WordPress Permalinks Setup: Creating SEO-Friendly URLs [2025]

Your website's URL structure matters more than you think. Good permalinks help search engines understand your content and make URLs user-friendly.

What Are Permalinks?

Permalinks are the permanent URLs of your pages and posts. "Perma" stands for permanent - these URLs shouldn't change.

Why Permalinks Matter

• SEO: Keywords in URL help rankings
• User experience: Readable, shareable URLs
• Click-through rate: Users prefer clear URLs

Recommended Structure

For most sites: /%postname%/

Result: yoursite.com/my-article/

Best Practices

1. Keep slugs short (3-5 words)
2. Remove stop words
3. Use keywords
4. Avoid dates for evergreen content
5. Always set up redirects when changing

Changing Permalinks Safely

1. Backup first
2. Set up 301 redirects
3. Change permalinks
4. Test thoroughly

Conclusion

Good permalinks are fundamental for SEO and user experience.