Shopify guide · Broken Link Redirects
How to fix 404 errors from deleted Shopify products
Updated
Short answer
Shopify offers a redirect when you change a product's handle in the admin, but not when you delete a product or collection, so the old URL returns a 404. Clear existing 404s with a CSV import of URL redirects. To catch new ones, Toolbench's Broken Link Redirects lists each URL the moment it breaks and creates a Shopify redirect to wherever you choose.
How to do it with Toolbench
Toolbench's Broken Link Redirects watches for deleted products and collections and handle changes. Each URL that just went dead goes on a list, and you choose where it should go. Toolbench then creates a normal Shopify URL redirect, so the redirect stays even if the app is removed.
- Install Toolbench from the Shopify App Store, open Broken Link Redirects and click Turn on.
- Toolbench scans your current products and collections in the background, so later deletes and renames resolve to the right old URL.
- When a product or collection is deleted or renamed, its old URL appears on the list.
- Type where it should go, such as /collections/sale or a replacement product's URL, and create the redirect. Or dismiss it.
Why this happens
A store deletes discontinued or seasonal products, and weeks later Search Console reports hundreds of Not found (404) pages. Customers land on dead pages from old emails, ads and links on other sites.
Handle changes made by apps or through the API don't get a redirect either, unless the app asks for one. Archived and draft products return a 404 too.
Your options in Shopify
The handle change checkbox
When you edit a product or collection handle in the admin, Shopify offers "Create a URL redirect". Leave it ticked.
URL redirects (Content > Menus > View URL redirects)
Add redirects one by one, or import a CSV with two columns, Redirect from and Redirect to. Shopify allows 100,000 redirects, or 20 million on Plus. There are no wildcards, so each URL needs its own row.
Search Console export
In Google Search Console, open Pages, then Not found (404), and export the list to build your redirect CSV. Point each old product at the closest collection or replacement product rather than the homepage.
A redirect only works while the old URL is a 404. If the product comes back, Shopify removes the redirect. A 404 isn't a penalty on its own, and Google drops dead pages over time. They matter when people still land on them from links, ads or old emails.
You only approve what Broken Link Redirects needs
Toolbench asks for no permissions when you install it. When you turn on Broken Link Redirects, Shopify asks you to approve only what this tool uses: read products, and create URL redirects (Shopify groups this with online store navigation).
It doesn't ask for orders, customers, inventory or your theme. Each of Toolbench's other tools asks for its own access separately, and only if you turn that tool on, so you never grant access for tools you don't use. Read access means Toolbench can see that data but can't change it.
Before you turn it on
- It only catches deletes and renames from the day it's turned on. Use the CSV import above for an existing backlog.
- It covers product and collection URLs, not pages or blog posts.
- It doesn't check navigation menus for links to deleted items.
- Nothing is redirected automatically. You approve each one.
Pricing
Broken Link Redirects is a free tool. The free plan runs any 3 of Toolbench's 12 free tools at a time, with no time limit and no credit card. Premium is $9.99 a month for all 16 tools at once and starts with a 14-day free trial.
Questions
Does Shopify create a redirect when I delete a product?
No. Only handle changes in the admin offer a redirect. A deleted product's URL returns a 404 until you add a redirect.
How do I bulk import redirects in Shopify?
Go to Content > Menus > View URL redirects and import a CSV with Redirect from and Redirect to columns, one row per old URL.
Are 404 errors bad for SEO?
Not on their own. Google drops dead pages over time. Redirect the ones that still get visits or have links pointing to them.
Do Toolbench's redirects stay if I uninstall the app?
Yes. They're standard Shopify URL redirects, stored in your store.
What permissions does Broken Link Redirects need?
Only the ones it uses: read products, and create URL redirects (Shopify groups this with online store navigation). It doesn't ask for orders, customers, inventory or your theme. Toolbench asks for no permissions at install, and each of its other tools asks for its own access separately, only if you turn that tool on.