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The Proper Way to Rename WordPress Categories (Without Breaking Your Site)

Many website owners do not know the proper procedure for renaming a category in WordPress. It might seem like a simple text change, but if done incorrectly, it can have a severe impact on your SEO, causing “404 Not Found” errors and broken links.

In this guide, we will discuss the correct method to rename categories, how to check your permalinks first, and how to fix the inevitable broken links that occur after the change.

1. First: Check Your Permalink Structure

Before you change a single category name, you must understand how your URLs are built. If your URL structure includes the category name, changing it will break the links to every single post within that category.

How to check:

  1. Go to your WordPress Dashboard.
  2. Navigate to Settings > Permalinks.
  3. Look at the “Common Settings.”
  • Safe Scenario: If you use “Post name” (e.g., domain.com/sample-post/) or “Day and name,” changing a category usually only affects the category archive page, not the individual posts.
  • High-Risk Scenario: If you use a Custom Structure that includes %category% (e.g., domain.com/category/post-name/), renaming the category will change the URL of every post inside it. You must be extremely careful here to avoid losing traffic.

2. How to Rename the Category

Once you have verified your structure, follow these steps to rename the category.

  1. Navigate to Categories: On your Dashboard sidebar, hover over Posts and click on Categories.
  2. Select the Category: Find the category you want to change (e.g., “Amazon”).
  3. Edit: Hover over the category name and click the Edit button.
  4. Update the Name: Change the “Name” field. This is what visitors see on your site (e.g., changing “Amazon” to “Amazon Selling”).
  5. Update the Slug (The URL): The “Slug” is the URL-friendly version of the name.
    • Note: If you change the Slug (e.g., from amazon to amazon-selling), the URL will change. If you want to keep the URL the same but change the visible name, do not change the slug.
    • If you do change the slug, you are creating a new URL address.
  6. Parent Categories: You can also assign a “Parent Category” here (e.g., putting “Amazon Selling” under “Online Marketplaces”).
  7. Save: Click the Update button at the bottom.

3. Critical Step: Fix Broken Links (Redirection)

If you changed the Slug in the previous step, your old URL (domain.com/category/amazon) no longer exists. Visitors clicking old links from Google or social media will see an error page.

To fix this, you must set up a 301 Redirect.

  • The Goal: You need to tell browsers that anyone looking for the Old Link should be automatically sent to the New Link.
  • How to do it: You can use a redirection plugin (like “Redirection” or “RankMath”). You will map the source URL (the old slug) to the target URL (the new slug).

Note: If you do not set up a redirect, you will lose the SEO authority built up on that page.

Conclusion

Renaming a category is more than just a spelling correction; it is a structural change to your website. By following the steps above—checking your permalinks, editing the slug carefully, and setting up redirections—you can safely update your site structure without losing your hard-earned traffic.

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