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Is it possible to change a product url? Or even a category url?
For example I have "MyStoreName.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_96" for a product url and I have to say that's ugly.
Is there a way it could be changed to something like "MyStoreName.com/Category" or "MyStoreName.com/SpecificProductName"
I have looked through the admin and new product/category page and don't see anything that affects the page URL.
Thanks Everyone!
If you want to do that, there are two plugins (apply only one) that remain supported to do this: CEON URI Mapping and Ultimate SEO URIs (USU). They can be found on the plugins page...
There is also plenty of discussion of pros and cons of doing this. Remember that what you do to your store is for the purposes of making purchases and from the perspective of your customer...
Can be done quite easily, but unless you use it for print/advertising purposes no one really gives a damn about what a URL looks like.Quote:
Originally Posted by bravo685
Suggest you read this before making any changes.
Cheers
RodG
ps. This is a VERY CONTENTIOUS issue.
Rod,Quote:
Originally Posted by RodG
I could not agree more about the reasoning and yes its sole purpose would be for marketing purposes. I also feel that customers would prefer a simple url for repeat business instead of drilling down through content.
Either way thank you everyone for the help. I'm not sure I will make the change.
Rob
The thing about 'marketing purposes' is that it is very rare for a marketeer to advertise anything more than the domain name - especially in print. For example, my business card simply has the URL of 'vcsweb.com' - I really don't see any benefit or point of advertising it as 'www.vcsweb.com/shop' (for our store) and 'www.vcsweb.com/contact' (for our contact us page).Quote:
Originally Posted by bravo685
The front page of the site has clearly defined links for these, so just providing the domain name is more than enough.
When it comes to online marketing, I'd rather use a promotion along the lines of:
"Subscribe today"
The URL isn't even SEEN by the customers/clients.
As for repeat business customers, I feel that it is more a matter of them bookmarking the page/product that they are interested in - It isn't as though they are going to actually type something like http://www.somestore/category/product_name into their web browser - EVER.
In short, the only time you'll ever need one of these so-called "friendly URL's" is in print media, in which case, the shorter the better, and it just doesn't get any shorter than just the domain name.
Having said that, I now fully expect the "friendly URL's" enthusiasts to pop their heads up with some examples and reasons why they think "friendly URL's" are the best thing since sliced bread. :-)
Cheers
RodG
For three years, we've been running one site WITH Ceon URI mapping, and another site WITHOUT any URI re-writing.Quote:
Originally Posted by RodG
Having "friendly" URL's and NOT having "friendly" URL's had not made a blind bit of difference to sales, Google ranking, customer satisfaction, User Experience, or any other parameter...
Both sites perform (commercially) to our business objectives, and as they sell virtually the same products at roughly the same prices, it's been a good "A/B" testing environment for "friendly" URL's.
In our experience, there has been no difference in using "friendly" URL's or not.
Hello,
We found this Thread interesting and pointing that "friendly URL" do not render to mach value versus generic dynamic URL out of box.
Last message is 3 years old.
Is it true still today in 2018?
We just moved to Responsive Template 1.5.5 and our website www.idtagsonline.com was wiped out totally from the Google search (Oops).
We continue cleanup process and working with site maps.
There are, probably many reasons for the disappearance, but first comes to mind "Friendly URLs".
Please advise.
Can't answer to the A/B comparison of running two sites that have the same content but a difference in URIs, but if you were previously not using "friendly URLs" and did an upgrade following the recommended process posted at: http://www.zen-cart.com/entry.php?3, then the "internet" would still be able to locate your product at the same address as previously found.Quote:
Originally Posted by idtags
If you *were* using a URI Rewriter but now are not, then that would be like reassigning all of your product to some other link oh and while that is not specifically a problem if properly managed, then all of the previous content would not be reachable and therefore the site needs to be "rediscovered".
If in the upgrade the template was set to not support indexing, then the existing links by such search engines would basically be forcibly removed and would be a significant concern going forward.
There remains little proof that the content of the URI adds value within a search engine. It certainly makes it easier for a customer to "remember" a product/link (one reason such URI rewriting is advisable for print or media), but other than those "SEO" experts that hunt down a sale by claiming that they will improve a site by implementing something already in place and then some (not doing their homework), I have not seen any supported claims that such URI rewriting actually helps in the search engine game.
My oldest site runs with a tool similar to those mentioned. I installed it years ago because back then *supposedly* the search engines weren't as comfortable handling dynamic URL's.
None of my newer sites use such a tool because as far as I can tell it didn't help search rankings.
What it did do is add another layer of backend complexity which sometimes breaks and always makes upgrading more difficult. So I would say don't use it.
You also mentioned, "I also feel that customers would prefer a simple url for repeat business instead of drilling down through content." I would think your "repeat business" is always going to hit your site either by going directly to the homepage or by using a bookmark (do people still use a bookmarks?). In either case, the URL text won't matter. I highly doubt even if you made it easy to remember that anyone would.
Thank you for your time and explanation.
Yes, when we moved from old template to responsive template, we moved store from
https://www.your site.com/store/
to
https://www.your site.com/
and added redirect in C-panel from https://www.your site.com/store/ to https://www.your site.com/
So all original content which was in https://www.your site.com/ and was giving us some ranking and visibility is gone by now.
And it resulted in complete loss of ranking (we guess, because we can not find site on first 100 pages of Google).
So we are working on packing back all original content "bla-bla-bla" into EZ pages.
That is hope that formal logic of Google will somewhat restore our position.
Can you please explain where to check about was set to not support indexing?Quote:
Originally Posted by mc12345678
It it Zen Cart Admin Panel or hosting C-Panel?
By the way we tried several times Google Pay per Click and had zero success. They took all money and it was no sale. May be we were too careful. :(
Thank you.
There are many things of great importance when moving a shop such as you did. Firstly, make sure ALL versions are redirected and that the header response is a 301 redirect. So
http://www.domain.com
https://www.domain.com
http://domain.com
https://domain.com
Here is a tool to test https://www.internetmarketingninjas.com/header-checker/
Next it is important to understand that reindexing takes time and as much as Google denies as sandboxing period, it is none the less true. The period of time it takes to see a positive SERP change depends a great deal on the health of the site. I have seen sites with issues such as widespread duplicate content take a year or better to begin to show positive results.
Lastly, and the real bummer of the day is decay. This is a sad fact that through redirect, no matter how long or how healthy the site, some rank will be lost in the changeover.
Best advice is hang tough, create new, unique content every week and share pages (not spamming) on social media. If you have the skills a few easy pages with "link bait" which is content users find useful enough to share will help.
~Melanie
Using suggested tool, test returned "200 OK" for all 4 tests.Quote:
Originally Posted by mprough
"http://idtagsonline.com/ - 200 OK"
Should it be 301?:cool:
Please explain how to check "If in the upgrade the template was set to not support indexing"?
Thank you.
Your canonical redirects are not right www and non both work, whilst one should redirect to the other... there should be only one canonical version. Also, besides your content which is most important, your speed is a little slow only a C 77/100 Google PageSpeed score.
~Melanie
The one thing often forgotten when doing redirects is whether the SSL can is set to cover BOTH www and non-www or just ONE of the two.
I often use https://websiteadvantage.com.au/HtAc...ing-ToolResult to quickly create an .htaccess redirect.
IF your SSL will work for https://idtagsonline.com, you might add this to your .htaccessAfter doing this your test of the header will show a 301 and a 200. If you need to redirect other URLs to the non-www main store, use the generator to add them to the Old to New Page ListCode:# Needed before any rewritingRewriteEngine On
### Built using the .htaccess 301 Redirect Generator from Web Site Advantage
### https://websiteadvantage.com.au/HtAccess-301-Redirect-Generator
### Place after 'RewriteEngine On' and before any CMS specific rewrite rules
# Redirect HTTP with www to HTTPS without www
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.+)$ [NC]
RewriteRule .* https://%1%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
# Redirect HTTP without www to HTTPS without www
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule .* https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
# Redirect HTTPS with www to HTTPS without www
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.+)$ [NC]
RewriteRule .* https://%1%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
## 301 Redirects
comment: Right now, your non-www shows as not secure.
It is puzzling what is manifestation of "both non work"?Quote:
Originally Posted by mprough
Below is C-Panel redirect snap shot page:
Attachment 18099
Options: "Type Permanent (301 )"; "Redirect with or without www." and "Wild Card Redirect " were used
to redirect everything.
I tested IE, Chrome and FireFox (cleaned all cookies before) for:
idtagsonline.com
idtagsonline.com/store/
www.idtagsonline.com/
www.idtagsonline.com/store/
http://idtagsonline.com/
http://idtagsonline.com/store/
and all of them are redirected to https://www.idtagsonline.com/ without any noticeable errors.
Also, in Google Search Console nothing shows as errors.
So, where are errors detected or this is something not tangible?
Thank you.
I am seeing different. You may as well if you clear your cache before entering idtagsonline.com. It will show up as not secure. The redirect occurs only AFTER moving off that page to anywhere else.
It also appears that your SSL is set for www. It's rather outdated to do that. I would see if you can't get the SSL to work on the non-www first and then finish the redirect.
The cpanel image shows that you are only pushing the directory store to the https://www.idtagsonline.com. That, in fact works. However, I would remove it and go with the code I posted. Having it and the code could cause a redirect error.
Thank you,
So, final goal after using https://www.internetmarketingninjas.com/header-checker/ is to recieve respond like this:
Attachment 18100
Thank you for code.
I posted my C-Panel data for redirect above.
Did I do redirect wrong?
Why additional codes are required?
Should I resolve this issue with Hosting Company or everybody are adding this code to .htaccess for 301 to work?
It is probably sounds as silly questions to Pro, but C-Panel claims it handles redirect.
That's the result you want.
You should only do the redirect in one place. Either the .htaccess or the cPanel. You CAN do both, but you have to be VERY careful not to duplicate any redirect. That's why you would need to remove the redirect in cPanel. It would be too difficult to pull the /shop to root redirect out of the .htaccess code.
Again, www versus non-www is important. The code I posted is to make everything https://idtagsonline.com.
Your base href and canonical links are both https://www.idtagsonline.com AND the link activated when you click on the main page image is https://index.php/?main_page=index:dontgetit
Thank you.Quote:
Originally Posted by dbltoe
I will do one thing at a time.
(In earlier post I mentioned that this Zen Cart originally was installed at /store/ so many customers may have this bookmark. This is why this redirect exists.)
I added another line on C-panel:
Attachment 18101
and it created this code:
Attachment 18102
I will wait 24 hours to see if this will take any effect.
If it will not work will try your code.
Thank you very much for enlightening.
Here are the possibilities of URLs to access your site:
http://idtagsonline.com/shop
http://www.idtagsonline.com/shop
http://idtagsonline.com
http://www.idtagsonline.com
https://idtagsonline.com/shop
https://www.idtagsonline.com/shop
https://idtagsonline.com ***
https://www.idtagsonline.com
Entering any of these would be best if it resulted in the https://idtagsonline.com (the one with ***)
Your cPanel code does not cover that. AND, I'm not sure what cPanel is going to do with redirecting a non-existent directory.
Melanie would be the expert on this, but a 301 from a previous (and now deleted) directory could be problematic with the SEs.
It is an understanding that you define https://idtagsonline.com *** as a canonical URL.Quote:
Originally Posted by dbltoe
I made a request for Google Indexing as they may agree with it or not:
Attachment 18103
So, until we will hear from Google no any conclusions may be drawn.
I may change all redirects as a result.
Google result shows as follow:
Attachment 18104
It appears Google-selected canonical is https://www.idtagsonline.com/
So, if this is correct, I will keep redirects as they are now in Cpanel, but will check after 20 hours if information propagated through the system. If it is not achieving needed result (301) then I will delete them in C-Panel and will try your codes.
Though another problem surfaced - what is Google Referring page: http://www.idtagsonline.com/store/
I requested deleting this property 3 weeks ago.
:smile:
Your comment is appreciated.Quote:
Originally Posted by mprough
I took time to read more about Google Search Console and "Duplicate Content" for those sites on the same domain you show above.
But on some point of creating Google (analytics) Search Console account Google asked to identify "main" or "canonical' site.
I choose https://www.domain.com
Attachment 18106
It looks like Google acknowledged "canonical' site.
Why it is necessary to duplicate the effort with 301 Permanent redirect?
I created this code using suggested tool: https://websiteadvantage.com.au/HtAc...ing-ToolResult:Quote:
Originally Posted by dbltoe
It worked well for Redirect and I almost though I am done.PHP Code:# Needed before any rewriting
RewriteEngine On
### Built using the .htaccess 301 Redirect Generator from Web Site Advantage
### https://websiteadvantage.com.au/HtAccess-301-Redirect-Generator
### Place after 'RewriteEngine On' and before any CMS specific rewrite rules
# Redirect HTTP with www to HTTPS with www
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule .* https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
# Redirect HTTP without www to HTTPS with www
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule .* https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
# Redirect HTTPS without www to HTTPS with www
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule .* https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^idtagsonline\.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.idtagsonline\.com$
RewriteRule ^store\/?(.*)$ "https\:\/\/www\.idtagsonline\.com\/$1" [R=301,L]
But this completely blocked login to Zen Cart admin.
There was no errors of any kind, but Login was not possible.
After removing the code, we could login again.
So, this makes it pozeling what to do next?
PHP Code:# Needed before any rewriting
RewriteEngine On
### Built using the .htaccess 301 Redirect Generator from Web Site Advantage
### https://websiteadvantage.com.au/HtAccess-301-Redirect-Generator
### Place after 'RewriteEngine On' and before any CMS specific rewrite rules
# Redirect HTTP with www to HTTPS with www
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule .* https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
# Redirect HTTP without www to HTTPS with www
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule .* https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
# Redirect HTTPS without www to HTTPS with www
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule .* https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^idtagsonline\.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.idtagsonline\.com$
RewriteRule ^store\/?(.*)$ "https\:\/\/www\.idtagsonline\.com\/$1" [R=301,L]
I checked code above on another domain and have the same result.
Redirect is working right, but Zen Cart login to Admin stops working.
There is some kind of conflict.
By removing this code from .htaccess login became normal.
Can anybody see what it can be?
We found more reports of this problem by other users in the past.
By deeping more in the forum threads we found very good and simple solution advised by mprough:
https://www.zen-cart.com/showthread....my-admin/page2
"So to answer the question... If you are rewriting with the redirect you can simply turn of the rewrite engine off in the first line of your Admin folder's .htaccess. ".
Code:
In our case we put this line in the end and it worked too.PHP Code:RewriteEngine off
So, we just added code RewriteEngine off into .htaccess file located in Zen Cart admin folder.
It resolved the problem :smile:
Thank you mprough