URL structure and slugs
A clear URL structure shows users and search engines where a page sits and what it contains. Short, stable slugs also make maintenance and migrations easier.
How much URLs matter for SEO
URLs have little direct influence on rankings, but a large effect on clarity and maintenance. They appear in search results, in shared links and in the address bar. A clear URL shows where you are and what the page contains. For search engines, it reflects the structure of the website.
Characteristics of good URLs
Short and readable, such as /en/services/seo/technical-seo
Lower case, words separated by hyphens
Transliterate German umlauts: ä to ae, ö to oe, ü to ue, ß to ss
No filler words, dates or internal IDs without good reason
One consistent form, with or without a trailing slash
Structure and hierarchy
Directories reflect the hierarchy of the website. Deep nesting makes URLs long and breaks them with every restructure. We therefore choose a flat, stable structure that holds up as the site grows. For shops, we decide deliberately whether product URLs contain the category. Without the category, the URL remains stable when a product is re-sorted. Parameters are for filters and tracking, not for standalone content.
Changing URLs safely
Every change to an existing URL is a risk for rankings and links. We only change URLs when the benefit justifies the effort, for example during a relaunch. Then every old address receives a 301 redirect to the new one. Redirect chains are avoided, and internal links are updated directly.
Approach
We review the existing URL structure for length, duplicates, parameters and chains. Rules for new slugs are stored in the CMS, so editors create clean URLs automatically. In Statamic, URLs derive from the page structure. Your team manages redirects there itself, without developer help.