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Event URL Redirect Management

This guide explains how to manage redirects for your Jekyll-generated event pages to prevent broken links when titles change.

How It Works

  1. Stable URLs: Event pages are now generated using stable slug fields instead of titles
  2. Automatic Redirects: When you change a title, add the old URL to redirect_from array
  3. SEO-Friendly: Redirects use proper HTTP redirects and canonical URLs

Configuration

The setup includes:

  • Modified _config.yml: Uses slug field for URL generation
  • Custom Plugin: _plugins/datapage_redirect_generator.rb handles redirects
  • Redirect Layout: _layouts/redirect.html creates proper redirect pages

Managing Redirects

Step 1: Generate Slugs

Run the management script to ensure all events have stable slugs:

ruby manage_redirects.rb

Step 2: Update Event Data

When changing a title, follow this pattern in _data/events.yml:

- id: 34
  title: "New Updated Title"           # New title
  slug: "stable-slug-name"             # Keep this the same!
  redirect_from:                       # Add old URLs here
    - "/events/meetup/old-title-slug"
    - "/events/meetup/another-old-url"
  # ... rest of event data

Step 3: Build and Deploy

bundle exec jekyll build

Example Scenario

Original Event:

- id: 34
  title: "Beyond k8s and OpenSource Metrics"
  slug: "beyond-k8s-and-opensource-metrics"

URL: /events/meetup/beyond-k8s-and-opensource-metrics/

After Title Change:

- id: 34
  title: "Advanced Kubernetes and Metrics"  # New title
  slug: "beyond-k8s-and-opensource-metrics" # Same slug = same URL
  redirect_from:
    - "/events/meetup/34-cloud-native-computing-linz-meetup"  # Old URL still works

Benefits

  1. No Broken Links: Old URLs automatically redirect to new ones
  2. SEO Preserved: Search engines follow redirects properly
  3. User-Friendly: Visitors never see 404 errors
  4. Future-Proof: Easy to add more redirects as needed

Testing

  1. Build the site: bundle exec jekyll build
  2. Serve locally: bundle exec jekyll serve
  3. Test old URLs in browser to confirm redirects work
  4. Check that new URLs display the correct content

Maintenance

  • Keep slugs stable once created
  • Always add old URLs to redirect_from when changing titles
  • Run ruby manage_redirects.rb to ensure all events have slugs
  • Regularly test redirects after deployments