Esmi,
Thanks for the reply. In reading the post at ottopress, they say that %year%/%postname% is a good permalink structure to use. Could I change my permalinks from post number to that as it should improve SEO don’t you think. Then if I do it, I suppose I would have to change all my back links (which is impossible) to reflect this change, right? I tried to change my permalinks already to postname, and then none of my pages worked except for the index, so I assume there is something else I need to do as well.
I’m not 100% sure if there would be any real SEO difference between using /%post_id%/%postname%/ and /%year%/%postname%/.
/%year% possibly gives very slightly better SQL performance and it’s definitely better for people as /%year% has a human-recognisable meaning whilst /%post_id% isn’t helpful at all.
I tried to change my permalinks already to postname, and then none of my pages worked except for the index
Was the .htaccess file created/modified?
No, the .htaccess was not modified. I was looking into that, but did not figure it out. Do you have a reference on this topic?
At this point the permalink is only /%post_id%/, so the default I guess. I would like tho have the /%postname%/ in the permalink somewhere, as this would help for SEO I would think.
If I change the permalinks to /%post_id%/%postname%/, is it possible to get the traffic from the backlinks I have out there already, as I have done a lot of work to get the backlinks that I have? Maybe some type of redirect is possible?
Again, thanks for your help: Chris
When you change your permalinks, WP tries to create the .htaccess file for you. If it cannot do that (due to file writing restrictions), it provides you with the code to add to a manually created .htaccess file. Do you have an existing .htaccess file in the WP root folder?
If I change the permalinks to /%post_id%/%postname%/, is it possible to get the traffic from the backlinks I have out there already
Can I just clarify something first? Are you currently using the default permalinks (eg ?p=123) or have you previously set up a working, custom, permalink structure using /%post_id%/?
Sorry, I am using the default ?p=123 permalink setting. I am unsure that I have an existing .htaccess file in the root folder. I will see if I can find out and get back to you, but I am not sure that I will be able to due to lack of experience.
Thank You Again for the help!
Yeah, I do not really know where to look for the wp root folder. Would this be through my web host? I’ll take a look.
I am using the default ?p=123 permalink setting.
In that case, you should have no problem with old back links. WordPress will carry out all of the redirects internally.
If WP cannot create your .htaccess file for you when you set up the new custom permalink structure, you;’ll need to create the .htaccess file manually, add the code that WP provided and then upload the final file to the root folder of your WP install using FTP (or whatever file management application your host provides).
Okay Esmi,
I am glad to hear about the backlinks. I will mess around with the .htaccesss and hopefully I can get it working. I hope WP will just do it for me, but it did not do it last time I tried. Is it possible to change the restrictions so that it will?
You said it was unadvised to change the permalinks to %postname%, but is it a good choice to change them to %year%/%postname% ?
Thanks a lot!
Is it possible to change the restrictions so that it will?
That might require a change at your hosts end.
is it a good choice to change them to %year%/%postname% ?
Definitely.
Alright Esmi, I’ll leave you alone now. You have helped me out a lot.
Thank You,
Chris
If WP cannot create your .htaccess file for you when you set up the new custom permalink structure, you;’ll need to create the .htaccess file manually, add the code that WP provided and then upload the final file to the root folder of your WP install using FTP (or whatever file management application your host provides).
I’ve made my posts so far using the format: /2012/04/21/sample-post/
I want to simply use /sample-post/
Just wondering with the last few wordpress updates (namely the last, where it said something about being about to changing permalinks without a decrease in performance) if I still have to make a .htaccess file manually.
