Title: Customizing Permalink Structure
Last modified: August 18, 2016
---
# Customizing Permalink Structure
* [raptorstalkcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/raptorstalkcom/)
* (@raptorstalkcom)
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/)
* I had been using an older 2.0* release of WordPress, and just upgraded to 2.1.
I recently discovered that you have a choice of permalink structure. I unfortunately
am using the default structure of [http://www.raptorstalk.com/?p=31](http://www.raptorstalk.com/?p=31),
but want to change to [http://www.raptorstalk.com/2007/03/24/no-respect-from-espn/](http://www.raptorstalk.com/2007/03/24/no-respect-from-espn/).
So the first link works, but the second doesn’t. Is it possible to change the
permalink structure if you already have published articles? If so, how do you
do it? Or am I screwed here? Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.
Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
* Moderator [Samuel Wood (Otto)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/otto42/)
* (@otto42)
* WordPress.org Admin
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542368)
* > _Is it possible to change the permalink structure if you already have published
> articles?
* Yes.
* > _If so, how do you do it? _
* Go to Options->Permalinks and select the new structure that you want to use.
* Thread Starter [raptorstalkcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/raptorstalkcom/)
* (@raptorstalkcom)
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542369)
* Thanks Otto, I actually did that, but when I go back to my tag, the articles
that have been published don’t work. The link points to the new permalink structure,
but the articles are only accessible via the old permalink structure. It does
not update the urls automatically. it is very weird.
* Moderator [Samuel Wood (Otto)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/otto42/)
* (@otto42)
* WordPress.org Admin
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542371)
* The articles are *always* accessible via the old permalink structure. That’s
built in and cannot be altered.
* If the new permalink structure doesn’t work, then you could have an .htaccess
problem. Check that your .htaccess file got created properly. Also, you do have
to be on an Apache server box for this to work at all, so make sure you’re using
Apache and not IIS. Also, some hosting servers (notably GoDaddy) has some weird
process where new .htaccess files can take a while before they actually take
effect. So wait an hour or two if you’re on GoDaddy hosting.
* Thread Starter [raptorstalkcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/raptorstalkcom/)
* (@raptorstalkcom)
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542372)
* it actually might have something to do with the .htaccess file. i don’t seem
to have one in my server, and when i make that change in options>permalinks,
it tells me to update that file. what the heck do i put in it? i don’t even know
what an .htaccess file does 🙁
* [larsolsson](https://wordpress.org/support/users/larsolsson/)
* (@larsolsson)
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542373)
* Sorry I don’t have any answers for ya. In fact, I’m having the same problem you
are. I **just** started my blog, so there aren’t a whole lot of posts (OK, only
one) to have this problem, but it’s the same for me: under the default permalink
structure, it works fine. If I switch to the “pretty” permalink structure, mousing
over the link on the main page gives you the correct URL, but if you actually
click on it, you get the Apache 404 error. Would love to see someone give an
answer for this one, too.
* Moderator [Samuel Wood (Otto)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/otto42/)
* (@otto42)
* WordPress.org Admin
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542375)
* WordPress will attempt to create the .htaccess file for you, but if it cannot,
then it will tell you to do it and it should also tell you exactly what to put
in that file. Scroll down when you update the permalinks to see the content of
the file.
* You cannot have pretty permalinks without an .htaccess file.
* Thread Starter [raptorstalkcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/raptorstalkcom/)
* (@raptorstalkcom)
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542383)
* ok, so this is what i did. i turned on pretty permalinks in options. i ssh’d
into my server, went to the root install directory for wordpress, i typed in:
* cat > .htaccess
pasted: RewriteEngine On RewriteBase/
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteRule./
index.php [L] control + d
* pretty permalinks still don’t work. what did i do wrong?
* [larsolsson](https://wordpress.org/support/users/larsolsson/)
* (@larsolsson)
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542386)
* Er, yeah. I did that. The contents of my .htaccess file are currently as follows:
* > # BEGIN WordPress
> RewriteEngine On RewriteBase /blog/
> RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteRule./
> blog/index.php [L]
> # END WordPress
* Should there be other things in there? And should this file’s name simply be .
htaccess?
* Moderator [Samuel Wood (Otto)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/otto42/)
* (@otto42)
* WordPress.org Admin
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542387)
* > _went to the root install directory for wordpress_
* Is that also the root directory of your website? Or is it in some other subdirectory,
like [http://example.com/blog](http://example.com/blog) ?
* Are the permissions on your .htaccess file correct? 444 should be right.
* Is Apache actually configured to check the .htaccess files?
* Did you misname the file? Did you cat it to verify it saved correctly?
* The list of possible errors you’ve made is numerous, I cannot define them all.
* Thread Starter [raptorstalkcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/raptorstalkcom/)
* (@raptorstalkcom)
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542390)
* The root install directory for wordpress is also the root of my server (www.raptorstalk.
com). Apache permissions are 444. I don’t know how to check if apache checks
the .htaccess file. I didn’t misname the file, and it is saved correctly.
* [Will Taft](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wt/)
* (@wt)
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542394)
* I have had numerous difficulties with changing to a custom pretty permalink structure.
This plugin:
* [http://www.deanlee.cn/wordpress/permalinks-migration-plugin/](http://www.deanlee.cn/wordpress/permalinks-migration-plugin/)
* helped fix most of them.
* Moderator [Samuel Wood (Otto)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/otto42/)
* (@otto42)
* WordPress.org Admin
* [19 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542398)
* If you still can’t get it to work, talk to your host. The .htaccess seems correct
to me, so I’d ask them why it’s not working. Is mod_rewrite enabled?
* Thread Starter [raptorstalkcom](https://wordpress.org/support/users/raptorstalkcom/)
* (@raptorstalkcom)
* [19 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542469)
* Thanks for the help Otto42, everything you said to do was correct. The webhost
had to enable some sort of overwrite or something, I didn’t understand. Great
help though. Good karma dude.
* [adriantnt](https://wordpress.org/support/users/adriantnt/)
* (@adriantnt)
* [18 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542664)
* For others that have nice url and .htaccess problems: you might want to know
that most Godaddy servers need half hour to detect a newly created .htaccess
file. After this the changes are instant.
Viewing 14 replies - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
The topic ‘Customizing Permalink Structure’ is closed to new replies.
* In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
* 14 replies
* 5 participants
* Last reply from: [adriantnt](https://wordpress.org/support/users/adriantnt/)
* Last activity: [18 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/customizing-permalink-structure/#post-542664)
* Status: not resolved
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