Your website\u2019s post and page URLs can be an important part of your overall strategy. They can affect the way you share content, and your site\u2019s Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Often, this involves customizing them to better suit your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, WordPress \u2018slugs\u2019 are much more helpful than your garden-variety pest. While editing this part of the URL for a WordPress post or page is pretty simple, there are<\/em> a number of elements to consider along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this article, we\u2019ll take a deep dive into WordPress slugs. We\u2019ll cover what they are, why they\u2019re important, and where to find them. Then we\u2019ll discuss how to set up and optimize them. Grab your garden gloves and let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n A WordPress slug is the part of a post or page\u2019s permalink<\/a> that comes after the domain name. For example, in the WordPress URL “https:\/\/mysite.com\/first-blog-post”, the slug is “first-blog-post”. This element is usually automatically generated, and describes the page’s content or reflects its post title:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your content’s default slug can be found under the Permalink <\/em>menu that appears on every blog post and page. There are several other places slugs can be located on your WordPress site, however, and we’ll look at those next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A permalink provides a direct, permanent link to a section of your site. In the example above, \u201chttps:\/\/mysite.com\/first-blog-post\u201d is a permalink that leads to a singular page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The slug, as mentioned, is \u201cfirst-blog-post.\u201d Slugs are the shorter end portion of a permalink, designed to communicate the page content to users and search engines. In short, all slugs are part of a permalink, but not all permalinks will have a slug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of the public pages on your website have slugs. For example, you can find and edit slugs when creating the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll discuss how to edit different kinds of slugs in a moment. Overall, however, it\u2019s important to keep in mind that any slug editing that takes place after <\/em>you have published the relevant piece of content will need special attention, in order to avoid broken links and other errors<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slugs are a key part of your website\u2019s permalink structure<\/a>. For this reason, when it comes to SEO, slugs are extremely important. What’s more, being able to change them manually can be a useful tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes slugs that are auto-generated are very long and not as relevant as your hand-picked keywords might be. Therefore, we suggest optimizing your slugs before you publish each page or post. Custom slugs can boost your SEO rankings<\/a>, and let your readers know what to expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within WordPress, setting category slugs is pretty straightforward. This doesn\u2019t require a plugin, and can be accomplished in just a few simple steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From your WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to the Posts<\/em> menu. There you\u2019ll find a Categories<\/em> option:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you open the categories settings page, you\u2019ll notice that it\u2019s set up very similarly to the posts settings page. From here, you can change a category\u2019s slug without opening its individual page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the Quick Edit<\/em> menu, you can easily change the short slug for a specific category. Remember that your chosen slug should be made up of lowercase words or phrases. If you use more than one word, you\u2019ll need to put a hyphen between each one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to change or add a category description, you will need to open the category by clicking on it. Then, you\u2019ll see its expanded options and settings, which you can modify as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you complete your changes, make sure to save your edits by clicking on the Update<\/em> button. This applies to both the Quick Edit<\/em> option and the full category settings page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, keep in mind that if you change an existing category\u2019s slug or merge two categories into one, you will need to do a little housekeeping. If you are using category URLs in a menu or somewhere else on your site, you\u2019ll want to create a redirect<\/a> so that bookmarks and search engines will still be able to find the content at its new location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There may be times when you want to customize the way a site user\u2019s name shows up in page URLs. To do this, you can customize the author slug just as you can with a blog post or category. Setting up an author slug is slightly more complicated, however, so let\u2019s look at how the process works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To customize your author slugs, you\u2019ll need to download and install<\/a> a plugin. The easiest way to do this is from your Plugins<\/em> page in WordPress:<\/p>\n\n\n\n After selecting Add New<\/em>, you can do a quick search for \u2018author slug\u2019. You should find the Edit Author Slug<\/a> plugin, which you can install and activate on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you activate the plugin, you can navigate to your Users<\/em> menu. From there, you can select any user and view their individual settings. At the bottom of this page, you\u2019ll now find additional settings for the author-specific slug:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll be given a number of preset slugs to choose from, and also the option to create a custom author slug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You also have the choice to have all users appear under one slug, or you can create custom slugs for particular users. Whatever you choose for each user is what will appear in the URL for their author archives page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, if you have many outside users who contribute to your site but you want to present a uniform brand, you can create a single author slug to represent all contributing writers. Alternately, you can give each writer their own unique URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WordPress creates a slug for you every time you make a new post, but it may not always be the best <\/em>slug. Thankfully, when you want to change a slug, WordPress makes it easy\u2014no plugins required. Here\u2019s how to edit the slug of an existing post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you start altering slugs, you should change your permalink structure from the default \u201cDay and name\u201d setting. To do this, go to Settings > Permalink<\/em>, and choose \u201cPost name\u201d (the best option for SEO purposes). Ideally, you\u2019ll complete this step before publishing your site, as slugs made under an old structure do not update automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To find the post slug you\u2019ll be changing, navigate to Post > All Posts <\/em>on your WordPress dashboard. Hover over the desired post, and click on the Quick Edit<\/em> option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the window that follows, you\u2019ll see a variety of fields you can edit. Enter your new slug into the Slug <\/em>field using only lowercase letters and hyphens instead of spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click Update <\/em>in the bottom right corner, and your changes will be saved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When changing a slug after your site has been published, it\u2019s vital to ensure that the old slug redirects to the new one. Otherwise, you\u2019ll end up with broken links. A redirect plugin like Redirection<\/a> can help you avoid errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After setting up your redirect plugin, paste the old slug into a new tab to confirm it redirects properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slug optimization is a vital part of any SEO strategy. In fact, URL length, structure, and word choice all have an impact on your site\u2019s Google rankings<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a few key elements to keep in mind while optimizing your WordPress URL slugs, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slugs are just one element in your overall URL structure. While they are part of the permalink family, it\u2019s important to understand them as an individual component as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might not want slugs in your garden, but when it comes to your WordPress site about<\/em> gardening, that\u2019s another story. Keeping tabs on your slug strategy and optimizing your URLs by editing your slugs before publishing can have a positive effect on your site\u2019s rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here at WP Engine, we want you to have the best resources<\/a> for your WordPress website. That\u2019s why we offer more than just hosting. Our exceptional WordPress hosting<\/a> and plans<\/a> can help you create a site your customers won\u2019t forget!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Your website\u2019s post and page URLs can be an important part of your overall strategy. They can affect the way you share content, and your site\u2019s Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Often, this involves customizing them to better suit your brand. Fortunately, WordPress \u2018slugs\u2019 are much more helpful than your garden-variety pest. While editing this part…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":297,"featured_media":125114,"template":"","resource-topic":[904,910,901],"resource-role":[895,896,903],"resource-type":[916],"class_list":["post-91323","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is a Slug? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
WordPress Slug vs. Permalink: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Where Slugs Are Found<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Why Are Slugs Important? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Set Category Slugs in WordPress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Navigate to Your Post Categories Menu<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Edit Your Category Slugs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Save Your Changes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to Set Author Slugs in WordPress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Download and Install a Dedicated Plugin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Edit Your Author Slug Settings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Alter Your Slugs as Needed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to Change a Slug in WordPress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Change Permalink Structure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Locate Your Post<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Update Slug Name<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Test for Errors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Optimizing Slugs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Keep Your Site Optimized With WP Engine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n