Redirect CSV Generator

How This Tool Works

In Manual mode, paste your old URLs in one text area and the corresponding new URLs in another. The tool pairs them line by line and validates that each URL starts with a forward slash (Shopify requires relative paths, not full domain URLs). Mismatched line counts are flagged so you can fix them before downloading.

Pattern mode applies a find-and-replace operation to a list of URLs. This is powerful for structural changes like moving all products from /products/ to /shop/, renaming collection slugs, or adding URL prefixes. Enter the string to find, the replacement string, and the URLs to transform. The tool generates the original URLs as “Redirect from” and the transformed versions as “Redirect to.”

Bulk Upload mode accepts an existing CSV file with old and new URLs. You can use this to validate a redirect list you built elsewhere, or use the override field to redirect all imported URLs to a single destination (useful when consolidating old pages to a new landing page or homepage).

All three modes perform automatic validation: adding missing leading slashes, detecting self-redirects (where “from” and “to” are identical), and flagging any formatting issues. The validated output is ready for direct import into Shopify.

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Redirects

1. Identify URLs that need redirecting. Before making any URL changes, document every URL that will be affected. Use Google Search Console’s “Pages” report to find all indexed URLs, your sitemap for a complete URL inventory, and Google Analytics to identify high-traffic pages that must not break.
2. Map old URLs to new destinations. For each old URL, determine the best matching new URL. Redirect product pages to the same or similar product. Redirect collection pages to the equivalent new collection. Redirect blog posts to updated posts on the same topic. Only redirect to the homepage as a last resort.
3. Choose the right mode. Use Manual mode for small batches (under 50 redirects) with unique mappings. Use Pattern mode when applying the same transformation to many URLs (e.g., renaming /blog/ to /journal/). Use Bulk Upload mode when you have an existing spreadsheet of URL mappings.
4. Generate and review redirects. Click “Generate Redirects” and review the preview table. Verify that each old URL maps to the correct new URL. Check for any self-redirects or formatting warnings that the tool flags.
5. Download the CSV. Click “Download Redirect CSV” to save the file. The output follows Shopify’s exact format with “Redirect from” and “Redirect to” headers.
6. Import into Shopify. Go to Shopify Admin > Online Store > Navigation > URL Redirects. Click “Import” and upload the CSV. Shopify will process each redirect and confirm how many were created.
7. Test the redirects. Visit each old URL in an incognito browser window to verify it redirects to the correct new page. Pay special attention to URLs with query parameters, trailing slashes, and encoded characters.
8. Monitor in Google Search Console. After importing redirects, check Google Search Console over the following weeks. Look for the “Page indexing” report to confirm that Google is discovering the redirects and updating its index. The “Redirect” status in the report confirms proper 301 handling.

Why This Matters for Your Shopify Store

301 redirects are the single most important technical SEO task during any URL change. When Google’s crawler follows a link to a page that returns a 404 error, it removes that page from its index and any ranking authority is lost. A 301 redirect tells search engines that the content has permanently moved, transferring the ranking power from the old URL to the new one.

Beyond SEO, redirects protect your customer experience. Bookmarked links, shared links on social media, links in old marketing emails, and links from external sites all point to your old URLs. Without redirects, these visitors see a “Page not found” error and leave. Setting up redirects ensures every inbound link still works, no matter when or where it was shared.

The revenue impact is direct and measurable. A store with 200 indexed pages that migrates without redirects typically sees a 30-60% drop in organic traffic within the first month. At an average conversion rate of 2% and $50 average order value, a store doing $10,000/month in organic revenue could lose $3,000-6,000/month until rankings recover, which often takes 3-6 months. Setting up redirects costs zero dollars and takes minutes with this tool.

Real-World Redirect Examples

Example 1: Platform Migration (WooCommerce to Shopify)

WooCommerce and Shopify use different URL structures. Every product, collection, and page URL changes during migration:

Using Pattern mode, you can batch-transform all product URLs by finding “/product/” and replacing with “/products/”, then all category URLs by finding “/product-category/” and replacing with “/collections/”. Blog posts and pages typically need manual mapping.

Example 2: Collection Restructuring

A store reorganizing its collection structure needs to redirect old collection URLs to new ones:

Example 3: Product Consolidation

A store merging duplicate or similar products into single listings:

Redirect Generator vs. Other Methods

This tool combines the best of manual control, bulk processing, and pattern matching in a single free interface. Unlike Shopify’s admin which requires creating redirects one at a time or importing an already-formatted CSV, this tool helps you build, validate, and format the CSV all in one step.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Creating redirect chains. If /page-a redirects to /page-b, and /page-b redirects to /page-c, you have a chain. Each hop adds latency and dilutes SEO value. Always redirect directly from the original URL to the final destination. Before generating redirects, check if any “to” URLs already have redirects pointing elsewhere.
2. Using full domain URLs instead of relative paths. Shopify redirects require relative paths starting with /. Using “https://yourstore.com/products/old-name” will cause an import error. Use “/products/old-name” instead. This tool automatically corrects this, but it is good practice to use relative paths from the start.
3. Redirecting to pages that do not exist. Before importing your redirect CSV, verify that every “Redirect to” URL actually exists on your Shopify store. Redirecting to a non-existent page creates a redirect-to-404 chain that is worse for SEO and user experience than a direct 404.
4. Forgetting trailing slashes. WooCommerce URLs typically end with a trailing slash (/products/my-product/) while Shopify URLs do not (/products/my-product). Include both versions in your redirects when migrating from platforms that use trailing slashes.
5. Not redirecting all URL variations. A single page might be accessible at multiple URLs: with and without www, with and without trailing slash, with query parameters, etc. Test all common variations to ensure they all redirect correctly.
6. Delaying redirect setup. Set up redirects before or simultaneously with URL changes, not after. Every hour a broken link exists, you lose organic traffic, frustrate users, and erode search engine trust. Pre-build your redirect CSV before making any URL changes.
7. Redirecting everything to the homepage. While homepage redirects are better than 404 errors, they provide a poor user experience and waste SEO authority. Google treats mass homepage redirects as “soft 404s” and may not pass ranking authority. Redirect to the most relevant specific page whenever possible.

When to Use This Tool

Tips and Best Practices

• Always use relative paths. Shopify redirects use paths starting with /, not full URLs. Use /collections/summer-sale, not https://yourstore.com/collections/summer-sale. This tool validates this automatically.
• Avoid redirect chains. If /old-page redirects to /middle-page and /middle-page redirects to /new-page, create a single redirect from /old-page to /new-page. Chains slow page loads and dilute SEO value.
• Do not redirect to a page that itself redirects. Before generating your CSV, check that your “Redirect to” URLs are the final destination pages. Importing redirects that point to other redirects creates chains that hurt performance.
• Test redirects after importing. Visit each old URL in an incognito browser window to verify it reaches the correct new page. Pay special attention to URLs with query parameters, trailing slashes, and special characters.
• Keep a backup of your redirect CSV. Store the file you import so you have a reference of all redirects created. This makes future audits and troubleshooting much easier.
• Prioritize high-traffic pages. If you have hundreds of URLs to redirect, start with the pages that receive the most organic traffic and backlinks. Use Google Search Console and Google Analytics to identify these pages. A redirect for your top-10 pages is more valuable than redirects for 100 low-traffic pages.
• Set up redirects proactively during seasonal changes. When seasonal collections expire (e.g., /collections/summer-sale-2025), redirect them to your main sale page or relevant permanent collection. This captures any lingering traffic from bookmarks, social shares, and cached search results.

Related Tools

• URL Analyzer – Analyze your store’s URL structure and identify pages that may need redirects.
• WooCommerce to Shopify Converter – Convert your WooCommerce product CSV to Shopify format as part of your migration workflow.
• SEO Checker – Verify that your new destination pages have proper on-page SEO after migration.