301 Redirect ! Joomla Pages, Already ranking. ( just wanted to change the url

[BizDetox]

hey guys hope everyone had a new year.

I am ranking for a page on my site that i want to ( not specifically move ), but just change the url name: It is too long i think and i want to move it from one portion of my architecture to another menu.

I have never physically done a 301 redirect myself, always had someone do it for me.

I wanted some pointers. Since it is a fairly new site 4 months old!

What are my options.

Do i need to 301 redirect the page, if i am changing the Structure and AI of my site, or can i just change the url as is and it will still get ranked?

How do i keep that url put delete the page and redirect it ?

Sorry its very simple but i wanted to get the communities help to continue on !

Best Wishes

HAmpig

[Highland]

A 301 will retain most of the rank of the previous page. It is considered a best practice to use them when you move URLs. Changing your URL without it means that you will likely be hit with a duplicate content penalty and the new page may not rank well, especially if the old page doesn't return an invalid code (i.e. 404)

You can do a 301 in a few ways

1. Use a programming language (PHP, .NET, etc) to have your web server return the 301 header

2. Use a directive file (i.e. in Apache, you can usually use .htaccess) to return a 301 header

3. In the site config of your web server you can also specify a 301 there. This is generally only available if you run your own server (i.e. a virtual server, etc)

[BizDetox]

Highlander Thanks.

Yes i do run my own server. Virtual server from godaddy

Just as well i use Joomla and it does not have any 301 options. The coding is what i am mostly worried about , how do i code a specific page to 301 redirect in my htaccess.??

Is there any docs for that you may refer me to ?

[Highland]

I'll do you one better. Here's a handy code generator that should get you going.

http://www.htaccessredirect.net/

Once you've made the .htaccess file, put it in the root of your site and it should begin to 301 the old page to the new.