Someone follows an existing link
A shopper discovers your product through an organic search result, a pinned social post, or a link in a newsletter sent last quarter. They tap the URL expecting to find a product they can buy.
Shopware 6 Plugin
Product 404 Redirects for Shopware 6
Deleted products no longer mean dead ends. This Shopware 6 plugin catches broken product URLs before they reach the error page and sends visitors straight to the right category - fully automatic, SEO-preserving 301 redirects with nothing to configure.
Version 1.0.0
The Problem
Deleted products leave a trail of broken links
Every product you remove from your Shopware store has a trail of inbound links - search engine indexes, affiliate sites, email campaigns, QR codes on packaging, social media posts. Those URLs do not disappear when the product does. Each one becomes a dead end that frustrates shoppers and erodes the search authority you have spent months building.
Shopware returns a 404 error
Because the product has been deleted from your catalogue, Shopware has no page to serve. The storefront renders its default error template - no product, no alternatives, no path forward.
Traffic and trust evaporate
Faced with a dead page, most visitors close the tab immediately. You forfeit the click, the potential conversion, and - as 404s accumulate - the search equity that URL had been building for months or years.
This plugin rewrites the outcome
Before the error page ever renders, the plugin intercepts the request and redirects the visitor to the category where that product once lived - a page filled with similar items they actually want to browse. The visit is salvaged, the sale stays possible.
Key Features
Focused on one job - and built to nail it
Product 404 Redirects does exactly one job and does it reliably: it recovers traffic from deleted product pages before visitors and search engines encounter a dead URL. Built on Symfony 7 and Shopware's native extension architecture, it integrates cleanly without adding overhead.
Activate and Forget
There is no configuration screen because none is needed. Install the plugin through the Shopware admin, activate it, and every deleted product URL is handled from that moment on - including products removed before you installed it.
Smart Category Resolution
The plugin evaluates each product's category assignments and selects the most relevant, most product-rich destination. Shoppers arrive on a page that genuinely matches what they were searching for, not a top-level catch-all.
Proper 301 Redirects for Search Engines
Every redirect uses the HTTP 301 Moved Permanently status code, signalling to Google, Bing, and other crawlers that link equity should flow to the destination page. Your domain authority is preserved instead of leaking through 404 responses.
Polite Shopper Notification
After the redirect, a lightweight toast message appears to let the visitor know the original product is no longer available and suggests they explore the current selection. The message text and display duration are yours to customise.
Instant Mapping on Deletion
The plugin listens to Shopware's entity lifecycle events. The instant a product is deleted or deactivated, its URL-to-category relationship is recorded. There is no gap in coverage, not even for a single request.
Rescue Analytics
A dedicated analytics panel shows you exactly how many visitors have been recovered - broken down by today, the past seven days, the past thirty days, and the lifetime of the plugin. Proof of value, visible at a glance.
Full Redirect Overview
Browse every active redirect rule in a searchable table within the Shopware administration. Each entry shows the original URL, the target category, and how many times it has been triggered. Remove outdated entries individually or in bulk - total transparency, total control.
Minimal Performance Footprint
No external libraries, no frontend JavaScript bundles, no additional database tables beyond what is necessary. Built on Symfony 7 and Shopware's native event subscriber architecture, the plugin executes a single optimised query only when a 404 is detected and stays completely dormant on every other request.
Under the Hood
Symfony event subscribers doing the heavy lifting
The plugin registers a Symfony event subscriber on Shopware's kernel exception event. When the kernel raises a 404 response, the subscriber fires and runs through a fast, three-tier resolution chain to find a matching redirect.
Redirect Lookup Table
The fastest path. A dedicated mapping table is populated eagerly whenever a product entity is deleted through Shopware's DAL lifecycle events. On a 404, this table is queried first for an instant match against the requested path.
Shopware SEO URL Table
If no entry exists in the redirect map, the plugin queries Shopware's seo_url table for deleted or orphaned URL records tied to product entities. This catches products that were removed before the plugin was installed or through direct database operations.
Historical Path Matching
Shopware retains previous SEO URLs when slugs are changed. The plugin leverages this history to resolve products that were renamed one or more times before deletion - covering even the oldest inbound links.
301 with Visitor Context
Once a source path resolves to a valid category, the plugin issues a 301 Moved Permanently response with the category's current SEO URL as the destination. A short-lived session flag is set so the storefront can display the toast notification on arrival.
Requirements
Compatibility
Designed to run on any standard Shopware 6 installation with no additional dependencies.
Shopware 6.7+
Requires Shopware 6.7 or later. Tested up to Shopware 6.7.7.1. Follows Shopware Store extension guidelines.
PHP 8.1+
Built for modern PHP. Leverages typed properties, enums, and readonly classes available in PHP 8.1 and above.
Symfony 7
Relies on Symfony 7 components bundled with Shopware 6.7+, including HttpKernel event dispatching and dependency injection.
Coming Soon
Product 404 Redirects for Shopware 6 is currently being developed and is not yet available for installation. It will be published on the Shopware Store when ready. Reach out if you would like to be notified at launch.
Want Product 404 Redirects for your Shopware store?
Whether you have questions about the plugin, want to request early access, or need a bespoke Shopware 6 extension built to your specifications - get in touch and let's figure it out together.
Need something more custom? Explore my consulting services
Also Available
Running a different platform?
Product 404 Redirects is also available for Shopify and WooCommerce. Same goal - recover every dead product link - built natively for each platform.
Product 404 RedirectsShopify version
The same app for Shopify stores. Automatically redirects deleted product URLs to relevant collection pages via the Shopify App Store.
Product 404 RedirectsWooCommerce version
The same plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce stores. Hooks into WordPress at the template_redirect stage with full WooCommerce HPOS compatibility.
Looking for plugins on other platforms? View all platforms