That’s nearly exactly what I wanted except I just wanted one that allowed multiple permalink structures really…
I haven’t managed to get this one working yet but I’ll keep trying and hopefully get this resolved
Thanks
I have the same question – I have an old site with the default permalinks setting (http://www.domain.com/?p=123). Now I’d like to update the site to a custom structure (http://www.domain.com/%postname%)
If I simply make the change in Dashboard | Settings | Permalinks, I’m guessing future posts will use the new permalink structure, but old posts will be left as is.
Is there a safe (!) process to update/change an entire site’s permalinks?
When you change the permalink format, it changes permalinks for all posts in the database. However, /%postname%. Isn’t really good to use because it puts a heavy load on the database server (just the way SQL queries work, I’m not an expert, but I know it’s a bad idea). Its best to use one of the default formats, or something very similar.
Andrew is right, but word is that in WordPress 3.3, the performance issue will be fixed. Still, it wouldnt be a bad idea to go with
/%post-id%/$postname%/
instead of just the postname.
If you make the switch, all of your current post urls will be changed, but if someone tries to visit the old url (/?p=123), they’ll be redirected to the new post automatically. That’s not to say there’s no risk, especially from an SEO perspective, but your visitors are probably going to end up where you want them to, even if you just make the switch without adding a plugin.
Peter, Andrew,
Thank you. I had made a backup before changing permalinks, but you’re right the change worked as promised without breaking anything. (other than perhaps an old cached link)
The performance issue befuddles me – Everyone repeats the same warning but I’ve never seen hard performance data. My blog has 3 pages, 200 posts and just a handful of visitors – It seems inconceivable that server loading is really an issue. I hope you’re right that 3.3 addresses it. In any case, thanks again!
Typo: The recommended permalink really is /%post_id%/%postname%/
At that volume of posts, you’re right. You won’t see much of a performance issue. It’s when you get into the thousands, especially if ou start getting a huge amount of page views, that you have to worry about it. Hopefully 3.3 does remedy this, though.
