I'm trying to decide on the best URL structure for my articles and need to keep a reference number at the beginning of the URL for clarity and to avoid issues with truncated links. I'm looking at two formats: the first being '/news/12345-slug-here-blah-blah/2' and the second '/news/12345/slug-here-blah-blah/2'. I want to include the page number at the end (e.g., '/2' or '/3'). Additionally, I'm torn between using a dash or a slash to separate the reference number from the slug content. My goal is to optimize for both user sharing and SEO effectiveness. What's considered best practice in 2025?
5 Answers
Ultimately, the structure depends on what the reference number signifies. Is it for content versioning or a specific article ID? I lean towards using a date-based structure like '/news/:year/:month/:day/:slug', while considering a canonical URL that's more static like '/news/:hash' for older versions.
I prefer the first format as well. The slug is just for readability and shouldn’t be a crucial part of the routing. Both versions should ideally work regardless of the slug, so you could implement something like this: '/news/12345-slug-here-blah-blah/2' and '/news/12345/2'. Also, consider using a canonical URL to avoid SEO issues with duplicate content. As for pagination, I'd suggest '/news/12345-slug-here-blah-blah/page/2', which makes changes in pages clearer.
I’d go with the first option! The second one suggests that there are multiple articles categorized under '12345', which might confuse users. Keeping it simple is key!
Yeah, that's my thought too.
Totally agree!
The second one makes more sense semantically since it allows for renaming without losing the URL. But I feel like the separator doesn’t impact usability too much; it's how the backend processes it that matters.
I agree! You can parse the reference number just as easily regardless of if you use a dash or slash.
Using '/news/{id}/{slug}?page=1' is a solid choice! Just remember to set a canonical URL. You might explore dropping the ID altogether, but keep in mind that could bring new challenges.
The ID helps in maintaining the URL even if you change the slug, which is a significant advantage.
That’s an interesting take! I need to think about how pagination is represented, maybe '/page-2' could work better too.