What is a Permalink in WordPress?

When you’re building a website on WordPress, you’ll often hear the term “permalink.” But what exactly does it mean?

Simply put, a permalink is the URL structure that directs visitors to specific posts, pages, or content on your site. Think of it as the address for your content.

A well-structured permalink makes your site more user-friendly, improves search engine rankings, and helps with better navigation.

In this post, we’ll dive into what permalinks are, how to set them up, and why getting them right is crucial for both visitors and SEO.

Types of Permalinks

Permalinks can be used in various formats for sharing on social media, linking in blogs, improving Google rankings, or sending via email. Some of them are:

1. Plain permalink: (yourwebsite.com/?p=123)

This type of permalink is made up of your Post ID and is a default setting. The format is not SEO-friendly and often looks unprofessional.

2. Day and Name: (yourwebsite.com/2025/01/28/sample-post/)

This permalink type includes the date and post title, useful for blogs or new websites with a fairly high volume of daily posts. This permalink structure helps organise content chronologically, although it makes the links too lengthy.

3. Month and Name: (yourwebsite.com/2025/01/samplepost/)

This sort of permalink works for monthly updates as it is slightly shorter than Day and Name and includes the month and post title.

4.  Numeric: (yourwebsite.com/archives/123)

Uses a unique ID that is unrelated to what the website content is, therefore not very user-friendly or SEO optimised.

5. Post Name: (yourwebsite.com/sample-post/)

This is the preferred structure for most websites as it is related to content and is easy for users and search engines to understand.

6. Custom Structure: (/topics/%postname%/)

This structure allows you to create a custom URL structure using available tags. This type of permalink provides more flexibility and will enable you to customise links according to your content strategy and branding.

Importance of Permalinks

Designing your permalinks can be beneficial in many ways and can help you reach higher search engine rankings. Here are a few pointers that highlight the need to understand permalinks for maximum optimisation:

• SEO: Any search engine clearly prefers URLs that are well-structured and describe the content of the page. Using keywords in your URL also pushes your SEO and helps your website land on search results.
• User Experience: Easy-to-read URLs help all users understand what your website content is about. Clear permalinks add to the easy navigation on the internet, eventually promoting more click-through and engagement.
• Linking: Stable permalinks ensure that all links, whether internal or external, remain functional over time. They help prevent broken links, which can negatively impact user experience and disturb SEO.

Setting Up Permalinks in WordPress

If you’re looking forward to customising your permalinks or changing them, WordPress has an easy interface that makes the process very simple.

Follow these steps to set up your permalink:

Step 1:  Log into Your WordPress Dashboard

Go to your WordPress website’s admin area and log in with your personal details.

Step 2: Open Permalink Settings

In the dashboard menu, look for Settings > Permalinks.

Step 3: Choose a Permalink Structure

Select the permalink structure that fits your website’s content and functionality best. The “Post Name” option is often advised for its simplicity and SEO benefits.

Step 4:  Save Changes

Whenever you’ve decided on the permalink structure, hit the ‘Save Changes’ option to make sure your customised settings are updated in the interface.

How to Customise Permalinks

Customising permalinks can help businesses and creative professionals design them according to their branding and content strategy. Here is a quick example of how to customise permalinks in WordPress:

Step 1: Access Custom Structure

Go to Permalinks settings and select the ‘Custom Structure’ option.

Step 2: Create Your URL Structure: (/category/%postname%/)

Use tags that are available to design a custom URL structure.

For example, /category/%postname%/ can include the post’s category in the URL. Available tags include %year%, %monthnum%, %day%, %postname%, and more, which you can combine to make your own structure.

Step 3: Apply and Save

Once you’re happy with your customised structure, click ‘Save Changes’.

Wrapping Up

Spending some time on understanding how you can use permalinks to ensure website growth, can be rewarding. If you plan major online marketing tactics like rebranding or introducing a new product, you must use effective permalinks to ensure visible growth.

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