Bits of .NET

🔗 Clean URLs = Better SEO

?p=123 is ugly. Custom permalinks create clean URLs. /my-awesome-post is better for SEO, user-friendly, shareable.

📝 Permalink Settings

Settings → Permalinks

Common settings:
- Plain: ?p=123 (worst for SEO)
- Day and name: /2024/01/15/sample-post/
- Month and name: /2024/01/sample-post/
- Numeric: /archives/123
- Post name: /sample-post/ (best)

Recommended: Post name
%postname% gives cleanest URLs

Custom structure:
/%category%/%postname%/
/ blog /%postname%/
/%year%/%postname%/

🎯 SEO Best Practices

// Include keywords in URL
// Bad: /p=123
// Good: /best-wordpress-seo-tips

// Use hyphens, not underscores
// Bad: /best_wordpress_seo_tips
// Good: /best-wordpress-seo-tips

// Keep URLs short (3-5 words)
// /how-to-bake-bread (good)
// /how-to-bake-delicious-homemade-artisan-bread (too long)

// Category in URL for better structure
// /category/seo/wordpress-permalinks

// Remove stop words (the, and, of)
// Bad: /how-to-bake-a-bread
// Good: /how-to-bake-bread

💡 Important Note

• Changing permalinks breaks existing links (use 301 redirects)
• Redirection plugin helps with old URLs
• Set permalinks before creating content
• Update .htaccess if needed (WordPress handles it)