Encountering 404 errors can be super frustrating for your website visitors. But don‘t worry – with the right free WordPress redirect plugin, you can seamlessly guide users to relevant content and fix those dead links.
As an experienced webmaster, I‘ve tested my fair share of 404 tools. In this post, I‘ll share my top picks for the best free WordPress 404 redirect plugins based on 15+ years in the field. I‘ll go over their key features, pros and cons, and examples so you can choose the right solution for your site.
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Why Do 404 Errors Happen on WordPress Sites?
Before jumping into the plugins, let‘s look at what causes 404 errors on WordPress sites. Knowing what triggers those pesky "page not found" messages can help you prevent and address them.
Some common reasons you‘ll see 404 errors include:
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Broken links – Both internal links in your content or external links can break when pages get moved or deleted. This happened for 46% of 404s in a recent Moz study.
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Outdated permalinks – If you change your site‘s permalink structure, any old links using the previous URL format will start showing 404s.
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Missing images or files – Uploading then deleting images or other media files also creates dead links that 404.
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Deleted or moved content – Posts, pages or custom post types that get removed or relocated on your site will trigger 404s for the old URLs.
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Typos in the URL – Simple human error can lead visitors to error pages if they mistype a URL.
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Migration issues – Moving a WordPress site to a new domain or server often causes widespread 404s if redirects weren‘t set up properly.
The good news is there are steps you can take to minimize and handle 404 errors…
Benefits of 404 Redirect Plugins
Implementing redirects for your 404 traffic provides some great benefits:
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Improves user experience – Redirect plugins seamlessly send visitors to relevant content instead of frustrating error pages.
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Saves potential leads and sales – Many网站或文章可能会消失或移动。 如果未正确设置重定向,从旧域迁移WordPress站点也可能会导致大量404错误。
好消息是,您可以采取措施来最大限度地减少和处理404错误……
404重定向插件的优势
为404流量实现重定向可以带来一些很大的好处:
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改善用户体验 – 重定向插件可以平稳地将访问者发送到相关内容,而不是令人沮丧的错误页面。
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挽救潜在线索和销售 – 如果没有重定向,许多访问者会在遇到404错误后离开您的站点。 重定向允许您保留他们的业务。
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保留SEO权威 – 使用301永久重定向将旧URL重定向到新的位置,可以保留来自过时链接的链接权威。
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识别和修复断开的链接 – 许多重定向插件会记录404错误,以帮助您识别并修复站点上的任何问题链接。
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允许自定义404设计 – 您可以创建品牌化的404页面,添加小工具、表单等来收集访问者信息。
根据BuiltWith的统计数据,使用WordPress的前100000个网站中有超过30%使用了某种重定向插件。这清楚地表明它们的重要性。
现在,让我们来看看我选择的7个最佳免费WordPress 404重定向插件……
7个最佳免费WordPress 404重定向插件
根据功能、性能和易用性,这些都是我的顶级选择:
1. Redirection
Redirection是一个流行的开源WordPress重定向插件,拥有超过100万次下载。
特征:
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直接在WordPress管理中创建和管理重定向。
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支持301永久重定向以及302、307、410和451临时重定向状态代码。
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基于URL的正则表达式匹配用于高级重定向逻辑。
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记录自安装插件以来检测到的所有404错误。
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重定向管理器功能可进行快速批量迁移。
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支持REST API管理重定向。
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基于角色的访问权限允许编辑人员管理重定向。
Redirection高度可定制,但界面仍对初学者友好。它是简单和复杂重定向需求的首选。
例如:
Source URL: /old-blog-post/(.*)
Target URL: /new-blog-post/$1
Redirect Type: 301 Permanent
Regex: Checked这会永久地将/old-blog-post/中的任何内容重定向到/new-blog-post/ URL。
2. Safe Redirect Manager
Safe Redirect Manager是一个轻量级插件,用于创建重定向,同时保护您的站点免受恶意活动的侵害。
特征:
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简单的界面用于添加和管理重定向。
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重定向类型包括301、302、307、410、451。
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支持开发人员使用正则表达式匹配URL模式。
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限制250个重定向以防止大量重定向列表被利用。
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遵循WordPress编码标准以实现安全性。
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可以通过钩子和过滤器进行自定义。
虽然简单,但Safe Redirect Manager快速、安全,能满足基本的重定向需求。
3. 404 Redirect to Homepage
这个恰如其名的插件就是它所做的 – 将所有404错误重定向到您的主页。
特征:
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非常简单 – 只需安装和激活。
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自动将所有404错误发送到您的主页。
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使用301永久重定向。
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允许您在主页和博客索引页面之间进行选择。
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无缝重定向,没有可见的404错误页面。
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适用于自定义帖子类型存档未找到的情况。
although limited in features, it‘s perfect for anyone that just wants a simple catch-all redirect from 404s to home or blog.
4. 404 to 301
Similar to the previous plugin, 404 to 301 provides a quick way to redirect errors to your home page or a custom URL.
Features:
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Lightweight with minimal settings.
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Choose home page, blog index, or custom URL to redirect to.
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301 permanent redirect status code.
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Easy set-and-forget configuration.
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No access to log 404s, just automatic redirect.
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Works with custom post types archives.
This is great for anyone needing a simple 301 redirect solution from 404 to one target URL.
5. Redirections by Yoast
Redirections by Yoast is a robust redirect manager plugin from the creators of the popular Yoast SEO plugin.
Features:
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Create and manage redirects from WordPress admin.
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Logs 404 errors to identify and fix broken links.
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Import/export redirects in .csv format for easy migration.
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Supports regex and custom redirect destination URLs.
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Role-based access to allow editors to manage redirects.
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Syncs with Yoast SEO plugin if installed.
The premium version adds advanced features like redirect monitoring and mapping migrated URLs. But the free version provides powerful redirection capabilities for your WordPress site.
6. Simple 301 Redirects
As the name suggests, Simple 301 Redirects makes it easy to set up simple redirects for your WordPress site.
Features:
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Straightforward interface for adding 301 redirects.
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Redirect to posts, pages, categories, tags or custom URLs.
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No logging of 404 errors.
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Allows importing redirects in CSV format.
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Provides stats on redirect usage.
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No advanced options, just basic 301 redirection.
While simple, it gets the job done for basic redirect needs. Theminimal interface makes it ideal for beginners.
7. 404 Redirected
404 Redirected enables you to redirect 404 traffic to a specific page or custom URL.
Features:
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Lightweight plugin with minimal settings.
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Options to redirect to home, blog index, or custom URL.
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Uses 301 permanent redirect code.
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Works out of the box, no configuration needed.
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Redirects all 404s from content or media.
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Requires no coding knowledge to use.
This straightforward plugin provides an effective catch-all redirect from 404s to any page you choose.
How to Choose the Best 404 Redirect Plugin
With several great free options, which 404 redirect plugin is best for your WordPress site comes down to your specific needs and technical abilities.
Here are a few factors to help determine the best match:
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Number of redirects needed – If you only need a few redirects, a simple plugin like 404 to 301 may suffice. For large-scale redirection, Redirection or Yoast Redirections offer robust management.
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Type of redirects – Do you just need 301 permanent redirects? Or other status codes like 302 or 307? Not all plugins support multiple redirect types.
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Redirect monitoring – Plugins like Redirections and Yoast Redirections log 404s to help you identify and fix broken links.
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Advanced redirection logic – For complex redirects based on regex patterns, Redirection is a top choice.
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Ability to import redirects – If migrating redirects from another system, Simple 301 Redirects makes imports easy.
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Custom 404 page – SeedProd and Error 404 Feedback allow creating a customized 404 design.
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Ease of use – For non-technical users, choose simple plugins like 404 Redirect to Homepage or 404 Redirected.
Take a close look at your specific needs, technical abilities, and size of site to select the best 404 redirect plugin. Test a couple out to see which one provides the best user experience.
Improve Your User Experience with 404 Redirects
Redirecting 404 traffic creates a smoother user journey by guiding visitors to relevant content when URLs break or go missing.
With the right plugin, you can:
- Reduce bounce rates from 404 errors.
- Retain more potential business from site visitors.
- Identify and fix broken links damaging SEO.
- Customize your 404 page with lead gen forms.
- Easily manage redirects during site migrations.
I hope this guide provided some options to consider for your own WordPress site. Just be sure to back up your site before installing new plugins. Then test properly before sending all site traffic through them.
With the right 404 redirect plugin in place, you can provide a seamless experience when things go wrong. Your users will thank you!
*Stats sourced from: BuiltWith, Moz
