WooCommerce 404 errors: find them and set up redirects

WooCommerce 404 errors usually come from products and categories that were deleted, renamed or moved, and from links left over from an old platform. Fix them by finding the addresses visitors actually ask for, then sending each one to the closest live page with a 301 redirect. StoreRuler's free 404 report and redirect list do both in the WordPress admin.

Where WooCommerce 404s come from

• Deleted products. A product removed for good leaves its address behind in search results, ads and old emails.
• Renamed categories and tags. Changing a category's slug changes the address of the category page, and of every category under it.
• Changed permalink settings. Changing the product or category base under Settings → Permalinks moves your whole catalogue at once.
• A move from another platform. Other shop systems use other address patterns, so old links and links from other sites break on the day you switch.
• Typos and broken links in your own menus, posts and newsletters.

What WordPress and WooCommerce do on their own

WordPress already tries to rescue some visitors. When it cannot find an address, it may guess a close match by its slug and redirect there. It also remembers the old slug when a published post or product is renamed, and sends visitors on to the new address. None of this covers renamed product categories or tags, deleted products or addresses from another platform, and there is no screen that lists the 404s visitors hit.

Your theme's 404 page decides what a lost visitor sees. A useful one has a search box and links to your main categories. That softens the landing; a redirect avoids it.

301, 302 or 410: which one to use

Avoid sending every lost visitor to the home page. A shopper who clicked "red running shoes" and lands on the home page is almost as lost as on a 404 page, and search engines may treat such redirects as soft 404s. Send each address to the closest match: the replacement product, the product's category, or a page with similar products.

Common redirect mistakes

• Chains. A redirects to B, which redirects to C. Each hop slows the visitor down. Point old addresses straight at the final page.
• Loops. A redirects to B, and B back to A, so nobody arrives anywhere.
• 302 for a permanent move. If the old address is never coming back, use 301.
• Fixing what nobody visits. Start with the addresses real visitors and links from other sites ask for, not every bot probe.
• No copy of the list. Keep your redirects in a file you can export, so a later move does not start from zero.

A 404 clean-up routine

1. Before you delete or rename a product or category, decide where its address should send visitors.
2. Once a week, open your 404 report and start with the most visited addresses.
3. Redirect them to the closest live page; use 410 for products gone for good with no replacement.
4. Look at where the visits came from. A 404 reached from your own site is a broken link you should also fix where it is written.
5. After a platform move, import the list of old and new addresses as a CSV on launch day.
6. Export your redirects now and then, as a backup.

The 404 report and redirects in StoreRuler

StoreRuler lists the addresses that visitors and search engines asked for in the last 30 days and your store does not have, most asked first. Each row shows the address, the visits from people and from search engines and bots counted apart, the site the visits came from, and when it was last seen. A row reached from your own pages is marked as a link on this store. No IP address or query string is kept, and entries not seen for 30 days are removed.

Each row has a Redirect button that opens the redirect form with the old address filled in. Choose the new address and the type, 301, 302 or 410, and save. A redirect can match one address exactly, or every address under it too; end the new address with * to carry the rest of the old address over.

A few details save work later:

• Renamed categories, tags and brands get a 301 from their old address by themselves, including the categories under them.
• No chains. When a redirect's target is itself redirected, visitors go straight to the end in one step, and a redirect that goes round in a circle is flagged in the list.
• CSV import and export with source, target and code columns, so you can bring a list from your old platform, up to 3,000 lines per file.
• Live pages are never taken over. A redirect is used only when WordPress finds no page at that address, and the admin, the login page and the REST API are never redirected. Your own redirects come before WordPress's guesses.

Because a redirect works only where WordPress finds nothing, unpublish or delete an old product before you redirect its address.

You find the report and the redirect list under StoreRuler → Marketing, on the Redirects and 404s screen.

Which plan includes it

Redirects, the 404 report, automatic redirects for renamed categories, tags and brands, and CSV import and export are in the free StoreRuler plugin on WordPress.org. StoreRuler Pro adds an SEO Center with suggested targets for 404s, one-click 301s, redirects for removed products and a check for broken internal links.

yourstore.com/wp-admin › StoreRuler

The screenshot shows that SEO Center in StoreRuler Pro, with its 404 analysis and removed products tabs; it is not part of the free version. Compare the plans on the pricing page.

For the exact steps, read the redirects and 404 report guide. The other search tools are on the SEO page.

Frequently asked questions