In Brief
Permalinks are the permanent web addresses (URLs) for your pages and posts
The “Post name” structure works best for most small business websites
Change your permalink settings in WordPress admin under Settings > Permalinks
Always set up 301 redirects if you change permalinks on an existing site
Broken permalinks causing 404 errors can usually be fixed by re-saving your settings
Every page on your WordPress site has a web address. If you haven’t changed your WordPress ‘permalink’ settings, yours probably look something like yoursite.co.uk/?p=347.
That tells visitors nothing about what they’re clicking on. It’s not great for Google either.
Compare that to yoursite.co.uk/kitchen-fitting-services.
Now visitors know what the page is about before they click. The link is easier to share and easier to remember. Search engines can read it too.
WordPress calls these web addresses permalinks.
You can control how they look, and this guide shows you how. We’ll cover which settings work best, how to change them safely, and what to do if something goes wrong.
Table of Contents
What Are WordPress Permalinks?
A permalink is the full URL (link) that points to a specific page, post, or piece of content on your website. The term combines “permanent” and “link” because these addresses should stay the same once published.
When you create a new page in WordPress, the system automatically generates a permalink based on your settings.
This URL becomes the address people use to find that specific content. It appears in browser address bars, gets shared on social media, and shows up in search engine results.
Why Your URL Structure Matters
Your permalinks affect user experience, search engine rankings, and how shareable your content becomes.
For visitors, a descriptive URL helps them know what they’ll find before clicking. Seeing /contact-us in a link is much clearer than seeing /?page_id=47. This matters when people scan search results or hover over links before clicking.
Search engines use URLs as one of many signals to understand page content.
While Google has said URLs are a minor ranking factor, having your target keywords in the web address still helps. More importantly, clean URLs make your site easier for search engines to crawl and index properly.
Shareable links also build trust.
When you share a link on LinkedIn or in an email, the URL is often visible. A professional-looking web address that humans can read helps to reinforce your credibility.
WordPress Permalink Settings Explained
WordPress offers several built-in permalink structures. You’ll find these options in your admin dashboard by going to Settings > Permalinks.
Here’s what each option means in practical terms.
Plain (Default)
This is the basic setting WordPress starts with. URLs look like yoursite.co.uk/?p=123 where the number is the post ID from your database. This structure tells visitors and search engines nothing about your content. Avoid this for any live business website.
Day and Name
URLs include the full date before the post title: yoursite.co.uk/2025/12/23/your-post-title. This structure works for news websites where publication dates matter. For most small business sites, dates in URLs create unnecessary length and suggest content might become outdated.
Month and Name
Similar to above but without the day: yoursite.co.uk/2025/12/your-post-title. The same concerns apply. Unless you run a news blog where dates add genuine value, skip this option.
Numeric
URLs use a different number format: yoursite.co.uk/archives/123. This is marginally better than Plain but still tells visitors nothing useful. Not recommended for business websites.
Post Name
This is the most popular choice for good reason. URLs show just the page or post title: yoursite.co.uk/your-post-title. The structure is clean, readable, and gives search engines useful information about your content.
Custom Structure
For advanced users, WordPress lets you create your own permalink format using special tags.
Common custom structures include adding categories: yoursite.co.uk/category/post-name. This can help organise larger sites but adds complexity you probably don’t need.
Choosing the Best Permalink Structure
The right choice depends on your website type and goals. Here are recommendations based on common small business scenarios.
For Most Business Websites
Use the Post Name structure. It creates the cleanest URLs, keeps things simple, and works well for SEO. Your pages will have addresses like yoursite.co.uk/about-us and yoursite.co.uk/services.
This structure is now the WordPress default for new installations, so it’s clearly the industry standard. Google prefers it, users find it easier to read, and it gives you maximum flexibility for the future.
For Blog-Heavy Sites
Post Name still works well for most blogs. If you publish frequently and want to distinguish between similar topics, you might consider including categories: /%category%/%postname%/. This creates URLs like yoursite.co.uk/recipes/chocolate-cake.
Be careful with this approach though. Categories become part of your URL structure, so changing them later means setting up redirects. Only use this if your category structure is well-planned and unlikely to change.
For News Websites
If you run a news site where publication timing matters to readers, consider Month and Name or Day and Name. News consumers expect to see dates, and it helps them judge how current information is.
For Online Shops
WooCommerce adds its own permalink options for products. You’ll find these under Settings > Permalinks in the Product permalinks section. The Shop base with category option creates helpful URLs like yoursite.co.uk/shop/clothing/blue-jumper.
How to Change WordPress Permalinks
Changing your permalink structure takes just a few clicks.
However, if your site is already live with published content, you’ll need to plan carefully to avoid breaking existing links.
For New Websites
If you’re setting up a fresh WordPress installation, change your permalinks immediately before publishing any content.
- Log into your WordPress dashboard
- Go to Settings > Permalinks
- Select Post name (or your preferred structure)
- Click Save Changes
That’s all you need to do. WordPress will use your chosen structure for all future content.
For Existing Websites
Changing permalinks on a live site requires more caution. Every URL you’ve shared, every link from other websites, and every page Google has indexed will stop working unless you set up redirects.
Before making changes, take these steps:
Back up your website. This gives you a safety net if something goes wrong. Your hosting provider may offer automatic backups, or you can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus.
List your current URLs. Export or write down your most important pages. You’ll need these to create redirects.
Plan your redirects. A 301 redirect tells browsers and search engines that content has permanently moved to a new address. You’ll need one redirect for each changed URL.
Make the change. Go to Settings > Permalinks, select your new structure, and click Save Changes.
Set up 301 redirects. Use a plugin like Redirection or RankMath SEO to point old URLs to new ones. Without this step, visitors clicking old links will see 404 error pages.
Test your redirects. Visit your old URLs in incognito mode to confirm they redirect correctly to the new addresses.
Understanding WordPress Slugs
The ‘slug’ is the editable part of your permalink for individual pages and posts.
When you create content titled “Our Wedding Photography Packages”, WordPress automatically generates the slug our-wedding-photography-packages.
You can edit slugs to make them shorter and more focused. In this example, you might change it to wedding-photography-packages or simply wedding-packages.
Best Practices for Slugs
Keep your slugs short and descriptive.
Three to five words usually works well. Remove unnecessary words like “a”, “the”, “and”, and “our”. Focus on the keywords that describe your content.
Use hyphens to separate words. WordPress does this automatically. Never use underscores, spaces, or other characters.
Hyphens are the standard word separator that search engines expect.
Include your target keyword when it fits naturally. If you’re writing about plumbing services in Leeds, a slug like plumber-leeds tells both visitors and Google what the page covers.
Avoid changing slugs after publishing.
Once a page is live and potentially indexed, changing the slug changes the URL. You’d need to set up a 301 redirect from the old address to maintain any SEO value you’ve built.
Fixing Permalink Problems
Permalink issues often show up as 404 “Page Not Found” errors.
These usually happen after changing settings, migrating to new hosting, or installing certain plugins.
The Quick Fix
Most permalink problems can be solved by re-saving your settings. This refreshes the rules WordPress uses to create URLs.
- Go to Settings > Permalinks in your dashboard
- Don’t change anything
- Click Save Changes
This simple step forces WordPress to rebuild its permalink rules. Check your site to see if pages now load correctly.
When the Quick Fix Doesn’t Work
If pages still show 404 errors, the problem may be with your .htaccess file.
This hidden configuration file contains rules that tell your server how to handle URLs. Think of it as a set of instructions that translates your clean URLs into something the server understands.
For WordPress on Apache servers (which most UK hosting providers use), the .htaccess file should contain these rewrite rules:
# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPressYou can access this file through your hosting control panel’s file manager or using FTP. If the file is missing or damaged, WordPress may not have permission to write to it. Contact your hosting provider for help if you’re uncomfortable editing server files directly.
Plugin Conflicts
Some plugins, particularly security and caching plugins, can interfere with permalinks.
If problems started after installing a new plugin, try deactivating it to see if that resolves the issue.
You can deactivate plugins one by one to identify the culprit, or temporarily deactivate all plugins and reactivate them one at a time while testing your site between each activation.
Permalinks and SEO
Clean permalinks contribute to your overall SEO, though they’re just one factor among many.
Here’s how to make the most of them.
Include Keywords Naturally
Your URL should contain words that describe the page content. If you offer accounting services in Bristol, a URL like yoursite.co.uk/accountant-bristol reinforces what the page is about.
Don’t stuff keywords unnaturally though.
A URL like accountant-bristol-accounting-services-accountancy-firm looks spammy and doesn’t help. Keep it simple and readable.
Keep URLs Short
Shorter URLs are easier to share, look cleaner in search results, and tend to perform better.
Research suggests top-ranking pages often have URLs around 50-60 characters. While length alone doesn’t determine rankings, brevity helps.
Use HTTPS
This isn’t strictly a permalink setting, but your URLs should use HTTPS (secure) rather than HTTP. Most UK hosting providers offer free SSL certificates through Let’s Encrypt. If your site still uses HTTP, speak to your host about enabling SSL.
Avoid Dates Unless Necessary
For evergreen content that remains relevant over time, dates in URLs can work against you.
Visitors may skip content that looks old even if the information is current. News sites are the exception where dates add genuine value.
To add a date reference you can edit the page title and meta description instead.
When to Ask for Help
Most permalink tasks are straightforward, but some situations benefit from professional assistance.
If your site has hundreds of pages and you need to change the permalink structure, setting up individual redirects becomes time-consuming and error-prone. A developer can automate this process and make sure nothing gets missed.
Server-level issues with .htaccess files or NGINX configurations require technical knowledge.
Making mistakes in these files can take your entire site offline. If you’re not comfortable with server administration, get help.
Sites with complex custom post types or multiple languages may have permalink requirements beyond standard WordPress settings. These scenarios often need custom development work.
Summary
Your URL structure affects how professional your site looks, how easily people can share your content, and how well search engines understand your pages.
It’s worth getting right.
For most small business websites, the Post Name structure offers the best balance of simplicity and SEO benefit. Set this up when you first create your site, and you won’t need to think about it again.
If you’re changing permalinks on an existing site, remember to set up 301 redirects for all your old URLs. This protects your search rankings and ensures visitors following old links still reach your content.
Check your current permalink settings now. If you’re still using the default Plain structure, switching to Post Name is one of the quickest wins you can make for your website.
Frequently Asked Questions
A permalink is the complete URL of a page, including your domain name. The slug is just the editable portion at the end. For example, in yoursite.co.uk/contact-us, the full address is the permalink while contact-us is the slug. You can edit slugs for individual pages without changing your overall permalink structure.
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It’s the technical term for a web address. When you type yoursite.co.uk/contact into a browser, that whole thing is the URL. It tells the browser exactly where to find a specific page on the internet. You’ll see URL and web address used interchangeably.
It can if you don’t set up proper 301 redirects. Without redirects, search engines see your old URLs as broken and your new URLs as brand new pages. With redirects in place, most of your SEO value transfers to the new addresses. Expect a temporary dip in traffic while search engines process the changes.
Yes. Edit the page or post in WordPress and look for the Permalink or URL section. You can change the slug for that individual piece of content without affecting your site-wide settings. Remember that changing a published page’s slug changes its URL, so set up a redirect from the old address. If you change the slug before hitting publish then redirection rules are not required.
This usually happens because WordPress rewrite rules need refreshing or your .htaccess file isn’t configured correctly. First, try going to Settings > Permalinks and clicking Save Changes without making any changes. This forces WordPress to rebuild its rules. If that doesn’t work, check your .htaccess file or contact your hosting provider.
The easiest method is using a plugin like Redirection or Rank Math. These let you create redirects from your WordPress dashboard by entering the old URL and the new URL you want visitors sent to. Some hosting control panels also offer redirect tools. You can also add rules directly to your .htaccess file.
The .htaccess file is a server configuration file that WordPress uses to manage URL rewriting. When you choose a permalink structure other than Plain, WordPress needs rewrite rules to translate clean URLs into something the server understands. If this file is missing, damaged, or not writable, your pretty permalinks won’t work.
Keep them as short as practical while still being descriptive. Research suggests URLs around 50-60 characters often perform well in search results. Focus on including relevant keywords without padding. A URL like /wedding-photography is better than /our-professional-wedding-photography-services-for-couples.
If you’re already using Post Name, there’s probably no need to change anything. This is the recommended structure for most websites. Only consider changes if you have specific requirements, like needing dates for news content or categories for a large content library.