To set up redirects in Framer, open your project settings, go to the Redirects section, and add a rule with a source path (the old URL) and a destination path (the new URL). Framer applies a 301 permanent redirect by default, which tells search engines the move is permanent and passes ranking signals to the new page.
What Redirects Are and Why They Matter
A redirect sends anyone who visits one URL straight to a different URL. When you change a page’s slug, restructure your navigation, or migrate from another platform to Framer, old links break. Redirects catch those broken links and forward both visitors and search engines to the right place. Without them, people hit a 404 page and search engines lose the ranking you built up on the old URL.
Redirects are one of the least glamorous parts of running a site and one of the most important. Get them wrong during a migration and you can watch months of search traffic evaporate. Get them right and the move is invisible to your visitors and to Google. Framer makes the setup straightforward, so there is no excuse for skipping it.
301 vs 302: Which Redirect Type to Use
There are two redirect types you will encounter, and the difference matters for SEO.
- 301 (permanent). Use this when a page has moved for good. It tells search engines to update their index and transfer the old page’s ranking authority to the new URL. This is what you want in the vast majority of cases: slug changes, migrations, consolidations.
- 302 (temporary). Use this when a page is moved only for a short time, such as during a brief promotion or maintenance window. Search engines keep the original URL indexed because the move is supposed to be temporary.
Framer applies 301 permanent redirects by default, which is the correct choice for almost every redirect you will create. If you set up a redirect during a migration or after renaming a page, leave it as a 301 so your ranking carries over.
How to Add a Redirect in Framer
- Open your Framer project.
- Go to project settings.
- Select the Redirects section.
- Click to add a new redirect.
- Enter the source path. This is the old URL path, for example
/old-pricing. - Enter the destination path. This is where visitors should land, for example
/pricing. - Save and publish your site so the redirect goes live.
Source paths are relative to your domain, so you enter /old-page rather than the full https://yoursite.com/old-page. After publishing, test the redirect by typing the old URL into a private browser window and confirming it lands on the new page.
Wildcard and Pattern Redirects
When you move an entire section of a site, adding one redirect per page is tedious. Framer supports wildcard redirects so you can forward a whole path pattern at once. For example, if you moved every post from /posts/* to /blog/*, a single wildcard rule can map the old structure to the new one, preserving the slug after the prefix. This is a lifesaver during a migration where you are reorganizing how content is grouped. Always test a few sample URLs after setting up a wildcard, since a misconfigured pattern can send people to the wrong place at scale.
Redirects During a Migration
The single most common reason to set up redirects is moving to Framer from another platform. When you migrate from WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, or Wix, your URL structure almost always changes at least a little. Every old URL that had traffic or backlinks needs a redirect to its new home.
The process looks like this. First, export a full list of your old URLs before you tear anything down. Pull them from your old sitemap, your analytics, and your search console data so you capture every page that mattered. Second, map each old URL to its new Framer URL. Third, enter the redirects in Framer. Fourth, publish and test a representative sample. The migration guides walk through this end to end: see the WordPress to Framer migration guide and the website migration guide for the full checklist, including how to avoid losing search rankings in the move.
How to Build Your Redirect Map
A redirect map is just a two-column list: old URL on the left, new URL on the right. Building it carefully is what separates a clean migration from a painful one. Start by gathering every URL that exists today from three sources. Your old XML sitemap gives you the full list of pages the platform published. Your analytics shows which of those pages actually got traffic, so you know what to prioritize. Your search console data shows which pages rank and earn clicks, which are the ones you absolutely cannot afford to break.
With that combined list, decide the new destination for each URL. Most pages map one-to-one: an old about page goes to the new about page. Some pages get consolidated, where two thin old pages merge into one stronger new page, so both old URLs point to the same destination. A few pages may be retired entirely with no good equivalent, in which case point them to the most relevant parent section rather than the homepage. Document every decision in the map so you have a record to test against later.
Prioritize ruthlessly. If your time is limited, redirect the pages with traffic and backlinks first, since those carry real value. A page that got zero visits and has no inbound links can wait or be left to 404 without much consequence. Spend your effort where the ranking and the visitors actually live.
What Happens If You Skip Redirects
It is worth being concrete about the cost of doing nothing. When you change URLs without redirects, three things happen. Visitors who click an old link, whether from a bookmark, a social post, or another site, land on a 404 error page and most of them leave. Search engines that had your old URLs indexed find dead pages and eventually drop them, taking your rankings with them. And any backlinks pointing at your old URLs now point at nothing, so the authority those links passed evaporates.
The damage is rarely instant, which is what makes it dangerous. Rankings can hold for a few weeks on momentum, then slide as search engines re-crawl and find the broken pages. By the time the traffic drop shows up in your reports, the cause is weeks in the past and harder to diagnose. Setting up redirects before you change anything is far cheaper than recovering lost rankings after the fact. A good 404 page softens the blow for the stray broken link, and the 404 error page design guide covers how to build one that recovers visitors instead of losing them, but redirects remain your first line of defense.
Redirect Mistakes to Avoid
- Redirect chains. Avoid sending A to B and then B to C. Each hop slows the page and dilutes ranking signals. Point A straight to C.
- Redirect loops. Never redirect a page back to itself or create a circle. The browser will error out.
- Forgetting backlinks. External sites link to your old URLs. If you do not redirect them, that link equity is lost. Prioritize redirecting any URL with inbound links.
- Skipping the test. Always verify in a private window after publishing. An untested redirect is a guess.
- Redirecting everything to the homepage. Sending a dozen old product pages to the homepage is a poor experience and search engines may treat those as soft 404s. Map each old page to its closest match.
Redirects, Sitemaps, and Crawling
Redirects work hand in hand with your sitemap. After a migration, your sitemap should list only your current live URLs, while your redirects quietly forward the old ones. Submit the updated sitemap to search engines so they re-crawl and discover the new structure faster. For the full picture on how sitemaps and crawling interact, the XML sitemap guide is a useful companion.
At Framer Websites, redirect mapping is a standard part of every migration we run, because a clean redirect map is what keeps your search traffic intact when you switch platforms. If you are planning a move to Framer and want it handled without losing rankings, get in touch through our contact page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Framer use 301 or 302 redirects?
Framer applies 301 permanent redirects by default. This is the right choice for slug changes and migrations because it transfers the old page’s ranking authority to the new URL and tells search engines the move is permanent.
Can I redirect an entire folder or section at once in Framer?
Yes. Framer supports wildcard redirects, so you can map a whole path pattern such as /posts/* to /blog/* with a single rule. Test a few sample URLs after setting it up to confirm the pattern forwards correctly.
Will redirects help me keep my SEO rankings after migrating to Framer?
Yes, when set up correctly. A 301 redirect from each old URL to its new Framer URL passes most of the ranking signal to the new page. Map every URL that had traffic or backlinks, publish, and submit an updated sitemap.
How do I test that a Framer redirect is working?
After publishing, type the old URL into a private or incognito browser window. If you are forwarded to the correct new page, the redirect is live. Test a representative sample, especially after setting up wildcard rules.