Best Practices for URL Structure in Webflow

Your website's URL structure is essential for both user navigation and search engine optimization (SEO). Clear, concise, and well-organized URLs improve user experience, boost click-through rates, and help search engines understand your content. Here's what you need to know:

• Keep URLs short and descriptive: Aim for under 75 characters and include only essential keywords.
• Use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_): Hyphens are easier for search engines to read.
• Stick to lowercase letters: Avoid case sensitivity issues that can cause duplicate content problems.
• Avoid special characters and dynamic parameters: These can confuse users and search engines.
• Include primary keywords naturally: This improves relevance without keyword stuffing.
• Set up 301 redirects for URL changes: Prevent broken links and preserve SEO value.

In Webflow, you can easily customize static page slugs, manage CMS collection URLs, and create hierarchical structures to keep your site organized. Following these guidelines ensures your URLs are user-friendly and SEO-optimized.

The Ultimate Guide to Technical SEO in Webflow

Core Principles for SEO-Friendly URLs

Crafting effective URLs boils down to a few key rules that enhance both search engine rankings and user experience. Whether you're working with static pages or dynamic collections in Webflow, these principles remain consistent.

Keep URLs Short and Descriptive

Aim to keep your URLs under 75 characters. This ensures they aren’t truncated in search results and are easier to share. A concise URL like yoursite.com/seo-url-structure is far better than a lengthy one like yoursite.com/learn-about-seo-friendly-url-structure-best-practices. Short URLs are more user-friendly, whether you're sharing them on social media, pasting them into emails, or printing them on marketing materials.

"The more readable by human beings, the better." - Rand Fishkin, Founder, Moz

Start with your page title and focus on the primary search keyword. Remove unnecessary stop words like "and", "the", or "of", unless they’re crucial to the meaning. This approach keeps your URL focused while maintaining clarity.

Use Hyphens Instead of Underscores

Hyphens (-) are the gold standard for separating words in URLs. Search engines treat hyphens as spaces, making your keywords easier to recognize. In contrast, underscores (_), which join words together, can confuse search engines and hurt keyword visibility. For example, web_design might be interpreted as "webdesign." Even Google recommends using hyphens in its guidelines.

Avoid spaces altogether, as they convert to "%20" in URLs, creating unnecessary clutter. Similarly, avoid CamelCase (e.g., /MyPageName), which can lead to case-sensitivity issues on some servers.

Avoid Special Characters and Use Lowercase Only

Stick to lowercase letters and hyphens for consistency and to avoid case sensitivity problems. Some servers, especially Linux/UNIX-based ones, treat site.com/Page and site.com/page as different URLs, potentially leading to duplicate content issues that confuse search engines and dilute your page authority.

Stick to ASCII characters (A-Z, 0-9), and avoid symbols or accented letters. Keeping everything simple and standardized helps ensure your URLs work seamlessly across all platforms.

Include Primary Keywords Naturally

Incorporating your primary keyword into the URL slug is a small but effective way to improve click-through rates while signaling relevance to search engines.

"Including relevant keywords in your URL provides a small but significant relevance signal to search engines. While not a major ranking factor on its own, it contributes to the overall understanding of the page's topic." - Yue, SEO Specialist, SEOPage.ai

Use your keyword once to avoid looking spammy. A straightforward description of the page, with words separated by hyphens, is typically all you need for SEO. Also, avoid adding dates like /blog/best-tools-2025 - this keeps your URLs evergreen and saves you from needing redirects when the content becomes outdated.

How to Configure URL Structures in Webflow

Webflow gives you the flexibility to customize URLs for both static pages and CMS collections. Understanding how to access and adjust these settings is key to keeping your site organized and search-engine-friendly.

Setting Up URL Slugs for Static Pages

To customize the URL of a static page, head to the Pages panel, hover over the page name, and click the Settings (cog icon). Here, you'll find the Slug field. By default, Webflow transforms a page title like "About Us" into a URL such as domain.com/about-us.

When creating slugs, Webflow only allows lowercase Latin letters (a–z) and numbers (0–9). Uppercase letters are automatically converted to lowercase, special characters like !, &, and . are removed, and non-Latin characters are transliterated. This keeps your URLs clean and easy to manage without extra effort.

You can also organize static pages into Folders to create subdirectories like /services/web-design. A static page can share the same slug as its parent folder, effectively making it the "index" or main landing page for that directory. However, keep in mind that folders cannot share slugs with CMS Collections - Webflow prevents mixing static and dynamic content within the same directory.

If you update a page's slug, it's critical to set up a 301 redirect immediately to maintain your SEO rankings and avoid 404 errors. This can be done in Site settings > Publishing. Remember to adjust the slug before deleting or saving the page as a draft to ensure the redirect works properly.

Once your static URLs are set, it's time to dive into dynamic URL structures for CMS collections.

Optimizing Dynamic URL Structures for CMS Collections

After handling static pages, you’ll want to fine-tune the URLs generated by CMS collections.

For CMS collections, the collection slug serves as the parent directory for all item pages. For example, if your collection is called "Blog Posts" with the slug blog, then each post will appear at domain.com/blog/post-name. You can also nest collections within specific directories by adjusting the collection settings, giving you more control over the URL hierarchy.

While Webflow automatically generates CMS slugs, it's a good idea to edit them for clarity and keyword relevance. Keep URLs short by removing unnecessary words like "a", "the", or "and." You can edit slugs at the collection level for consistency or tweak them individually for specific items.

To further enhance your CMS pages, use dynamic fields in the Collection Template settings to automatically populate meta titles and descriptions from your CMS data. This approach ensures each page has unique metadata without requiring manual input. When adding links within CMS fields, always use relative paths (e.g., /about-us) rather than full URLs. This ensures that links function correctly across both staging and production environments.

Here’s a quick comparison of static page and CMS URL management:

With these URL settings configured, you're well on your way to building an organized and SEO-friendly site. Next, explore how to create hierarchical URL structures to further enhance your site's navigation.

Creating Hierarchical URL Structures

Once you've configured URLs in Webflow, setting up a clear hierarchy takes your navigation and SEO to the next level. A clean and logical URL structure not only helps users understand how your content is organized but also makes it easier for search engines to index your site. For instance, a URL like domain.com/services/web-design/landing-pages instantly communicates the relationship between different sections of your website. This kind of clarity builds trust and makes navigation a breeze.

A well-thought-out structure also has a direct impact on SEO. Search engines thrive on organized hierarchies, as they enable faster crawling and indexing. Keeping your site architecture shallow - ensuring any page is no more than three clicks away from the homepage - helps search engines rank your content more effectively. Let’s explore how logical grouping and simulated folder structures can create a seamless hierarchy.

Grouping Related Pages Logically

To create an intuitive structure, group similar pages under parent folders that align with your site's main categories. In Webflow's Pages panel, you can achieve this by nesting static pages within folders. When you do this, the pages automatically inherit the folder’s hierarchy in their URLs. For example, placing a "Web Design" page in a "Services" folder results in domain.com/services/web-design.

You can also designate a static page as the landing page for a folder by giving it the same slug as the folder. This creates a dedicated overview page for that category while keeping your URLs clean and user-friendly.

For CMS content, each Collection slug acts as a parent directory for its items. For example, if you have a "Case Studies" collection with the slug case-studies, individual items will appear at URLs like domain.com/case-studies/item-name. You can further nest Collections within specific directories in the Collection settings, creating deeper hierarchies such as domain.com/work/case-studies/item-name.

Mimicking Nested Folders in URL Slugs

If you want to add more depth to your structure, you can simulate nested folders by using descriptive slugs. For instance, a URL like /store/earbuds/apple/airpods clearly outlines the product category, brand, and specific item.

While adding context through subfolders can be helpful, it’s essential to keep your structure manageable. Stick to a maximum of four or five levels in your URLs; overly complex paths can confuse both users and search engines.

As Rand Fishkin explains:

"The more readable by human beings, the better... the easier a URL is to read for humans, the better it is for search engines."

This advice underscores the importance of keeping hierarchical structures simple, natural, and easy to navigate - both for users and search engines alike.

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Common URL Mistakes and How to Fix Them

To keep your site performing at its best, it's important to steer clear of common URL mistakes. These errors can impact your site's clarity and SEO effectiveness, but the good news is they’re usually easy to fix.

For starters, avoid using underscores as word separators. They can make your URLs harder to read and understand. For example, example.com/webflow_seo_tips might look like a single, confusing term instead of three clear keywords.

Keep your URL slugs concise - ideally under 75–100 characters. Shorter URLs are easier to read and share. Stick to lowercase letters to prevent potential duplicate content issues. And don’t fall into the trap of keyword stuffing. A URL like example.com/running-shoes is much cleaner and more effective than something repetitive.

Redirects are another critical aspect. If you change a URL slug, always set up a 301 redirect. Skipping this step can lead to 404 errors, which not only frustrate users but also hurt your SEO. This is especially important if staging URLs accidentally get indexed.

Each of these mistakes can harm your site's clarity and SEO performance, so addressing them is essential for a stronger overall strategy.

Good vs. Bad URL Examples

Here’s a quick comparison of common URL mistakes and their optimized fixes:

For a complete checklist, continue to the next section where we’ll cover all the steps needed for effective URL optimization.

URL Structure Optimization Checklist

Before hitting publish, double-check that every URL on your site aligns with SEO best practices. This quick guide covers the essential steps to keep your URLs clean, easy to crawl, and ready to compete in search rankings.

Slug formatting: Stick to lowercase letters and use hyphens to separate words in your URLs. Keep slugs concise - ideally under 75 characters - and cut out unnecessary stop words like "a", "the", and "and" to keep things tidy. Naturally include your primary keywords, and skip adding file extensions like .html or .php.

Webflow configuration: Head to Site Settings and set your global canonical tag correctly. Make sure it excludes the trailing slash - use https://www.website.com instead of https://www.website.com/ - to avoid issues with double slashes in subpage URLs. Turn on "Disable subdomain indexing" to ensure your staging site stays out of search results. Don’t forget to enable SSL so your site uses HTTPS, which has been a ranking factor since 2014.

Redirect management: For any URL changes, set up 301 redirects. If you're moving entire directories, wildcard redirects can simplify the process (e.g., /oldfolder/(.*) to /newfolder/%1). Regularly audit your redirects to avoid complicated chains - keep them to two hops or fewer.

Pre-launch verification: Use tools like Screaming Frog or SEMrush to crawl your site. These tools can help you spot broken links, duplicate content, and redirect chains. Connect your site to Google Search Console to track indexing issues and pinpoint crawl errors directly from Google. Also, manually review your CMS collection slugs - don’t rely on auto-generated ones - and confirm your custom 404 page is active in the Utility Pages section.

This checklist ensures your URLs are optimized and seamlessly integrated into your broader Webflow strategy.

Conclusion

Your URL structure acts as a roadmap, guiding both users and search engines to your content. A well-organized, keyword-rich URL not only improves indexing efficiency but also boosts click-through rates by appearing more relevant and trustworthy in search results.

Webflow makes it easier to implement these best practices with its built-in SEO tools. Features like slug management for static pages, automated CMS Collection slugs for dynamic content, and 301 redirect management are all available without needing extra plugins. As the Webflow team explains:

"Technical SEO is the foundation that helps search engines crawl, understand, and rank your pages".

FAQs

How can I create 301 redirects in Webflow?

To set up 301 redirects in Webflow, start by navigating to your Site Settings from the Webflow dashboard. Once there, head to the Hosting tab and scroll down to the 301 Redirects section. Here, you'll enter the old URL path (e.g., /old-page) and the new URL path (e.g., /new-page). Make sure to include the leading slash for both paths to avoid errors.

After adding the redirect, click Save and publish your site to apply the changes. If you need to handle more complex redirects, you can use wildcards. For example, /old-folder/(.*) can redirect multiple URLs to a new structure like /new-folder/$1. This is a handy way to simplify redirects while keeping your site running smoothly.

Pro Tip: Teams like Hoop Studio use these steps during SEO-focused rebrands and site launches to maintain traffic flow and protect search engine rankings.

Why should I use hyphens instead of underscores in my URLs?

When it comes to structuring URLs, hyphens are the way to go. Search engines recognize hyphens as word separators, making your URLs easier to read and interpret. This not only improves readability for users but also makes your URLs more effective for search engines.

In contrast, underscores don’t serve the same purpose. Search engines don't treat underscores as word separators, which can lead to confusion when interpreting the individual words in a URL.

For instance, a URL like example.com/best-practices is much clearer and more search-engine-friendly than example.com/best_practices. By sticking with hyphens, you help search engines index and understand your content more efficiently.

Why is it important to keep URLs under 75 characters?

Short URLs - ideally under 75 characters - are simpler to read, easier to remember, and more shareable, which can lead to higher click-through rates. They also make it easier for search engine crawlers to navigate and index your pages, which can boost your SEO efforts. Keeping URLs short ensures they look clean and professional, especially when shared on social media or in promotional content.