One of the most powerful and widely acclaimed Magento features is the URL rewrite. This article discusses everything there is to know about URL rewrite, including what it is, benefits, and Magento 2 URL rewrite programmatically.
What Is URL Rewriting?
URL rewriting is the process of making your entire store URLs uniform for the purposes of better user readability and search engine friendliness. It makes URLs easier to remember, meaningful, keyword-rich, and easier to index.
Consider the following 3 URLs:
- http://www.abc.com/show_a_product.php?product_id=3
This URL is too long not just from the reader’s perspective but also the web crawlers. It means that it will be difficult to index and rank this page. On top of it, it contains no keyword at all.
- http://www.abc.com/products/3/
The above URL is much more concise. We can easily discern that the URL is about a product what we cannot know for sure which product it is, nor is there a keyword.
- http://www.abc.com/bags/overnight-duffle/
Now, this URL is much more meaningful. The user and the web crawlers can easily determine what the webpage is about – Nike duffle bags. The URL also contains the keyword, making it easier to rank in the search engine results pages.
URL rewriting is used to create URLs like the last one and tell servers how to process them.
Import Export URL Rewrites
Boost SEO and manage URLs easily with the Magento 2 URL Rewrites Import-Export extension. Add, replace, or delete URL rewrites in bulk efficiently.
Benefits of Magento 2 URL Rewrites
Search Engine Optimisation
Web crawlers can easily read clean and friendly URLs, thereby improving the webpage’s ranking in results pages.
User Experience
Clean URLs are easy to remember and view from a user’s perspective, thereby enhancing their overall experience. The store benefits from repeat visits which can contribute to higher conversions.
Branding
Lastly, URL rewrites help the store ensure consistency in URL practices. This can prove beneficial from a branding perspective.
What is the Need to Add URL Rewrite Programmatically?
You can add URL rewrite manually if you have a few URLs. But this is usually not the case if you have an ecommerce store. You may have tens of categories, subcategories and hundreds of products and CMS pages. Adding URL rewrite for all these pages is a near impossible task. The best way is to do it programmatically.
Magento 2 URL Rewrite Programmatically
The URL Rewrite tool lets you change any URL that is associated with a product, category, or CMS page. When the rewrite goes into effect, any links that point to the previous URL are redirected to the new address. Follow the steps below to enable URL rewrite programmatically in Magento 2.
Step 1: Generate a Constructor File
<?php
/**
* @var \Magento\UrlRewrite\Model\ResourceModel\UrlRewriteFactory
*/
protected $_urlRewriteFactory;
/**
* @param Context $context
* @param \Magento\UrlRewrite\Model\ResourceModel\UrlRewriteFactory $urlRewriteFactory
*/
public function __construct(
Context $context,
\Magento\UrlRewrite\Model\ResourceModel\UrlRewriteFactory $urlRewriteFactory
)
{
$this->_eavAttributeFactory = $eavAttributeFactory;
parent::__construct($context);
}
Step 2: Fill in Custom URL Rewrite in Execute Method
$urlRewriteModel = $this->_urlRewriteFactory->create();
/* set current store id */
$urlRewriteModel->setStoreId(1);
/* this url is not created by system so set as 0 */
$urlRewriteModel->setIsSystem(0);
/* unique identifier - set random unique value to id path */
$urlRewriteModel->setIdPath(rand(1, 100000));
/* set actual url path to target path field */
$urlRewriteModel->setTargetPath("www.example.com/customModule/customController/customAction");
/* set requested path which you want to create */
$urlRewriteModel->setRequestPath("www.example.com/xyz");
/* save URL rewrite rule */
$urlRewriteModel->save();
Using a Magento 2 URL Rewrite Extension
Our Magento 2 URL Rewrite Extension makes URL rewriting much easier and more user-friendly. It offers a wide range of features, including:
- Add, merge, replace, or delete existing URL rewrites
- Create Export Profiles
- View Export History
- Export URL Rewrites Based on Different Variables (e.g. store view, redirects)
Final Thoughts on Magento 2 URL Rewrite Programmatically
That’s all about adding URL rewrite programmatically in Magento 2. Any questions or comments regarding URL rewrites in Magento 2 are welcomed.
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