custom Structure

Why "Post Name" Structure?

  • Required for PremiumPress theme functionality
  • Creates clean URLs like: yoursite.com/listing-title/
  • Best for SEO and user experience
  • Compatible with all PremiumPress features
  • Works with custom post types (listings, profiles, etc.)

Pro Tip: Even if you've already selected "Post name," click "Save Changes" again. This regenerates the .htaccess file and ensures everything works properly.

Creating a Custom Structure

While we recommend "Post name" for PremiumPress themes, you can create custom permalink structures if needed.

Available Tags

Tag Description Example
%year% 4-digit year 2025
%monthnum% 2-digit month 12
%day% 2-digit day 17
%hour% 2-digit hour 14
%minute% 2-digit minute 30
%second% 2-digit second 45
%post_id% Unique post ID 123
%postname% Post slug sample-post
%category% Category slug real-estate
%author% Author name john-smith

Custom Structure Examples

Include Category:

/%category%/%postname%/

Result: yoursite.com/real-estate/luxury-apartment/

Include Post ID:

/%post_id%/%postname%/

Result: yoursite.com/123/luxury-apartment/

Blog-Style with Date:

/blog/%year%/%monthnum%/%postname%/

Result: yoursite.com/blog/2025/12/luxury-apartment/

⚠️ Warning: Custom structures can conflict with PremiumPress features. Only use them if you have a specific need and understand the implications.

Troubleshooting Permalink Issues

Problem: 404 Error on All Pages

Symptoms:

  • Homepage works but all other pages show "404 Not Found"
  • Links work in admin but not on the front end

Solution:

  1. Go to Settings > Permalinks
  2. Click Save Changes (even if nothing changed)
  3. This regenerates the .htaccess file
  4. Clear your browser cache and test

Problem: Listings or Custom Posts Not Working

Symptoms:

  • Regular pages work but listings show 404
  • Custom post types aren't accessible

Solution:

  1. Ensure "Post name" is selected
  2. Go to PremiumPress > Settings
  3. Click Save Settings
  4. Go back to Settings > Permalinks
  5. Click Save Changes
  6. Flush permalinks are now regenerated

Problem: .htaccess File Not Updating

Symptoms:

  • Saving permalinks doesn't fix 404 errors
  • Warning message about .htaccess

Solution:

  1. Check file permissions on your site's root folder
  2. Set .htaccess to 644 or 666 temporarily
  3. Go to Settings > Permalinks and save
  4. Set .htaccess back to 644
  5. Or manually update .htaccess with the code provided by WordPress

Problem: Permalink Changes Broke Existing Links

Symptoms:

  • Old URLs no longer work
  • Search engine rankings dropped
  • Bookmarks are broken

Solution:

  1. Install a redirect plugin like "Redirection" or "Simple 301 Redirects"
  2. Create 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones
  3. Update Google Search Console with new sitemap
  4. Update any external links pointing to your site

Problem: URLs Have Double Slashes or Extra Characters

Symptoms:

  • URLs look like: yoursite.com//post-name/
  • Extra characters in URLs

Solution:

  1. Check for conflicting plugins (deactivate one by one)
  2. Review custom permalink structure for errors
  3. Reset to "Post name" structure
  4. Clear all caches (browser, WordPress, server)

Permalink Best Practices

Do's

  • Set up permalinks immediately after theme installation
  • Use "Post name" structure for PremiumPress themes
  • Keep URLs short and descriptive (3-5 words ideal)
  • Use hyphens to separate words, not underscores
  • Use lowercase letters only
  • Include keywords that describe the content
  • Remove stop words (a, the, and, or, etc.) from slugs
  • Test after changes to ensure everything works

Don'ts

  • Don't use Plain permalink structure
  • Don't change permalinks on an established site without redirects
  • Don't use special characters or spaces in URLs
  • Don't use date-based structures unless you run a news site
  • Don't include file extensions (.html, .php) in permalinks
  • Don't use numbers in custom slugs unless necessary
  • Don't create duplicate permalinks

SEO-Friendly Permalink Examples

Good:

yoursite.com/luxury-apartment-downtown/
yoursite.com/how-to-install-wordpress/
yoursite.com/best-seo-practices/

Bad:

yoursite.com/this-is-a-really-long-url-with-too-many-words/
yoursite.com/page123/
yoursite.com/untitled-post-47/
yoursite.com/2025/12/17/14/30/45/post/

What to Do After Changing Permalinks

If This is a New Site

  1. Test all pages and links to ensure they work
  2. Check that listings, profiles, and custom pages load properly
  3. Test search functionality
  4. Verify category and tag archives work
  5. Continue building your site

If This is an Existing Site with Traffic

  1. Set up 301 redirects immediately
    • Install "Redirection" plugin
    • Redirect old URLs to new ones
    • Monitor 404 errors
  2. Update internal links
    • Use "Better Search Replace" plugin
    • Replace old URLs in post content
    • Update menu links
  3. Update search engines
    • Submit new sitemap to Google Search Console
    • Request re-indexing of changed pages
    • Update Bing Webmaster Tools
  4. Update external sources
    • Update links on social media profiles
    • Update email signatures
    • Contact partners about URL changes
  5. Monitor for issues
    • Check analytics for 404 errors
    • Monitor search rankings
    • Fix any broken links quickly

⚠️ Important: Changing permalinks on an established site can temporarily hurt your SEO rankings. Only do this if absolutely necessary, and follow all the steps above to minimize impact.

Technical Information

How Permalinks Work

WordPress uses the .htaccess file (on Apache servers) or server configuration (on Nginx) to rewrite URLs. When you save permalinks:

  1. WordPress generates rewrite rules
  2. These rules are written to .htaccess
  3. The web server uses these rules to route requests
  4. WordPress interprets the URL and displays the correct content

Server Requirements

  • Apache: mod_rewrite module must be enabled
  • Nginx: Custom configuration required in nginx.conf
  • IIS: URL Rewrite module must be installed

Sample .htaccess Code

For "Post name" structure, WordPress generates:

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I change permalinks after my site is live?

A: Yes, but it's not recommended. If you must, set up proper 301 redirects to avoid losing SEO rankings and breaking external links.

Q: Will changing permalinks affect my existing posts?

A: Yes. All post URLs will change according to the new structure. This is why redirects are crucial if your site has existing traffic.

Q: Do I need to set up permalinks for each new post?

A: No. Once you set the permalink structure, it automatically applies to all new content. You can customize individual post slugs in the post editor.

Q: What happens if I don't set up permalinks?

A: Your PremiumPress theme won't function properly. You'll experience 404 errors, broken features, and poor SEO.

Q: Can I use a different structure than "Post name"?

A: While technically possible, we strongly recommend "Post name" for PremiumPress themes. Other structures may cause compatibility issues.

Q: Why do I see a "404 Not Found" error after changing permalinks?

A: Usually because .htaccess wasn't updated. Go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes again.

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