--- title: "Getting Started with Slugs Manager: Remove Old Slugs in WordPress" description: Install Slugs Manager, review the Old Slugs table and remove old WordPress permalinks safely, plus what Pro automates. url: "https://wpfactory.com/docs/intro-how-to-use-the-plugin-2/" updated: "2026-09-27" category: How to --- # Getting Started with Slugs Manager: Remove Old Slugs in WordPress [Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database](https://wpfactory.com/item/slugs-manager-wordpress-plugin/) finds the old slugs WordPress stores each time you change a post's URL and lets you remove them in bulk, with Pro adding automatic clean ups and slug regeneration. Everything is on one page at **WPFactory > Slugs Manager**; there is no WooCommerce settings tab. [![Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/Slugs-Manager.webp)](https://wpfactory.com/item/slugs-manager-wordpress-plugin/) ## What Slugs Manager does A slug is the last part of a URL that points to a post or page. When you rename a post or edit its permalink, WordPress keeps the previous slug as an `_wp_old_slug` record so it can redirect the old URL to the new one. These records pile up over time and can block you from reusing a slug. Slugs Manager lists every `_wp_old_slug` record, for all post types, and removes the ones you choose. Slugs Manager works on post-level old slugs only. It does not read or delete old category or tag slugs (`_wp_old_term_slug`). ## Install and activate - **Free:** in **Plugins > Add New**, search for **Slugs Manager**, then click **Install Now** and **Activate**. - **Pro:** download the Pro zip from your WPFactory account, go to **Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin**, choose the zip, click **Install Now** and activate it. Pro is a complete plugin: when it is active, the free copy stops loading, so you can deactivate and delete the free version. Only administrators (users with the `manage_options` capability) can open the page. For more detail, see [How to Install Slugs Manager](https://wpfactory.com/docs/slugs-manager-setup/). ![Uploading the Slugs Manager plugin ZIP in the WordPress admin](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Remove-Old-Slugs-from-your-Website-Step1.webp) ## First setup: remove old slugs There is nothing to configure before your first clean up. 1. Back up your database. 2. Go to **WPFactory > Slugs Manager**. ![The Slugs Manager settings page under the WPFactory menu](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Remove-Old-Slugs-from-your-Website-Step2.png) 1. Review the **Old Slugs** table. It shows **Old Slug**, **Post ID**, **Post Title**, **Post Type** and **Current Slug** for each record, with a count of how many were found. 2. Tick the rows you want to delete and click **Remove selected old slugs**, or click **Remove all old slugs** to clear every record. Confirm the **Are you sure?** prompt. 3. Click **Refresh list** to rescan the database. When nothing is left, the page shows **No old slugs found in database.** ![The Old Slugs table listing old permalinks in Slugs Manager](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Remove-Old-Slugs-from-your-Website-Step3.png) **Note:** `_wp_old_slug` records are what let WordPress send an old URL to its current one. After you remove them, old URLs can return 404 errors. If an old URL still gets traffic, set up a 301 redirect with a redirect tool before you clean up. ## Main features ### Old Slugs table (free) Scan, review and delete old slugs selectively or all at once, as shown above. If the table is empty when you expect results, see [Slugs Manager Shows "No Slugs Found" - How to Fix](https://wpfactory.com/docs/fix-no-slugs-found/). ### Flush Rewrite Rules (free) Under **Extra Tools**, the **Flush** button removes and recreates WordPress rewrite rules, which fixes many permalink 404s after URL changes. See [How to Flush WordPress Rewrite Rules](https://wpfactory.com/docs/flush-wordpress-rewrite-rules/). ### Automatic Clean Ups (Pro) **Scheduled Clean Ups** clears old slugs on a schedule (**Disabled** by default; **Every minute**, **Hourly**, **Twice daily**, **Daily** or **Weekly**). **Clean Up on Save Post** (default **No**) clears a post's old slugs each time it is saved. See [Automatically Delete Old Slugs](https://wpfactory.com/docs/automatic-old-slug-cleanup/). ![The Automatic Clean Ups options in Slugs Manager Pro](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Remove-Old-Slugs-from-your-Website-Step32.png) ### Regenerate Slugs (Pro) Rebuilds the current slug of every post in the post types you select (default `post`) from its title. It does not touch stored old slugs, and there is no undo. See [How to Regenerate WordPress Slugs from Post Titles](https://wpfactory.com/docs/regenerate-slugs-from-titles/). ![The Regenerate Slugs option in Slugs Manager Pro](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Remove-Old-Slugs-from-your-Website-Step33.png) For every option on the page, see the [Slugs Manager Settings and Options Reference](https://wpfactory.com/docs/slugs-manager-settings-reference/). Developers can find the cron event and API in the [Slugs Manager Developer Reference](https://wpfactory.com/docs/slugs-manager-developer-reference/). ## Free vs Pro | Feature | Free | Pro | | --- | --- | --- | | Old Slugs table: remove selected, remove all, refresh | Yes | Yes | | Extra Tools: Flush Rewrite Rules | Yes | Yes | | Scheduled Clean Ups | No | Yes | | Clean Up on Save Post | No | Yes | | Regenerate Slugs | No | Yes | ## FAQ ### Will removing old slugs break my old links? It can. WordPress uses `_wp_old_slug` to redirect an old post URL to the current one. Once the record is deleted, that old URL may return a 404. Add 301 redirects for any old URLs that still get visits before you clean up. ### Does Slugs Manager remove old category or tag slugs? No. It only reads and deletes the post-level `_wp_old_slug` key. Old term slugs are stored under a different key and are not touched. See [Does Slugs Manager Handle Taxonomy Slugs?](https://wpfactory.com/docs/taxonomy-slugs-handling/). ### Can I limit the Old Slugs table to one post type? No. The scan returns every old slug record for all post types. You choose which rows to delete by ticking them. The post type selector on the page belongs to **Regenerate Slugs** only. ### Scheduled Clean Ups is set but nothing happens. Why? Scheduled Clean Ups runs through WP-Cron. If `DISABLE_WP_CRON` is set to `true` in `wp-config.php`, Slugs Manager shows a warning that the schedule will not work. Remove the constant or trigger WP-Cron from a server cron job. ### Can I undo a clean up or a slug regeneration? No. Both actions change the database directly, which is why each one asks for confirmation. Restore from your database backup if you need to reverse them. ### Get more control Scanning and removing old slugs is free. [Slugs Manager: Delete Old Permalinks from WordPress Database](https://wpfactory.com/item/slugs-manager-wordpress-plugin/) Pro adds scheduled clean ups, clean up on save post and slug regeneration from titles. [See what Pro unlocks](https://wpfactory.com/item/slugs-manager-wordpress-plugin/). Need a hand? Our team answers every ticket on the [Slugs Manager support forum](https://wpfactory.com/support/item/slugs-manager-wordpress-plugin/). Related articles - [Handling Multilingual Old Slugs with Slugs Manager and WPML](https://wpfactory.com/docs/multilingual-old-slugs/) - [What Slugs Manager Does (Scope and Limits)](https://wpfactory.com/docs/slugs-manager-scope-and-limits/) - [Slugs Manager Troubleshooting](https://wpfactory.com/docs/slug-manager-fixes/)