The "URL Settings" block in PrestaShop is a crucial element that directly impacts SEO, link structure, and the overall behavior of your online store. In this article, we'll provide a detailed breakdown of each setting available under the "Shop Parameters -> SEO & URLs" section, explaining their significance and offering recommendations for their use.
1. Friendly URLs
Friendly URLs are page addresses that are easy for users to read and remember, and they are also optimized for search engines. Enabling this setting requires your server to support URL rewriting.
What is URL rewriting, and why is it important? URL rewriting is a technology that allows complex and hard-to-read URLs to be converted into more user-friendly and readable formats. For example, instead of having a URL like www.example.com/index.php?page=product&id=123, you would get www.example.com/product/123. This improves user experience and makes URLs more search engine friendly, which positively impacts SEO.
2. Accented Characters in URLs
This option allows you to enable the use of accented and other special characters in friendly URLs. It is recommended to activate this option only if your store uses non-Latin characters.
What is the purpose of this setting? If your store uses non-Latin characters (e.g., Cyrillic or ideograms), enabling this option ensures they are correctly displayed in URLs. However, for Latin alphabets, it is recommended to keep this option disabled, as it may negatively affect SEO by complicating search engine indexing and recognition.
3. Redirect to Canonical URL
This setting allows you to choose the type of redirect to eliminate duplicate content issues that can arise from having multiple URLs for the same page.
Options:
- No redirection: This option does not eliminate duplicate content, which can harm SEO.
- 302 Moved Temporarily: This redirect temporarily points to a new URL, which is useful when setting up your store.
- 301 Moved Permanently: This option permanently redirects to a new URL and is the best choice when your store is fully configured and accessible to all users.
4. Disable Apache MultiViews Option
This option is only used if you encounter issues with URL rewriting on specific pages.
What is Apache MultiViews? Apache MultiViews is a feature of the Apache web server that allows multiple versions of the same page to be displayed depending on user preferences, such as language. In some cases, this can conflict with URL rewriting in PrestaShop. If you experience issues with generating friendly URLs, disabling MultiViews might help resolve them.
5. Disable Apache mod_security Module
Some PrestaShop functions may not work correctly with certain configurations of the Apache mod_security module.
What is Apache mod_security? Apache mod_security is a module for the Apache web server that provides protection against various web attacks by filtering HTTP requests and preventing potential threats. However, in some configurations, mod_security may block certain PrestaShop functions, leading to errors. Disabling this module is recommended if you encounter such issues.
Each setting in the "URL Settings" block in PrestaShop plays a crucial role in the operation of your online store. Understanding and correctly configuring these parameters will help you avoid many problems related to SEO, duplicate content, and security.
If you have any questions or would like to share your experience with configuring PrestaShop, please leave a comment below! We value your input and are ready to assist with any issues you may encounter.
