What is a Slug in WordPress? The Complete Guide for 2023

Have you ever noticed the part of a URL that comes after the domain name? It might look something like this:

https://www.example.com/10-tips-for-creating-great-content/

That last bit, 10-tips-for-creating-great-content, is called the "slug" in WordPress. Understanding what slugs are, how they work, and SEO best practices for using them is essential for any WordPress site owner.

In this guide, you‘ll learn everything you need to know about WordPress slugs, including:

What is a slug in WordPress?
How does WordPress generate slugs by default?
How to customize slugs for posts, pages, categories, tags, and authors
WordPress slugs vs permalinks – what‘s the difference?
10 tips for SEO-friendly slugs to boost your rankings
Using the AIOSEO plugin to optimize your slugs and permalink structure

Let‘s jump in!

What is a WordPress Slug?

A slug is the editable part of a URL that usually comes after the domain name. It acts as a unique identifier for a specific piece of content on a WordPress site, such as a blog post, page, category, tag, or author archive.

You can think of a slug like a file name on your computer. Just like "Q4-revenue-report.pdf" tells you what‘s inside that document, a slug gives readers (and search engines) clues about what they‘ll find on the page.

Slugs play an important role in WordPress as they:

Help people understand what a page is about from the URL
Make your content more shareable with clean, descriptive links
Act as a minor ranking factor for SEO by including keywords

Every post, page, category, and tag you create in WordPress must have a unique slug. Let‘s look at how WordPress generates them by default and how to customize them.

How WordPress Generates Slugs By Default

When you create a new piece of content in WordPress, it automatically generates a slug based on the title you enter. It takes the title and:

Converts all letters to lowercase
Replaces spaces with hyphens (-)
Removes special characters (punctuation, accents, etc.)

For example, if you create a blog post with the title "My 5 Favorite WordPress Plugins", the default slug would be:

my-5-favorite-wordpress-plugins

To see this in action, go to Posts > Add New in your WordPress dashboard. Enter a title for your post and click the "Save Draft" button.

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WordPress will generate the permalink for your new post, with the slug appearing after your domain name. Now you‘re ready to customize it.

How to Customize Slugs in WordPress

In most cases, the default slug is fine to use. However, you may want to customize it to:

Use a keyword you‘re targeting for SEO
Shorten a long, clunky title into a more concise URL
Remove "stop" words like a, an, the, for, or

To change the slug, simply edit the text in the "Permalink" field under the title. You can click the "Edit" button to make it easier.

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Keep in mind slug best practices for SEO:

Include your focus keyword
Keep it short and descriptive (50-60 characters)
Use hyphens to separate words
Avoid numbers, years, and special characters

Once you‘re happy with your slug, hit "Save Draft" again or "Publish". If you edit the slug of an already published post, the old URL will no longer work unless you set up a redirect (more on this later).

Editing Category and Tag Slugs

WordPress also generates default slugs for categories and tags using the same rules (lowercase, replace spaces with hyphens, etc.). You can edit these from the Posts > Categories and Posts > Tags screens.

To change a category or tag slug:

Go to Posts > Categories or Posts > Tags
Hover over the category/tag you want to edit and click "Edit"
Enter a new slug under the "Slug" field
Click "Update" to save your changes

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Keep in mind that changing category or tag slugs will also change the URL of any posts assigned to them. It‘s best to set your category/tag slugs when first creating them to avoid broken links down the road.

Editing Author Slugs

WordPress bases author archive slugs on the username of the account by default. For example, an author with the username "johnsmith" would have an archive at:

https://www.example.com/author/johnsmith/

However, you may want to use full names or titles in your author URLs for better branding. To change an author slug, I recommend installing the free Edit Author Slug plugin.

After installing the plugin:

Go to Users > All Users
Hover over the user you want to edit and click "Edit Author Slug"
Enter a new slug in the "Author Slug" field
Click "Update User" to save

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The plugin also lets you change the default /author/ base to something like /writers/ or /contributors/, but it‘s best to leave this alone in most cases.

WordPress Slugs vs Permalinks: What‘s the Difference?

It‘s a common point of confusion, so let‘s clear it up:

Permalinks are the permanent URLs of your site‘s pages, posts, categories, tags, and other content. The permalink includes the domain name and slug.
Slugs are one component of a permalink – the part that identifies the specific piece of content. Slugs are what you edit to change your permalinks.

WordPress offers different permalink structures under Settings > Permalinks. The default structure is "Day and name", which creates URLs like:

https://www.example.com/2023/06/15/sample-post/

However, most WordPress experts recommend using the "Post name" structure for better SEO and cleaner URLs:

https://www.example.com/sample-post/

This uses just the slug you set for the piece of content. You can change your site‘s permalink structure at any time, but note that it may break existing links unless you set up redirects.

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Now that you understand the relationship between slugs and permalinks, let‘s look at some best practices for optimizing your slugs for search engines.

10 Tips for Creating SEO-Friendly Slugs

Use your focus keyword. If you‘re trying to rank for a specific term, include it in your slug. For example, a post about the best running shoes might use the slug: best-running-shoes
Keep it concise. Aim for 50-60 characters max. Shorter slugs are easier to read and share. Longer slugs may get cut off in search results.
Make it meaningful. Don‘t just cram in keywords. The slug should reflect the main topic of the page in a way that makes sense to humans too.
Use hyphens as word separators. Hyphens (-) are best for separating words in slugs. Avoid using underscores (_), spaces, or other special characters.
Remove "stop" words. Words like "a", "the", "in", "for", "or" usually aren‘t necessary for understanding. Strip them out to keep your slugs clean and focused.
Avoid dates and numbers. Unless you have a good reason to include a year or other number in your slug (like an annual report), it‘s best to avoid them. Numbers can make your content look outdated.
Don‘t change a slug after publishing. Try to set your slug when you first publish. Changing it later will break any existing links to your post. If you must change a slug, set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one.
Use canonical tags for similar content. If you have multiple pieces of content with similar slugs, use canonical tags to tell search engines which one is the "master" version to avoid duplicate content issues.
Keep a consistent case. Best practice is to use all lowercase letters in slugs. Uppercase can sometimes cause technical issues.
Don‘t obsess over slugs. While slugs are important for SEO, they‘re just one small ranking factor. Focus on creating high-quality, valuable content first and foremost. A good slug won‘t save thin content from poor rankings.

By following these tips, you‘ll create slugs that are both user-friendly and optimized for search engines. But if you want to go even further with your technical SEO, there‘s a handy plugin that can help.

Optimize Your Slugs Automatically with AIOSEO

If you want an easy, automated way to optimize your WordPress slugs and overall SEO, I highly recommend the AIOSEO (All in One SEO) plugin. It‘s a powerful tool that‘s beginner-friendly.

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With over 100 million downloads, AIOSEO is the most popular WordPress SEO plugin – and for good reason. It takes care of all the technical best practices in the background, so you can focus on your content.

Some of the key features for optimizing slugs include:

Automatic 301 redirects any time a slug changes
Option to remove stop words from slugs
Ability to customize slugs for posts, pages, categories, tags
Smart slug suggestions based on page title/content
Customize permalink structure (with or without categories)

Plus, you get tons of other on-page SEO features like custom meta titles/descriptions, XML sitemaps, rich snippets, local SEO, and more.

AIOSEO offers a free version to get started, with affordable paid plans if you need advanced features. It‘s well worth it if you want to maximize your SEO efforts without hiring a developer.

WordPress Slug FAQ

Before we wrap up, let‘s address a few common questions about slugs in WordPress.

What is a post slug?

A post slug is the part of a URL that identifies a specific blog post on a WordPress site. It usually appears after the domain name, and is based on the post title by default.

How do I find a page‘s slug in WordPress?

To find a slug, go to the page editor and look at the Permalink field under the title. The slug is the last part of the URL after the last slash (/). You can also see a page‘s full URL by viewing it on the front end of your site.

Can I change a slug after publishing a post?

Yes, you can edit a post‘s slug after publishing. However, this will change the URL of the page. Any existing links to the old URL will break unless you set up a 301 redirect, which tells browsers and search engines that the page has moved permanently. You can use the Redirection plugin to manage redirects.

What should I do if I change a slug?

If you change a slug after a post or page has been published, set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. This preserves any SEO "link juice" the page has acquired. It also helps visitors find the new URL if they click on an old link. Use a plugin like Redirection or AIOSEO to create and manage your redirects.

Should I put a category name in my post slugs?

For most sites, it‘s best to leave category names out of post slugs. It keeps your URLs cleaner and shorter. You want your slugs to describe the content of the post itself, not necessarily the category it‘s in. Plus, including category names limits your flexibility to change your site structure later. The only time to include a category is if it‘s a crucial part of the post content (but that‘s rare).

Conclusion

Whew! We covered a lot in this guide to WordPress slugs. I hope you now have a solid understanding of what slugs are, how they impact your site‘s SEO, and how to optimize them for better rankings and user experience.

Remember, slugs are just one piece of the SEO puzzle. While it‘s important to follow best practices like using keywords and keeping them concise, great content is still the foundation of any successful website.

If you want an easy, automated way to optimize your slugs and overall WordPress SEO, check out the AIOSEO plugin. It‘s beginner-friendly and takes care of all the technical stuff behind the scenes.

Now go put this knowledge into action! Audit your existing post slugs and see where you can make improvements. Aim to create descriptive, keyword-rich slugs for all new content going forward.

It may seem like a small thing, but optimizing your slugs can make a big difference in how both humans and search engines perceive your website. Good luck!