How Do I Change Shopify URLs Without Losing Rankings?

Who it is for

Store owners renaming URLs

Time needed

5 minutes to read

What you need

Admin access and a spreadsheet

To change a Shopify URL without losing rankings, edit the handle in the item's search engine listing and keep the "Create a URL redirect" option selected, so the old address permanently redirects to the new one. For many URLs at once, map each old URL to its new one and import the list as a CSV under Content > Menus > URL redirects. Google treats a permanent redirect as a signal that the new URL is the one to show, though positions can wobble while it recrawls.

How Shopify URLs are built

Every Shopify URL has a fixed folder and a handle you can edit. Products live under /products/, collections under /collections/, pages under /pages/ and blog posts under /blogs/. You can change the handle after the folder, but not the folder itself. Shopify creates the handle from the title when you first save an item, which is why many stores end up with handles like /products/copy-of-blue-mug-1.

Shopify's collection settings carry a warning worth repeating: don't edit the handle too often, or the collection might not show in search results. Change a URL once, for a good reason.

How to change one URL safely

1. Open the item. Go to the product, collection, page or blog post in your Shopify admin.
2. Edit the search engine listing. Scroll to the search engine listing section and click edit to show the URL handle field.
3. Change the handle. Use short, lowercase words separated by hyphens that describe the item.
4. Keep the redirect option selected. For pages, Shopify pre-selects "Create a URL redirect". For collections, you choose whether to create a redirect from the previous handle. Make sure it's on.
5. Save and test. Open the old URL in a private window and confirm it lands on the new one.

How to change many URLs at once

For a clean-up of dozens or hundreds of handles, work from a spreadsheet. List every old URL, write the new one beside it, then change the handles. Next, go to Content > Menus > URL redirects, choose Import, upload a CSV in Shopify's template format and review the preview before importing. Redirects start working immediately.

Plan the order. A Shopify URL redirect only fires when the old address returns "Page not found", so change the handle first and import the redirect after, or the import will point from a URL that still exists.

What Shopify can and can't redirect

Shopify also notes that URLs with query strings may not redirect as expected, and that browsers and search engines cache 301 redirects, so deleting a redirect may not take effect for everyone straight away.

What Google does with the redirect

Google recommends a permanent server-side redirect whenever a page moves, and Shopify's URL redirects are permanent. Google's redirect documentation says its indexing pipeline uses a permanent redirect as a signal that the target should be canonical, and its site move guide says 301 and other permanent redirects don't cause a loss in PageRank. The same guide warns that rankings may fluctuate while Google recrawls, and advises keeping redirects for as long as possible, generally at least a year. On Shopify there is no reason ever to remove them.

Mistakes that cost rankings

• Unticking the redirect box. The old URL simply breaks, and any links pointing to it stop passing value.
• Redirecting everything to the home page. Send each old URL to its closest match, such as the replacement product or its collection.
• Deleting products instead of redirecting them. My guide to discontinued products and SEO covers what to do instead.
• Forgetting internal links. Update menus, buttons and blog links so they point at the new URL rather than through a redirect.

If you sell in several markets

Stores using Shopify's international subfolders, such as /en-gb/ or /nl/, get one benefit: a redirect created for the main URL also applies to every market and language subfolder. You can still add a separate redirect per subfolder if a UK or Dutch shopper should land somewhere different. Separate international domains each have their own sitemap, so check each one in Search Console after a bulk change.

What to do next

1. Export your current URLs before changing anything, so you have a record of every old address.
2. Change handles once and keep the redirect option on.
3. Test a sample of old URLs, then watch the Page indexing report in Search Console over the following weeks.
4. Review the wider checklist. My technical SEO checklist and the guide to common Shopify SEO problems cover what else to check. Moving platforms rather than handles? Read whether you'll lose rankings moving to Shopify.
5. Want it checked? I handle redirect mapping as part of my Shopify SEO work.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Create URL redirects, Shopify Help Center
2. Adding and editing pages, Shopify Help Center
3. Collection settings, Shopify Help Center
4. Redirects and Google Search, Google Search Central
5. Site moves with URL changes, Google Search Central

Related services and work

Written by Ashraf Siddik

I'm a Shopify developer and CRO specialist. I have built and improved Shopify stores since 2018, completed more than 1,000 projects, and hold a 4.96 average rating across 719 client reviews.

About me · Client reviews