Content URL types
URLs identify the location of resources on a website by specifying both the domain name and the specific path to an asset. You set the domain at the site level when you create the site. At the site level, you can also specify both
vanity URLs and wildcard URLs. At the asset level, you can manage the path.
Asset-level URL management
You set the path part of the URL in the URLs widget, which appears in the content edit pages of an asset. You can set the following types of URLs in the URLs widget.
| Type of URL | Description |
| Permalink | Permanent link that never expires. Another asset on your site cannot have the same permalink. Do not change permalinks after the initial publishing of content. If you want to change a URL, add an alias to the asset, or add a redirect to the new asset that is replacing the old asset. |
| Alias | Alternative link to the asset. You can delete the alias from an asset and use it on another asset. |
| Redirect (Permanent) | URL from which browsers are permanently redirected. Browsers redirect to the asset with the permalink. For example, if the permalink is /ice-cream-toppings, and you had a link to a previous article /toppings, then you would set /toppings as the redirect URL. Browsers would then redirect from /toppings to /ice-cream-toppings. A permanent redirect causes the server to send an HTTP status code 301 to the browser. It also instructs search engines to replace the older permalink in their listings with the new permalink. |
| Redirect (Temporary) | A temporary redirect is similar to a permanent redirect, but a temporary redirect causes the server to send an HTTP status code 307 to the browser. It also instructs search engines to temporarily replace the older URL in their listings with the new permalink. However, the search engines continue to scan the site at the old permalink and will deliver that page after you delete the temporary redirect. |
Permalinks for assets
When you create an asset, you must assign it a permalink to make the asset accessible on a website. A permalink must be unique on the site where the item resides. A permalink should not be changed or deleted, even if the link is erroneously named or if the item becomes obsolete. In such cases, you can apply an alias or redirect URL to handle the issue.
As a best practice, your organization should define a permalink scheme to better manage the ever-increasing volume of content on your websites. The scheme should define the structure of the path in a way that is meaningful to your organization. For example, you could use paths based on headlines for article types, such as /deadly-gamma-ray-burst-headed-for-tinas-pizzeria. To provide more information about resources on your website, you could use additional URL segments.
Redirect URLs for assets
Redirects protect against web links that reference obsoleted (moved, deleted, or consolidated) content on your site. Redirect URLs map source links to target links, where source links are URLs to obsoleted assets, and target links are URLs to new, replacement assets. Redirects can be either permanent (301 redirects) or temporary (307 redirects).
You can add redirect URLs at the asset level; in the content edit page of a target asset, map source permalinks for one or more obsolete assets to the target permalink.
Administrators are also able to redirect URLs at the site level using either vanity URLs or wildcard URLs.
A prerequisite for setting a redirect URL is that the URL itself no longer exist on the obsolete asset. This is accomplished in one of the following ways:
- Deleting the obsolete asset.
- Deleting the asset’s permalink.