# Using URL Manager

This guide is for editors who keep links working and owners deciding how to handle moved pages. Every step uses the labels you see on screen.

## Using URL Manager (editor how-to)

### How to create a redirect

1. Go to **URL Manager**.
2. Click **Create redirect**.
3. Enter the old URL (the address that should move) and the new URL (where it should go).
4. **Activate redirect** and save. Visitors to the old address now land on the new one.

> **Beta illustration:** create and edit redirect rules in the Capell admin; verify the installed experience before relying on it in production.

### How to check your redirects are working

1. Go to **URL Manager** and review the list of redirects.
2. Check each one shows as **Active**, and look at the **Hits** and **Last hit** columns to confirm real traffic is being redirected.
3. Use this view to confirm URL Manager is installed and tracking redirect health before any SEO clean-up work.

> **Beta illustration:** use the redirect health snapshot to validate installation and remediation work; this is not Released evidence.

### How to fix a link that moved

1. Find the old address under **404 opportunities** or create a redirect directly.
2. Use **Convert to redirect** to point it at the correct page.
3. Test the old link to confirm it now lands in the right place.

### How to import many redirects at once

1. In **URL Manager**, open the import tool.
2. Use **Download template** to get the correct spreadsheet format.
3. Fill it in, then **Preview import** to check it before applying.
4. **Import redirects** to add them all.

> **Beta illustration:** the redirect import workflow is represented by the preview and validation steps below. No production screenshot is published for this Beta capability.

### How to export your redirects

1. In **URL Manager**, choose **Export redirects**.
2. Save the file as a backup or to review your redirects in a spreadsheet.

> **Beta illustration:** export redirect rules for review, migration handoff, or audit evidence; validate the installed output for your project.

## Rolling out URL Manager (for owners)

### Turn on first

- **Redirects for any moved or renamed pages.** Before or right after a site change, redirect old URLs so no links break.

### Add when needed

| Need                             | Enable                                  |
| -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Recover visitors from dead links | **404 opportunities** to redirect       |
| Migrate many URLs at once        | **Import redirects** from a spreadsheet |

### Don't enable yet

- Don't create redirects you don't need. Each one is a rule to maintain. Add them when a page actually moves.

### Who does what

| Role       | First useful screen                                |
| ---------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Editor     | **Create redirect** and **404 opportunities**      |
| Site owner | The **Redirects** list: keep it tidy and loop-free |

## Troubleshooting for editors

| What you see                       | What it means                                          | What to do                                                               |
| ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| A redirect isn't working           | It isn't active                                        | Open it and **Activate redirect**                                        |
| The page keeps reloading or errors | A redirect loop (two redirects point at each other)    | Remove one side of the loop so the chain ends at a real page             |
| A bulk import didn't apply         | The file format was wrong, or preview wasn't confirmed | Use **Download template**, fix the file, **Preview import**, then import |
| Visitors still hit a 404           | The old URL has no redirect yet                        | Find it in **404 opportunities** and add a redirect                      |