Redirects User Guide Last Modified: May 30, 2017

Transcription

1 Table of Contents Overview... 2 Functions... 2 Benefits... 2 Important Note... 2 Create a Redirect... 3 Permissions Needed... 3 Instructions... 3 Best Practices... 6 Deactivate or Delete a Redirect... 7 Permissions Needed... 7 Instructions... 7 Modify a Redirect... 9 Permissions Needed... 9 Instructions... 9 Add a Domain Permissions Needed Instructions Delete a Domain Permissions Needed Instructions All Sites vs. Specific Domains Cannot Add a Redirect Reserved URLs Overwriting Retain/Keep the Short URL Permissions Needed Instructions New Redirect Instructions Modify Redirect Using Wildcards in Redirects... 22

2 Overview A redirect is a shortcut from one URL to another. By creating a redirect, you can send guests to a simple URL if the address is long and complex, or to a new page if the old one has been changed. For example, could be the redirect for Functions Create a short URL for a page/destination Point custom domains to pages within your site Benefits Cleanly promote an event or program without a long URL Automatically direct users from an old URL to a new URL Important Note There are no category-level permissions for this module. Permissions can only be set on an overall module level.

3 Create a Redirect Permissions Needed System Administrator, Owner, Publisher Instructions 1. Navigate to Modules > Site Tools > Redirects. 2. Select desired domain. All Sites: By selecting this option you will apply the redirect to all your domains. This is the recommended option. By selecting a specific domain, the redirect will only be active on that domain. i. Note: If you choose this route you will need to add the redirect to both the www and non-www domains(e.g., and civicplus.com). 3. Select Add Redirect on the right.

4 4. Complete the following required fields: Link From: This is the end of the shortened URL, and will display as the redirect, (e.g., /Parade). i. Note: You will need to include the /, however do not include a full URL. Link To: This is the address the shortened URL will point to (e.g., /78/2017- Annual-Parade). i. A Full URL is the complete web address for a page or website. For example, is a Full URL. ii. A Relative URL is the ending section of a Full URL. It is the part of a web address that comes after.com,.gov,.org or whatever the top level domain of your website may be. For example, /78/2017-Annual-Parade is the Relative URL of

5 5. Complete any desired optional fields: Retain URL: Controls if the Link From shows once the destination loads. i. Note: By choosing this option, if a user moves away from the page it will still keep the Link From address. ii. Note: If Retain URL is checked, then by default the Redirect Code will be 200, which indicates a success. Redirect Status: Select if this redirect is Moved Permanently or Found. i. A 301 status code means that a page has permanently moved to a new location ii. A 302 status code means that a page has temporarily moved to a new location. iii. For example: if you try to fetch a page such as and the web server says That s a 301. The new location is then the web server is saying That URL you requested is moved permanently to the new location I m giving you. Retain Query String: Controls whether query string parameters will be carried over to the From URL. A query string is the part of a URL containing data that does not fit conveniently into a hierarchical path structure. The query string commonly includes fields added to a base URL by a web browser or other client application, for example as part of an HTML form.

6 Retain Path: Controls if the path from From URL shows once the destination loads. Match Query String: Controls if the redirect will require the query string to match. Display: Controls the redirect to only be active during a certain time period. 6. Select desired save option: Save Changes: Save but do not publish/make active. Save and Make Active: Save and make active/publish Cancel: Cancel action and disregard additions. Best Practices It is a best practice to choose the following settings: o Do Not Retain URL o HTTP 301 o Do Not Retain Query String o Do Not Retain Path o Select Match Query String

7 Deactivate or Delete a Redirect Permissions Needed System Administrator, Owner Instructions 1. Navigate to Modules > Site Tools > Redirects. 2. Select desired domain. a. All Sites: By selecting this option you will apply the redirect to all your domains. This is the recommended option. b. By selecting a specific domain the redirect will only be active on that domain. i. Note: If you choose this option you will need to add the redirect to the www and non-www domains e.g., and civicplus.com 3. Select the Actions button on the right of the redirect that you want to deactivate or delete.

8 4. Select Make Inactive. 5. Your redirect is now inactive. Do not proceed unless you want to delete the redirect. 6. Select Actions again. 7. Select Delete.

9 Modify a Redirect Permissions Needed System Administrator, Owner, Publisher Instructions 1. Navigate to Modules > Site Tools > Redirects. 2. Select desired domain. a. All Sites: By selecting this option you will apply the redirect to all your domains. This is the recommended option. b. By selecting a specific domain the redirect will only be active on that domain. i. Note: If you choose this route you will need to add the redirect to the www and non-www domains, e.g., and civicplus.com 3. Select Actions on the redirect you would like to modify.

10 4. Select Modify. 5. Make desired changes to required fields: a. Link From: This is the end of the shortened URL, and is what will display as the redirect, e.g., /Parade i. Note: You will need to include the /, however do not include a full URL. b. Link To: This is the address the shortened URL will point to, e.g., /78/2017- Annual-Parade. i. A Full URL is the complete web address for a page or website. For example, is a Full URL. ii. A Relative URL is the ending section of a Full URL. It is the part of a web address that comes after.com,.gov,.org or whatever the top level domain of your website may be. For example, /78/2017-Annual-Parade is the Relative URL of

11 6. Modify any desired optional fields: a. Retain URL: Controls if the Link From shows once the destination loads. i. Note: By selecting this option, if a user moves away from the page it will still keep the Link From address. b. Redirect Status: Select if this redirect is Moved Permanently or Found. c. Retain Query String: Controls whether query string parameters will be carried over to the From URL. A query string is the part of a URL containing data that does not fit conveniently into a hierarchical path structure. The query string commonly includes fields added to a base URL by a web browser or other client application, for example as part of an HTML form. d. Retain Path: Controls if the path from From URL shows once the destination loads. e. Match Query String: Controls if the redirect will require the query string to match. f. Display: Controls the redirect to only be active during a certain time period.

12 7. Select Save Changes on the right, or Cancel to disregard edits)

13 Add a Domain Adding other domains to your redirect listings can be beneficial if you own multiple domains and would like to either direct the domain to a specific page or setup redirects on that domain. Permissions Needed CivicPlus Instructions To add a new domain to your listing you must contact us with the domain name you want added. Note: The domain must be pointing to the IP address of your website in order to be operational. Note: It is recommended to add the domain with and without the www. For example: civicplus.com and

14 Delete a Domain Permissions Needed CivicPlus Instructions In order to delete a domain that is no longer being used, you must contact us and let us know which domain needs to be removed. Note: You are not able to delete the primary domain of the website.

15 All Sites vs. Specific Domains You will place a redirect in All Sites when you want the redirect to be active regardless of the domain. Most clients only have their live domain associated with redirects. In that case, this process will instruct it to work on both www and non-www versions of the URL. You will place a redirect in a specific domain when you want the redirect to only be active when someone specifically types in that exact domain into the address bar. CivicPlus recommends utilizing All Sites.

16 Cannot Add a Redirect Reserved URLs If you are not able to add a redirect, you may receive a prompt stating that the URL is reserved. This occurs when part of the From URL is linked to a redirect that is already active on your website and cannot be changed. This is most often related to a feature (such as /calendar) or a hard-coded page (such as accessibility). These already have set destinations and cannot be used. Overwriting If you receive an error about a From URL not being able to add a redirect due to the risk of overwriting: This means that the From URL already exists within the system. This can be under either All Sites or under a specific URL.

17 Retain / Keep the Short URL Permissions Needed System Administrator, Owner, Publisher Instructions New Redirect 1. Navigate to Modules > Site Tools > Redirects. 2. Select desired domain. a. All Sites: By selecting this option you will apply the redirect to all your domains. This is the recommended option. b. By selecting a specific domain the redirect will only be active on that domain. i. Note: If you choose this route you will need to add the redirect to the www and non-www domains, e.g., and civicplus.com 3. Select Add Redirect on the right.

18 4. Complete the following required fields: a. Link From: This is the end of the shortened URL, and is what will display as the redirect, e.g., /Parade i. Note: You will need to include the /, however do not include a full URL. b. Link To: This is the address the shortened URL will point to, e.g., /78/2017- Annual-Parade. i. A Full URL is the complete web address for a page or website. For example, is a Full URL. ii. A Relative URL is the ending section of a Full URL. It is the part of a web address that comes after.com,.gov,.org or whatever the top level domain of your website may be. For example, /78/2017-Annual-Parade is the Relative URL of 5. Select Retain URL.

19 6. Select other optional settings as desired: a. Retain Query String: Controls whether query string parameters will be carried over to the From URL. A query string is the part of a URL containing data that does not fit conveniently into a hierarchical path structure. The query string commonly includes fields added to a base URL by a web browser or other client application, for example as part of an HTML form. b. Retain Path: Controls if the path from From URL shows once the destination loads. c. Match Query String: Controls if the redirect will require the query string to match. d. Display: Controls the redirect to only be active during a certain time period. 7. Select desired save option

20 a. Save Changes: Save but do not publish/make active. b. Save and Make Active: Save and make active/publish. c. Cancel: Cancel action and disregard additions. Instructions Modify Redirect 1. Navigate to Modules > Site Tools > Redirects. 2. Select desired domain. a. All Sites: By selecting this option you will apply the redirect to all your domains. This is the recommended option. b. By selecting a specific domain the redirect will only be active on that domain. i. Note: If you choose this route you will need to add the redirect to the www and non-www domains, e.g., and civicplus.com 3. Select Actions on the redirect you would like to modify. 4. Select Modify.

21 5. Select Retain URL. 6. Select Save Changes.

22 Using Wildcards in Redirects The redirects module gives you the ability to set up a wildcard redirect. For instance if you want to make a redirect to your Contests page you could set it up using the * (asterisk) symbol to create a wildcard. 1. Type /contest* into the From field. Anytime someone types /contest, /contests, /contestinfo, etc., it would always redirect to the desired URL. 2. This is also an effective approach if you want your redirect to be two words. Rather than creating multiple redirects, you can always incorporate a wildcard to ensure the user is routed to the right place the most efficient way possible.