Permalink
A permalink is the full, permanent address of a post, page or archive on a WordPress site. One setting decides the pattern every post's address follows, and changing that pattern changes the address of every post at once.
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In short
- The permalink is the whole address of a page. The slug is the one part of it that names that page.
- Opening Settings, then Permalinks, and pressing "Save Changes" rebuilds WordPress's list of addresses. It is the first thing to try when posts that exist answer 404.
- Changing the structure changes every post's address at once. Set up redirects from the old addresses before you change it on a live site.
A permalink is the full address of one post, page or archive, such as https://example.com/2026/10/how-to-bake-bread/. The word is short for "permanent link": other sites link to it and search engines index it, so it is meant never to change.
WordPress builds a post's permalink from three things: the site's address, the permalink structure and the post's slug. The structure is one setting for the whole site. The slug belongs to one post. So the permalink is the whole address, and the slug is one part of it.
Where you meet it
In the dashboard, go to Settings, then Permalinks. The screen is titled "Permalink Settings". Under "Common Settings" it offers six structures:
| Option | A post's address |
|---|---|
| "Plain" | https://example.com/?p=123 |
| "Day and name" | https://example.com/2026/10/08/sample-post/ |
| "Month and name" | https://example.com/2026/10/sample-post/ |
| "Numeric" | https://example.com/archives/123 |
| "Post name" | https://example.com/sample-post/ |
| "Custom Structure" | Built from tags such as %year%, %category% and %postname% |
Under "Optional", the fields "Category base" and "Tag base" set the word that comes before a category's or a tag's slug in the address of its archive. Left blank, they are category and tag.
Every structure except "Plain" depends on the web server passing requests to WordPress. On Apache, WordPress writes the rules for that into the .htaccess file in the site's folder. nginx has no such file, and WordPress cannot change its configuration, so the rule has to be in the server's own settings.
What goes wrong
Posts that exist answer "404 Not Found". WordPress keeps its list of address patterns in the database and, on Apache, its rules in .htaccess. After a move to a new host, a restored backup or a plugin that adds a new kind of content, either can be out of date. Opening Settings, then Permalinks rebuilds both. Pressing "Save Changes" with nothing changed does the same, and the screen answers "Permalink structure updated." The steps are in how to fix 404 errors on posts and pages that exist, and the .htaccess generator writes a complete file with WordPress's own block in it.
The structure was changed on a live site. Every post's address changes at once, and WordPress keeps no list of the old ones. For some requests it guesses the post from the name in the old address and forwards the visitor. For others the old address answers 404. Do not count on the guess. Set up redirects from the old pattern to the new one, and test them, before you change the setting.
The domain changed, or the site moved to https. That is a different setting. Every permalink begins with the site's address, so changing that address changes them all. See how to change your WordPress URL.
How to look at yours
The option selected on the Permalinks screen is the one in use. With WP-CLI:
wp option get permalink_structureIt prints the structure in tags, such as /%postname%/. An empty line means "Plain".
Common questions
Is a permalink the same as a slug?
No. The permalink is the whole address of a page. The slug is the part of it that names that one page, such as sample-post. The rest comes from the site's address and the permalink structure.
Which permalink structure should I choose?
The Permalinks screen itself recommends a structure that includes the %postname% tag, because it makes links easy to understand. "Post name" is the shortest of those. Choose before the site has visitors and links. On a site that is already live, the structure in place is usually the one to keep.
Can I change the address of just one post?
Yes. Edit that post's slug and leave the structure alone. Only that post's address changes. The page on slugs says what happens to the old address.