Page Redirects in Joomla 1.6

Submited by dacnk

A new handy component and feature of Joomla 1.6 is the ability to easily do page redirects. This really comes in handy when there are 404 errors on your website and you need to redirect the traffic to the correct addresses.

The new redirect module will record any broken links or incorrect URL’s typed in from a user, making it extremely easy for you to create an alternate working link (and thus keeping your website reader at your website, and not at an error page).

Enabling the Plugin

First let’s ensure that you have the Redirect plugin activated.

Select Extensions from the top menu, and then click Plug-in Manager.

On the next screen you will see a list of plugins installed on the site. Some will be activated, and some may not.

Type the word Redirect in the filter (1), and click Search.

Once you have found the System-Redirect plugin, make sure it is activated by toggling the cross symbol (2).

Creating a Redirect

Now we know the Redirect plug in activated and working, let’s start using it.

Click Components in the top menu, and then Redirect from the drop down menu that appears.

The following screen will list any URL’s that your viewers have entered that have resulted in either a broken link, or an error. With this plugin, we can now ensure that these broken links are redirected back to your website.

Click the toggle box next to one of the entries (1), and type in a new destination URL in the field below (2).

Expire URL: refers to the URL that is broken or the old URL that is no longer used
Destination URL: refers to the new URL and location that the old URL will now point to.

Be sure to click the Enable button situated towards the top right when you have finished.

Now that you have created the new redirect, test the redirect by entering in the expired URL into your address bar. You should now be redirected to the newly updated URL link.

Other Usages of the Joomla 1.6 Redirect Component

Other usages that have been talk about is creating short URLs for your website. Sometimes there may be multiple nested directories created very long URL strings. In these situations a shortened URL can be created in the redirect component pointing to the longer URL. This works great for marketing material, or social network marketing where shorter URLs are favourable.

How Do You Get a Log of 404 Errors

There are third party components and website tools that allow for the tracking of 404 errors that may occur on your website. These tools will enable you to effectively monitor your web traffic and make sure that it is getting to the right place.