404s and URL confusion – diagnosed, needs fix

  • Resolved protoolreviews

    (@protoolreviews)


    2 years ago

    We have troubleshot and diagnosed a major issue with Yoast Duplicate Post. This is a new issue, however, I am not sure what update caused it (WordPress, Yoast SEO, or other.)

    NOTE: We are using Permalink Manager Pro which could be related to this issue. We have it set to NOT auto-update URLs when updating content, however (so that it doesn’t break or change any URLs). We cannot disable this plugin as it functions as an integral part of our SEO/URL strategy.

    The PROBLEM:

    Taking a live post and utilizing the Rewrite & Republish function results in the new “unpublished” duplicate article sharing the same URL immediately. This causes two issues:

    1) The original article is now 404’d when you are not logged into WordPress and attempt to view it (Incognito window)

    2) Editing the original article brings up the Reschedule & Republish version (not the original)

    To REPLICATE the Problem:

    1) Take an existing post

    2) Use the Reschedule & Republish feature to create a duplicate article

    3) Set a future Republish date on the article

    4) Hit the Reschedule button to save the new article to republish at that date

    5) The original article now 404’s until that date or you do the workaround below.

    The WORKAROUND:

    1) After creating a new article using the Reschedule & Republish system, change the URL on the new article so that it has a “-2” at the end of the URL.

    2) Save the draft and/or Reschedule at will… you will now see the proper functionality (the old article is visible until replaced by the now-scheduled Republish article.)

    Before, the plugin automatically added the “-2” to the end of the URL. It no longer does and seems to be confusing WordPress’ so that it immediately treats the existing post as the new post (more or less redirecting to it in both admin and the live site). Since this plugin is largely designed for scheduling future updates, that renders these present posts as unviewable in the interim.

    This should be easily reproducible.

    I would love to see an update where the Republished article gets a “-2” appended to the URL temporarily so WordPress doesn’t confuse it as it presently seems to be.

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
  • thiloroe

    (@thiloroe)

    We are experiencing the same problem. When duplicating a post for edits, the new post apparently is assigned the same URL as the published post.

    The result: When logged in it looks like the unpublished post is already published (as it shows the published URL in preview), but the post is in fact offline and only visible in preview to logged-in users. For not logged-in users the published post is no longer visible, it throws a 404!

    Once we click “Save” on the original (published) post, it gets a new URL with “-2” attached (and in our case is automatically redirected). Now at least the published post is live again.

    This is a serious issue that renders the plugin unusable on a production site.

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
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