# Advice on URL names - Q from SEO course **URL:** \ **Category:** RapidWeaver Classic\ **Created:** [November 22, 2018, 10:07am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563 "2018-11-22T10:07:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 10:07am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/1 "2018-11-22T10:07:30Z")
In the RW SEO course, I found that file names are always index.php or .html. Is it a must to have all files in the folders named index.\*\*\* ? My website structure has folders and subfolders, but every file is named specifically, product.html What is right? ---
**Author:** ![instacks](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/instacks/32/23339_2.png) [@instacks](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/instacks)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 10:20am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/2 "2018-11-22T10:20:25Z")
All your files “should” be named index.\*, regardless of the extension. It is not a “must”. The web server will serve first index.html if available, if not, index.php. That’s also a common thing when introducing stacks on a Stack plugin page requiring PHP. The filename will change from .html to .php Having checked the “tidy” website link structure will help you with this. Cheers, Jannis _[inStacks Software](https://instacks.com)_ ---
**Author:** ![jabostick](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/jabostick/32/1760_2.png) [@jabostick](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/jabostick)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/3 "2018-11-22T16:57:05Z")
It just impacts how your URL is displayed. So, I saw a link in your post history to your site. If you take a page like this one here: `http://www.carnica-technology.com/segger-development/DevTool-OVW/DevTool-OVW.html` If you changed your page to index.html and enabled tidy links, then that URL would become: `http://www.carnica-technology.com/segger-development/DevTool-OVW/` in your browser (and when you share it with others). So it just looks a little tidier. Given that you have descriptive folder names, I don’t think there’d be an advantage to having descriptive page names as well, though I’m very far from an SEO expert ---
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/4 "2018-11-22T18:30:49Z")
Thank for helping. I’m in the middle of the process of re-working the URLs and file names. In a day or two everything should be looking better. Again, thanks for helping. ---
**Author:** ![DLH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@DLH](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/DLH)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/5 "2018-11-22T20:05:44Z")
If the site has been live for any length of time, look into adding page redirects from the old page names to the new ones. This helps keep your page rankings with Google and makes it easier if any sites linked to your pages or anyone bookmarked them. This is typically done in the .htaccess file. ---
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/6 "2018-11-22T20:45:30Z")
Hi Don, How do I add page redirects from old page names to new ones? I was tempted to delete the old pages on my FTP. Thanks for helping. Best Regards Marian ---
**Author:** ![swilliam](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/swilliam/32/14799_2.png) [@swilliam](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/swilliam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/7 "2018-11-22T22:21:05Z")
That is done in your .htaccess file. Your Cpanel probably has a way for you to easily add redirects that it will then write to the .htaccess file for you. ---
**Author:** ![DLH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@DLH](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/DLH)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/8 "2018-11-23T02:01:42Z")
Here’s a website with good info on redirect statements in .htaccess. > **[Simple Redirects with .htaccess](https://wpscholar.com/blog/simple-redirects-with-htaccess/)** > > Anytime you migrate a web site, or even just relocate a single page to a new URL, redirects ensure that your users don't get lost in the shuffle. Search engines also use redirects to aid in properly indexing your site's content. Once you setup a rule to redirect each old page to the new page, you can then delete the old page via FTP. ---
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/9 "2018-11-27T16:40:57Z")
Thank you very much for the help, Don. This brought me really forward. ---
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 9:43am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/10 "2018-11-28T09:43:30Z")
My .htaccess file now includes all redirects to the new structure on FTP. Before I have reworked my entire website and changed all links to the new correct place: How about the many links on my pages? If a link with the old folder/file name is clicked, will the user also be redirected by the new .htaccess file to the new location? ---
**Author:** ![teefers](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/teefers/32/8173_2.png) [@teefers](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/teefers)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 10:51am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/11 "2018-11-28T10:51:18Z")
> [@McMari23](#): > > How about the many links on my pages? If a link with the old folder/file name is clicked, will the user also be redirected by the new .htaccess file to the new location? If I understand what you’re asking, these links are on your pages? **change them** to the new location. Most internally generated links use _relative links_(not the complete address) so a 301 redirect will not work. I would change every URL you have control to change to the new location. Htaccess redirects should really only be thought of as a way to fix links you can’t fix yourself. Pages reference in external blogs, bookmarks and the like. ---
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/12 "2018-11-28T13:47:17Z")
Thanks much! Really appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/13 "2018-11-28T19:16:20Z")
Ok, changed all old folder/filenames to folder/index.html (php). Some pages appear in Safari already with /folder/ (without index.html), some not. Is there a certain lead time until when all pages appear without index.\* ? For website internal links, do I have to include /…/index.\* in the link, or is the folder sufficient? How long does it take until when the redirects in .htaccess become effective? ---
**Author:** ![teefers](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/teefers/32/8173_2.png) [@teefers](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/teefers)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/14 "2018-11-28T19:55:06Z")
Try emptying the browser cache. (opt+cmd+E). ---
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 9:24am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/15 "2018-11-29T09:24:59Z")
Does not work. There is still /…/index.html in Safari. ---
**Author:** ![teefers](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/teefers/32/8173_2.png) [@teefers](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/teefers)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 10:56am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/16 "2018-11-29T10:56:28Z")
Would need a URL with an example of what you are talking about. Asking in generic terms makes it difficult to figure out what exactly is going on. ---
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 11:46am UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/17 "2018-11-29T11:46:11Z")
I emptied cache this morning, but there were still pages with …/index.html Now, a couple of hours later, no page has an URL with …/index.html anymore. Seems all ok. Strange. Redirecting with .htaccess does not seem to work. The new .htaccess file with all redirects is on my FTP since yesterday, but no redirect occurs to new locations. Is there a lead time until this works and Google has read the .htaccess ? ---
**Author:** ![teefers](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/teefers/32/8173_2.png) [@teefers](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/teefers)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 12:03pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/18 "2018-11-29T12:03:44Z")
.htaccess file redirects should happen real-time. If you’re not getting redirected to the new URL’s then chances are you have a syntax error, you have the file named incorrectly, you have the file in the wrong location on the server or the host company doesn’t support or allow .htaccess files. You can test your rewrite rules here: [https://htaccess.madewithlove.be](https://htaccess.madewithlove.be) ---
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 1:38pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/19 "2018-11-29T13:38:08Z")
The tester showed that almost no redirect was executed. So, first of all, thank you for the tester link. I’m confused about the syntax too. One guideline says, a redirect should looks as such: Redirect 301 “/solutions/embedded-solutions.html” “/embedded-project-tools/index.html” another guideline says: Redirect 301 ^/solutions/embedded-solutions.html$ /embedded-project-tools/index.html None of both work. What am I doing wrong? ---
**Author:** ![McMari23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@McMari23](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/McMari23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563/20 "2018-11-29T13:40:43Z")
This does not work as well: Redirect 301 ^/solutions/embedded-solutions.html$ /embedded-project-tools/index.html [Next page](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/advice-on-url-names-q-from-seo-course/23563.md?page=2)