Joomla! Documentation™

Joomla! 

≥ 5.2

Introduction

The Improving SEO with Strict Routing and SEF URLs feature, introduced in Joomla 5.2, enhances the platform’s SEO performance by allowing for stricter routing rules. This update introduces a switch in the "System - SEF" plugin that enables strict routing, which helps to eliminate duplicate content by enforcing more consistent URLs and redirecting duplicates to the correct URL with a 301 redirect.

How it Works

The "System - SEF" plugin now includes new options for managing strict routing and URL suffix behavior. By enabling the strict routing option, Joomla enforces stricter SEO rules by preventing the acceptance of multiple URLs that lead to the same content. This option reduces the chances of duplicate content and improves the overall SEO structure of the website.

Additionally, the plugin introduces an option to enforce a URL suffix with an automatic redirect.

Enforcing Suffixes

Currently, Joomla allows access to URLs with or without a suffix when this option is enabled in the global configuration. This update introduces a new setting in the SEF system plugin that enforces consistent suffix behavior.

When SEF URLs and suffixes are enabled, and this option is activated, Joomla will always redirect GET requests to a URL with a suffix if it is missing. It will also redirect URLs with a query format parameter to the cleaner URL, replacing the suffix with the format parameter where needed.

This feature is expected to become the default behavior in Joomla 6.0, where the option to enable or disable it will be removed, and this functionality will be integrated into the core routing system. For now, this option allows users to test the behavior on live systems and disable it if unforeseen issues arise during the transition period from Joomla 5.1 to 6.0.

How to Access

To enable strict routing for SEO:

1. Go to the System - SEF plugin settings in the Joomla administrator panel.
2. Look for the new options:

• Strict Routing: Set this to Yes to enable stricter URL handling.
• Enforce a Suffix by Redirect: Set this to Yes or No depending on your preference for enforcing URL suffixes.

Once enabled, Joomla will automatically redirect duplicate URLs to the correct one with a 301 redirect, improving SEO by consolidating content under a single, authoritative URL.

Additional Notes

This feature is designed to work as a preparatory step for further SEO improvements and is automatically enabled for new Joomla 5.2 installations. It lays the groundwork for future enhancements to Joomla’s routing system.

Note on the Feature's Origin

This feature was added in Joomla 5.2 via the improvement introduced in #43432.