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Merchant guideContentMenus & redirects

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Menus and URL redirects

Your header and footer menus live under Content → Menus. URL redirects sit on the same page, behind the Redirects button.

When you add or edit a menu item, pick what it links to:

Link toWhere it goes
HomeYour home page
CollectionOne collection you pick
All collectionsThe page listing every collection
ProductOne product you pick
PageOne of your pages (About, Contact…)
BlogA blog’s list of posts
Blog postOne published post
PolicyYour refund, privacy, terms, shipping or contact policy (only published ones are offered)
Search pageThe store search
Custom URLAny address you type, on your store (/pages/size-guide) or outside it (https://instagram.com/…)

The menu editor checks every link while you work. When something is wrong, a yellow box above the items says how many links need attention, and each one is marked:

  • Broken link: the product, collection, page, blog, post or policy it points at no longer exists. If an old link is still caught by a redirect, the mark says Broken, but redirected to …, so you know where shoppers end up. Edit the item and pick the right destination.
  • Hidden from shoppers: it exists but shoppers cannot open it: a draft product or collection, a hidden page, or a post that is not published yet.

Custom URLs that point inside your store (like /products/old-name) are checked too. Links to other websites are not.

When you rename a handle

Changing the URL handle of a product, collection or page (in its Search engine listing) keeps every old link working, on its own:

  • A redirect is added from the old address to the new one. It shows in URL redirects with the source Handle changed.
  • Redirects that pointed at the old address now point straight at the new one, so shoppers never bounce twice.
  • Menu items that linked to it follow the new handle.
  • If you rename it back later, the old redirect is removed, because that address is live again.

Import and export redirects

On URL redirects:

  • Export downloads every redirect as a CSV with two columns, Redirect from and Redirect to. It opens in Excel or Google Sheets.
  • Import reads the same format. A redirects export from Shopify works as it is.
    1. Click Import and choose the file.
    2. You see how many redirects are ready and which lines will be skipped and why (for example “Line 7: A path cannot redirect to itself”). Nothing is saved yet.
    3. Click Import N redirects. New addresses are added; an address you already redirect takes the target from the file.

Up to 5,000 redirects fit in one file. Split bigger lists into several files.

Common problems and fixes

ProblemWhy it happensFix
“Pick one of your policies”The menu item points at a policy that does not exist.Edit the item and pick a policy from the list.
“Pick the blog post again”A blog post link lost its blog part.Edit the item and pick the post again.
“Needs two columns” on importA line has only one value.Add the target in the second column.
“That path is reserved” on importThe old address starts with /api/, /_next or /-.These cannot be redirected; remove the line.
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