🔧 Quick Info: This tool adds URL redirects to your BigCommerce store in bulk from a spreadsheet. Upload a file with old paths and new destinations, and we’ll create 301 redirects so shoppers and search engines follow old links to the right new pages.
What It Does
This tool adds URL redirects to your BigCommerce store in bulk from a spreadsheet. A redirect sends anyone who visits an old web address straight to a new one, so shoppers and search engines never land on a broken page. BigCommerce serves these as permanent 301 redirects. You upload a file, match its columns to two fields – the old path and the new destination – and the tool creates a redirect for every row. The work runs in the background, and you can choose to get an email when it’s finished. Any rows that can’t be processed are reported back so you can fix and re-upload them. If a redirect already exists for an old path, uploading it again updates it to point at the new destination, so it’s safe to re-run.
When Should You Use This?
Use this tool whenever you need to set up URL redirects in bulk. Common scenarios include changing product, category, or page URLs and wanting shoppers and search engines to follow them to the new addresses, migrating to BigCommerce from another platform and needing to map hundreds or thousands of old links to new ones, cleaning up broken links and wanting to redirect them in one pass instead of adding each redirect by hand, or preferring to manage redirects in a spreadsheet rather than entering them one at a time.
Before You Get Started
- Prepare your file so that the first row contains the column names (headers). The tool reads those headers so you can map them.
- Include two columns: the old path (the address you’re redirecting from) and the new destination (where visitors should go instead). Both are required.
- The old path should be the part of the address that comes after your domain (e.g.,
/old-product). Full addresses likehttps://yourstore.com/old-productare accepted – the tool keeps only the path portion. - The new destination can be either a path on your store (such as
/new-product) or a full address to another site (such ashttps://example.com/page). - Save the file in a format you can upload (CSV or Excel).
- Confirm you’re working in the correct store before you begin.
How to Use It
1 Open the Tool
Navigate to the URL Redirect Uploader tool in your Your Store Wizards dashboard for your BigCommerce store.
2 Select Your Storefront (Multi-Storefront Only)
On the Upload Redirects step, if your store has more than one storefront, choose the storefront the redirects should apply to. Single-storefront stores skip this – it’s selected for you.
3 Upload Your File
Read the on-screen note: your file’s first row must be the column names. Then upload your file (CSV or Excel).
4 Map Your Columns
Once the file is uploaded, the column matching section appears. Map your old-address column to From Path and your destination column to To URL. Both are required.
5 Confirm Email Delivery
On the Email Delivery step, choose whether you’d like an email when the process completes, and confirm the email address.
6 Start the Upload
Start the upload. You’ll see a confirmation that the process has started, and it continues running in the background even if you close the page. When it finishes, check your email (if you opted in). If any rows had problems, download the errors file to see exactly what needs fixing.
File and Field Reference
Your file’s first row must be headers. After uploading, you map each of your columns to one of the fields below. Each redirect is created against the storefront you selected on the first step.
| Field | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| From Path | Yes | The old address being redirected (e.g., /old-product). Full addresses are accepted – only the path after your domain is used, and a leading slash is added for you. |
| To URL | Yes | Where visitors are sent. Either a path on your store (e.g., /new-product – a leading slash is added for you) or a full external address (e.g., https://example.com/page), which is kept as-is. |
Troubleshooting
A row says “From Path is required” or “To Url is required”
That row is missing one of the two values. Every redirect needs both an old path and a new destination. Fill in the blank column for the affected rows and re-upload.
The tool says it can’t read my columns
Make sure the very first row of your file contains the column names. Re-upload after fixing the header row.
Do I need to include my domain in the old path?
No. Just the path (the part after your domain) is enough (e.g., /old-product). If you do paste a full web address, the tool trims it down to the path for you.
Can the new destination point to another website?
Yes. If the To URL is a full address starting with http:// or https://, it’s kept exactly as entered. Otherwise it’s treated as a path on your own store.
I re-uploaded the same redirects – will that create duplicates?
No. Uploading a redirect for a path that already has one updates it rather than creating a second copy.
I got an API permission error
Your store connection may be missing a required permission. Check out our guide on resolving API permission errors.
Where do my results go?
The upload runs as a background job. If you chose email delivery, you receive a note when it completes. Any rows that couldn’t be processed are listed in a downloadable errors file.