Import 301 Redirects Tool for BigCommerce
🔧 Quick Info: URL Redirect Uploader creates or updates permanent 301 redirects in BigCommerce from a CSV or Excel spreadsheet. Each row maps an old storefront path to a new internal or external destination.
What It Does
URL Redirect Uploader adds URL redirects to your BigCommerce store in bulk from a spreadsheet.
A redirect sends anyone who visits an old web address to a new destination. This prevents shoppers and search engines from reaching a broken or missing page after a product, category, content page, or storefront URL changes.
BigCommerce serves these redirects as permanent 301 redirects.
You upload a CSV or Excel file, match its columns to the following two fields, and the tool creates a redirect for every valid row:
- From Path – The old storefront path being redirected.
- To URL – The new destination where visitors should be sent.
Existing Redirects Are Updated: If a redirect already exists for a From Path, importing that path again updates its destination. It does not create a duplicate redirect.
The upload runs as a background job, so you can close the page after starting it. You can choose to receive an email when the process finishes.
If any rows cannot be processed, the tool creates an error file showing the affected rows and the reason each one failed.
When Should You Use This?
- You changed product, category, brand, or content-page URLs.
- You migrated a store to BigCommerce and need to preserve old links.
- You need to redirect hundreds or thousands of old URLs at once.
- You want to repair broken links without creating redirects one at a time.
- You are reorganizing your category structure or product URL format.
- You want old search-engine links to lead visitors to the correct new pages.
- You prefer maintaining redirects in a spreadsheet.
- You need to update the destinations of redirects that already exist.
Before You Get Started
- Prepare a CSV or Excel spreadsheet.
- The first row of the file must contain column names or headers.
- Include one column containing the old path.
- Include one column containing the new destination.
- Every row must contain both values.
- If your store has multiple storefronts, decide which storefront should receive the redirects.
- Confirm that you are working with the correct connected BigCommerce store.
Check Your Destinations: Redirects are published directly to your storefront. Review the old and new addresses carefully so visitors are not sent to the wrong page.
How to Use It
1 Open the Tool
Open URL Redirect Uploader from your BigCommerce tools dashboard.
2 Choose a Storefront
On the Upload Redirects step, choose the storefront where the redirects should be created.
This option appears only when your BigCommerce store has more than one storefront. Single-storefront stores use the default storefront automatically.
3 Upload the Redirect File
Review the on-screen note confirming that the first row of your file must contain the column names, then upload your CSV or Excel spreadsheet.
The tool reads the first row to identify the available columns.
4 Map the Columns
After the file is uploaded, the column-matching section appears.
Match your spreadsheet columns to the following fields:
- Map the old-address column to From Path.
- Map the new-destination column to To URL.
Both mappings are required.
5 Confirm Email Delivery
Continue to the Email Delivery step. Choose whether you want an email when the upload is complete and confirm the email address.
6 Start the Upload
Start the upload. A confirmation appears to let you know the process has begun.
The redirects continue processing as a background job, so you can close the page.
7 Review the Results
When the upload finishes, check your email if you enabled email delivery.
If any rows could not be processed, download the error file, review the reported problems, correct the affected rows, and upload them again.
How Redirect Addresses Are Processed
From Path
From Path is the old storefront address visitors are trying to reach.
You can enter a path such as:
/old-product
You can also enter a full address:
https://yourstore.com/old-product
When a full address is provided, the tool keeps only the path portion:
/old-product
If the path does not begin with a slash, the tool adds one automatically.
To URL
To URL is the destination where the visitor should be sent.
The destination can be a path on the same storefront:
/new-product
If a storefront path does not begin with a slash, the tool adds one automatically.
The destination can also be a full external address:
https://example.com/page
External URLs beginning with http:// or https:// are kept as entered.
Address Processing Examples
| Field | Value in File | Processed Value |
|---|---|---|
| From Path | old-product | /old-product |
| From Path | https://yourstore.com/old-product | /old-product |
| To URL | new-product | /new-product |
| To URL | https://example.com/page | https://example.com/page |
Creating and Updating Redirects
| Situation | What Happens |
|---|---|
| No redirect exists for the From Path | A new permanent redirect is created. |
| A redirect already exists for the From Path | The existing redirect is updated to use the new To URL. |
| From Path or To URL is blank | The row is skipped and reported as an error. |
Safe to Re-Run: You can upload the same file again after making changes. Existing redirect paths are updated rather than duplicated.
File and Field Reference
The first row of your spreadsheet must contain column headers. After uploading the file, map your columns to the two required fields below.
| Field | Maps From | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| From Path | The old address | Yes | The storefront path being redirected, such as /old-product. Full URLs are accepted, but only the path portion is used. A leading slash is added automatically when needed. |
| To URL | The new destination | Yes | The destination where visitors are sent. This can be a storefront path, such as /new-product, or a full external URL. Internal paths receive a leading slash automatically when needed. |
Multi-Storefront Support
Redirects are created against the storefront selected on the Upload Redirects step.
- Stores with one storefront use their default storefront automatically.
- Stores with multiple storefronts must choose which storefront receives the redirects.
- The same old path can be managed separately on different storefronts when supported by the store configuration.
Confirm the Storefront: Redirects are applied to the selected storefront. Check this selection carefully before starting a large upload.
Troubleshooting and FAQ
A row says “From Path is required” or “To URL is required”
The row is missing one of the two required values. Every redirect must have both an old path and a new destination.
Fill in the missing value and upload the affected row again.
The tool cannot read my columns
Make sure the first row of the file contains your column names. Correct the header row and upload the file again.
Do I need to include my domain in From Path?
No. Entering only the path is enough, such as /old-product.
If you enter a full URL, the tool removes the domain and keeps only the path.
Can the new destination point to another website?
Yes. Enter the complete destination beginning with http:// or https://. The external address is kept as entered.
I re-uploaded the same redirects
Existing redirects are updated using the new To URL. The tool does not create a duplicate redirect for the same From Path.
A redirect points to the wrong destination
Correct the To URL in your spreadsheet and upload the same From Path again. The existing redirect is updated with the new destination.
A full From URL was changed into a path
This is expected. BigCommerce redirects use the storefront path as the source. The tool removes the protocol and domain from full From URLs before creating the redirect.
Where are my results?
The upload runs as a background job. If email delivery was enabled, you’ll receive a completion notice when the process finishes.
Any rows that could not be processed are listed in a downloadable error file.