Setting up redirects helps manage site changes efficiently by directing old URLs to new ones, maintaining SEO ranking, and ensuring a seamless user experience. Redirects also preserve backlinks, preventing broken links, and guiding visitors to relevant content.
With xCloud, you can set up redirection for your website and forward traffic from one URL to another URL. This prevents traffic loss and site downtime if you move your business to a new website or particular page to a new permalink/slug. Follow this step-by-step guide below to learn how to set up redirection in xCloud.
Set Up Redirection In xCloud #
xCloud offers two redirect types: 301 and 302. A 301 redirect is permanent, informing search engines to update their indexes, but a 302 redirect is temporary, suggesting that content may return to its original URL later.
Step 1: Access Your Site In xCloud #
Log in to xCloud and click on your site, where you want to set up redirection, from the โSitesโ tab.
![Set Up Redirection](https://xcloud.host/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/screely-1724232692148.png)
Navigate to the โDomain –> Redirectionโ tab from the left panel.
![Set Up Redirection](https://xcloud.host/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/image-131.png)
Step 2: Set Up Redirection For Your Site #
On the โRedirectionโ tab, you will see your domain name by default. Now, select your Redirect Type (301 or 302), and input โFrom URLโ and โTo URLโ.
Select 301 as โRedirect Typeโ if you want to forward the old URL to a new one. For example, your website has a career page where you want to post jobs. Previously the URL for the career page was (Sample URL: yourownwebsite.com/career). Now, you have changed the career page URL to a new one which is (Sample URL: yourownwebsite.com/jobs).
You want to no longer use the URL with โcareerโ as the slug. But all of the visitors of your website might not know yet that you have changed the career page to a new URL with the slug โjobsโ. If you do not use a 301-type redirect, you might lose some potential traffic to your website.
To use a 301 redirect type, select the Redirect Type as 301, set the From URL as โ/careerโ, and the To URL as โ/jobsโ. Then, hit the โAdd Redirectionโ button. This will redirect the old URL visitors to the new URL.
![Set Up Redirection](https://xcloud.host/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/screely-1724233630712.png)
Also, you can choose to use the โ302 – Temporaryโ redirect type for a temporary use, which you may change later. For example, your business often offers deals and special discounts on particular occasions, such as Black Friday. In that season, you may want to use a temporary 302 redirect, so all of the visitors are automatically redirected to the โBlack Fridayโ deals page when they are attempting to visit the โoffersโ page. After the deal ends, you would want to change the redirection and deactivate the โBlack Fridayโ page.
In that case, choose 302 redirects, set the From URL as โ/offerโ and the To URL as “/blackfridayโ. Once done, hit the โAdd Redirectionโ button.
![Set Up Redirection](https://xcloud.host/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/screely-1724234669993.png)
Your redirects will be added instantly. You can add multiple redirects for a single domain. All of the redirects will be listed as shown below.
![Set Up Redirection](https://xcloud.host/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/screely-1724234221029.png)
If you want to edit or delete a redirect, simply use the โEditโ or โDeleteโ button near to the โActionโ column. If you want to attempt to delete a redirect, you will get a warning message.
![Set Up Redirection](https://xcloud.host/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/screely-1724234330627.png)
However, you can also choose to update your redirects. Once done, hit the โUpdateโ button.
![Set Up Redirection](https://xcloud.host/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/screely-1724234480864.png)
Once you are done with the redirection process, you need to keep in mind that when you are searching with the URL, you can not add the first โ/โ before the URLโs start, rather you have to add it at the end of the URL. Otherwise, the redirection URL will not work.
![Set Up Redirection](https://xcloud.host/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/screely-1716294302015.png)
Redirect Regular Expressions #
A regular expression (regex) in redirection matches multiple URLs and extracts information from the source to copy into the target URL.
You can also add regular expressions for redirection rules in xCloud. Here is an example:
![Set Up Redirection](https://xcloud.host/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Redirectoin--1024x308.png)
From: “^/members/(.*)$”
To: “/$1”
This regex rule redirects URLs like “clickfordiscount.com/members/somepage” to “clickfordiscount.com/somepage” by capturing the portion after “/members/” and appending it to the target URL. In regex, “.” denotes any character, and “*” indicates any number of occurrences of the preceding expression. In the redirection rule, “$1” captures the text matched by “(.*)” in the regex pattern, representing the first captured group to be used in the target URL.
Thatโs how easily you can set up redirection in xCloud.
Still stuck? Contact our support team for any of your queries.