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Use Case

Change a Shopware category URL: with 301 redirect, per channel and language

A category has a new name, the URL should be shorter or a keyword belongs in it: changing a category URL without a redirect risks 404 errors and lost rankings. In the PIM you set the new URL per sales channel and language, and the old one redirects.

3 min readFor Shopware 6.6 and 6.7

What the PIM does here
  • Slug of its own per sales channel and language right in category management.
  • 301 redirect included: the old URL stays as a redirect, the new one becomes canonical.
  • It stays: the new URL is marked as manual, Shopware does not overwrite it when rebuilding.
  • Back to automatic: clear the field and Shopware generates the URL itself again.

Category URLs in standard Shopware

Shopware generates category URLs from a template, usually from the category path. If you rename a category, its URL changes with the next rebuild. Setting a single URL on purpose while redirecting the old one is cumbersome in the admin. How the template works is explained in Shopware SEO URL template.

How to change the URL

  1. Open category management, choose sales channel and language, click the category.
  2. "Description & SEO" section: the field shows the current canonical URL. Enter the new slug.
  3. Save: the new URL becomes canonical, the old one stays as a 301 redirect.
  4. Repeat for further languages and channels if a new slug is wanted there too.
Tip: only change URLs of well-ranking categories when there is a clear reason. The redirect keeps visitors, but Google still needs a while until the new URL takes over the old position.

And product URLs?

For product URLs the PIM has a generator of its own with patterns, dry run and 301 redirects, see Regenerate and change Shopware 6 SEO URLs.

Example: "Garden furniture" becomes "Outdoor furniture"

  1. Rename the category in category management.
  2. Set the slug: under "Description & SEO" enter outdoor-furniture/ for English. German keeps its URL.
  3. Check: the old URL redirects to the new one with a 301.
  4. Product URLs: if they contain the category path, regenerate them afterwards in the SEO URL generator, with "Keep old URLs as 301".

Frequently asked questions

How do I change a category URL in Shopware without a 404?

In the PIM you enter the new slug in category management. The old URL stays as a 301 redirect.

Does Shopware overwrite my new URL again?

No. The new URL is marked as manual and stays when the SEO URLs are rebuilt.

Can I set a different URL per language?

Yes, per sales channel and language.

How do I get back to the automatic URL?

Clear the field and save. Shopware then generates the URL from the template again.

Do product URLs change too if they contain the category path?

Only once they are regenerated. With "Keep old URLs as 301" the old product URLs also stay as redirects.

Where do I see a category's current URL?

In the category's "Description & SEO" section. On opening, the field shows the current canonical URL.

Further reading