What is Wildcard Redirect? Examples and How to Do Redirect?

What is Wildcard Redirect?

Wildcard redirection is a URL redirection mechanism in which a wildcard character such as * is used to match a specific pattern of the URL and then redirect the matched URL to a particular location.

This approach is most relevant for dealing with changes to URLs that have the same type of structure and format, for example, when a website restructures, when changing the domain names, or when needing to merge some content.

For instance, while using a wildcard redirect, several URLs require only a single rule to deal with them and also redirect the users and search engines to the correct pages easily, thus making the management of such websites more flexible and easy.

How Does A Wildcard Redirect Work?

Wildcard redirects function similarly to regex redirects in that they match a new URL pattern with the original URL and then redirect the original URL to the new URL that corresponds with the pattern of the new URL.

URL path pattern contains the wildcard character (*) to represent any set of characters in between. In the use of this pattern, whenever a given request matches this pattern, it will be automatically forwarded to the newly developed URL, retaining the element of the URL that has been liberalized using the wildcard.

For instance, think of a specific form of URL redirection that reroutes users from a particular directory, /old-directory, to another directory /new-directory, where ‘*’ may be included. If a visitor enters ‘/old-directory/page1’ in the browser, the wildcard redirect will recognize it/them and reroute the visitor to ‘/new-directory/page1’.

It is convenient for the update of URLs, since the system does not require the development of unique redirection rules for each particular URL.

Also Read: What is SSL Common Name Wildcard Error? How to Fix?

Example of Wildcard Redirects

A popular use of wildcard redirects is when organizing website restructuring, for instance shifting content from one folder to another.

For instance, let’s discuss an example of a situation when a website changes the structure of its blog, for example, the blog section contains articles that are located at the address: /blog/ but it is decided to bring it to /articles/.

Based on the wildcard redirect rule that is /blog/* maps to /articles/*, if one types any URLs under /blog/, they will be automatically forwarded to the related URLs under /articles/.

For instance, a user who is trying to access the blog post at ‘example. com/blog/post1’ would be easily redirected to ‘example. com/articles/post1’ which makes the conceptual continuity in accessing the content smooth despite the physical URL changes.

In another case, there may be an overload of products and it is realized that changes need to be made with regards to product category mapping; maybe it is preferable to have all the product pages that were grouped under a number of subdirectories such as /products/, be grouped under a single directory /store/.

Here, the wildcard redirect rule like /products/* to /store/* has been set or executed. This configuration guarantees that if there are requests that target URLs containing /products/ then they are redirected to those starting with /store/.

For example, a URL such as /products/electronics/tv would be redirected to /store/electronics/tv to save search time of search and enable buyers to easily locate desired information and products.

Also Read: What are Wildcard Subdomains? How to Create a Wildcard Subdomains?

Benefits Of Wildcard Redirect

Simplifies URL Management

Wildcard redirects have several benefits that bring a lot of positive change in website administration and usage. Firstly, they are friendly because they make it easier for you to deal with several URL changes within one rule.

This is helpful in two ways: it saves time that could otherwise be used doing other things and makes it easier to manage several individual redirects.

What is more, wildcard redirects are easily scalable, and that is why it is possible to handle URL changes as often happens, especially when a site administration plans the growth or restructuring of the site without having to make changes on all the URLs of the site.

SEO Maintenance

Wildcards I always regard as extremely useful from an SEO point of view. They assist in preserving the link equity by directing users to the new ones, and this assists in transforming the SEO value and the ranking of its pages.

This would protect the backlinks you need and prevent broken links or 404 errors that are detrimental to site rankings.

From a user’s perspective, wildcard redirects help in achieving smooth navigation, given that it will always direct an incoming visitor to the proper page and eliminate frustration that is recorded when clicking on dead links.

Reliability is also achieved, making it easier when updating the site to retain the essence of consistency so that users will not be stranded and will be in a position to find all the content that they were used to before the update.

User Experience

In cases of site relaunch or when changing the web location, wildcard redirects are effective as they consolidate complex URL modifications. It thus reduces the time a site takes to be offline during major updates and keeps it up and running.

Furthermore, wildcard redirects are economical as they do not necessitate the constant checking of specific individual redirects and help to save on administrative costs as well as resource utilization.

Streamlined Website Restructuring

Specifically, wildcard redirects constitute a critical component in streamlining the reorganization process of websites.

In situations where URLs of the site are being changed or rearranged based on a major site redesign or restructuring, for instance, wildcard redirects provide a perfect way through which it is possible to manage redirection of URLs depending on certain patterns.

Whenever one needs to combine content, change sections’ location, or transfer onto a new platform, wildcard redirects help to streamline the URL transition as they follow established rules automatically.

This means that users are able to be re-routed to the right pages with a lot of ease without much interruption of their browsing options.

Due to the fact that wildcard redirects allow the restructuring of a website in a more efficient manner without having to conform to the limitations of SEO crawlers or compromise the user experience, they help website administrators implement changes effectively.

Cost-Effective

A wildcard redirect can be useful in that it does not require constant intervention to perform optimally and is relatively cheap to implement.

With wildcard redirects, administrators can group several URL changes under one rule since the solution minimizes the direct involvement of personnel to monitor each rule separately.

This helps in reducing the time and effort required for maintenance and also curtails the expenses incurred. Also, through wildcard redirects, it is easier to avoid instances of broken links and associated 404 errors that diminish website ranking and usability.

The maintenance of link equity and easy navigation makes wildcard redirects as less expensive in website management as they could be.

Uses Of Wildcard Redirect

Website Restructuring

Wildcards are a great help during restructuring because when a website is to be moved, for example, all URLs move simply because wildcard redirection is set for a site, and all the URLs from the old structure will automatically get redirected to the new ones.

This is especially useful during a domain change or any huge site structures, like reorganizing the company site.

Redirects preserve link relevance by making sure that anyone clicking a link that is directed to any of the old URLs is directed to the new URLs; this helps to retain links’ relevance, whether internal or via bookmarking.

SEO Management

These redirects are very useful when constructing new URL structures and ensuring the SEO value is not lost.

By redirecting the connection equity from the initial difficult URLs to the new ones, wildcard extends its protection against loss of positions and guarantees that search engines will be able to locate the new material correctly.

Furthermore, they decrease the number of 404 errors as they automatically lead users from an old URL that no longer exists to a new page that is actually relevant and exists for a user, thus enhancing the user experience and subsequently reducing bounce rates.

Content Management

Features such as wildcard redirects can be used for the process of content consolidation since they effectively gather all old URLs and redirect them to a single location when combining several pages or sections.

They are also useful in the provision of dynamic content as it enables the web page to deal with URL modification without requiring unique alternatives for various end products.

Marketing Campaigns

Special link redirection can be useful in the sense that it can save on time when dealing with marketing campaigns or campaigns with different URLs.

Through wildcard redirects for campaign URLs, administrators ensure that every other URL that could be constructed based on the standard URL of the campaign automatically leads to the intended page, thus promoting simplification of tracking and analyzing the campaigns.

Also, wildcard redirects may be employed when creating shorter and more convenient names for the company’s marketing gadgets and improve the efficiency of the campaigns’ links.

Platform Migration

In migrations, wildcard redirects have the role of helping to migrate content from one platform to another in a smooth manner.

Regardless of whether it is a shift from one content management system to another or a switch from one e-commerce platform to another, wildcard redirects are important because they enable users to be redirected to the right pages in the new platform where they can find value and also where the value of their SEO efforts has not been lost.

Without even realizing it, users are immediately redirected to the new location instead of the old one, thus decreasing the flow of complaints and loss in other links and bookmarks.

It made the process of transferring from one platform to another easier and guaranteed that the movements would not affect the people who come to the site.

Limitations

Complexity in Configuration:

Resolving wildcard redirects could be quite a daunting affair, especially with organizations that have elaborate URL hierarchies.

Misconfigurations are causing users to be redirected to wrong pages which were not intended to be displayed. This needs to be done methodically so as not to overlook any of the redirect rules which have been placed in the UCMP and to also prove that the UCMP is working correctly.

Performance Impact:

As in the case of other forms of page redirects, wildcard redirects may impact the operation of the server.

Every single request for a redirect entails the usage of the processor, and having a very many rules will reduce the rate at which the server replies, and this may be detrimental to the kind of performance and speed that the site has to offer.

Also Read: What is a Wildcard DNS Record? Benefits, Example, and How to Create it?

SEO Risks:

As with other types of redirects, using wildcard redirects can allow SEO value to be retained, while misuse of wildcard redirects has a few drawbacks.

The former can result in creating duplicate content or appearing as a never-ending loop, which is detrimental when it comes to search rankings.

It is therefore important that before implementing SEO, one should check whether the redirects are properly configured or not.

Loss of Analytics Data:

Redirects can sometimes cause problems with web analytics because the URL paths are different from the initial clean versions.

This can put a lot of pressure on the owner and make it problematic to identify the source of the traffic and user actions, as well as loss of the history with valuable analytics.

Redirect settings must be configured correctly to prevent analytics from being misreported and also to ensure that it is correctly tracking the pages within the site.

Limited Flexibility:

This is the reason why wildcard redirects may not suit a context that might require particular or special redirect management.

For instance, if the URLs of the resource need to be redirected based on certain complicated rules or particular conditions, then the greatest level of control likely cannot be achieved with the help of wildcard redirects and needs to be supplemented by other ones.

How to do a Wildcard Redirect? (methods)?

Using .htaccess (Apache Servers)

Add the following lines to your .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^old-directory/(.*)$ /new-directory/$1 [R=301,L]

This rule redirects any request from /old-directory/ to /new-directory/ while preserving the rest of the path.

Using Nginx

Add the following to your Nginx configuration file:

location /old-directory/ {
            rewrite ^/old-directory/(.*)$ /new-directory/$1 permanent;
}

This rule performs a permanent redirect from /old-directory/ to /new-directory/.

Using JavaScript

For client-side redirects, you can use JavaScript in your HTML:

<script>
if (window.location.pathname.startsWith('/old-directory/')) {
            const newPath = window.location.pathname.replace('/old-directory/',
'/new-directory/');
            window.location.href = window.location.origin + newPath;
}
</script>

Using CMS or Hosting Provider Tools

Most Content Management Systems (CMS) and the hosting companies that host the websites provide clients with resources to set up redirects, including wildcard redirects. In this case, there are WordPress plugins, such as Redirection, which can handle these setups.

Conclusion

Amazing wildcard redirect solutions for easier URL management on your site are offered by Certera! Improve visitors’ experience, save the hard-earned SEO rankings, and avoid making them get lost in your website.

To help you, we have presented some of the reasons why it’s necessary to use wildcard redirects and how our company, Certera, can help you avoid broken links and keep your visitors interested. Get started now!