Permalinks Explained
How Permalinks Define the Address of Your Content
What is a permalink? A permalink is the permanent web address of a single page, post or other piece of content. The word combines “permanent” and “link”: the address should stay the same over time, so people, search engines and other sites can keep finding that content.
A content management system (CMS) stores pages and posts as records in a database. When a record is displayed, the CMS builds its URL from a rule called the permalink structure. That rule can use the content’s title, publication date or category to create the address.
For example, a post titled “Choosing a Hosting Plan” could appear at example.com/choosing-a-hosting-plan/. With a different structure, the same post could appear at example.com/?p=123. Both addresses lead to the same content, but they differ in readability and in how clearly they describe the page.
Common Permalink Structures and Their Trade-Offs
- Plain uses a numeric ID, such as
?p=123. It does not depend on URL rewriting, but the address says nothing about the content. - Date and name adds the year, month and day before the post name. It suits news archives, but the date becomes part of every address and makes long paths harder to share.
- Post name uses only the slug, the short title-based part of the address. It is readable and widely used on general sites.
- Custom combines tags such as category and slug. It can suit structured sites, but changing it later affects every existing link.
A custom structure that includes categories depends on how the site organizes its content, which is explained in the categories and tags article.
How Rewrite Rules Make Clean URLs Work
Clean addresses such as /about-us/ do not match a file on the server. The web server has to pass each request to the CMS, which then finds the matching content. The instructions that do this are called rewrite rules. On Apache servers they are often kept in a file named .htaccess; nginx uses rules in its own configuration.
When rewrite rules are missing or broken, visitors may see “page not found” errors for content that exists. This is why rewrite support is part of the requirements covered in the server requirements article.
Frequently asked questions
Should I change my permalink structure after launch?
Changing the permalink structure on a live site changes the address of existing content. Old links, bookmarks and search engine listings then stop working unless each old address is redirected to its new one. Choose the structure before launch where possible, and treat any later change as a migration that needs redirects.
Do permalinks affect SEO?
A keyword in a URL is a minor ranking factor at most. Readable addresses that describe the content are easier for people and search engines to understand and share. Stable addresses matter more, because a URL that never changes keeps its links and history. Redirects and canonical addresses are covered in SEO guidance.