Verify and monitor 404 redirects

The module has no built-in hit log. Verification must observe the HTTP response and use the site’s approved analytics, server, CDN, or search-console evidence for ongoing monitoring.

Activation test

1. Choose a unique URL that has never existed.
2. Request it without following redirects automatically.
3. Confirm the first response is 301.
4. Inspect the Location header and confirm it is the expected homepage.
5. Repeat for each Polylang language.
6. Test one valid page and confirm it remains 200 without an extra redirect.
7. Test a missing static file that may be handled by the web server separately.

Clear CDN and page-cache entries before interpreting a result.

Watch for harmful outcomes

Monitor:

• redirect loops involving homepage canonicalization;
• language requests landing on the wrong homepage;
• increased homepage “soft 404” reports;
• broken internal links hidden by the redirect;
• removed products or articles that have a better replacement;
• redirect chains created by another provider.

Disable and recheck

Disable Redirect 404 errors, purge the relevant cached responses, and request the same unique URL. WordPress should return its normal 404 response unless another redirect layer owns it.

Disabling does not remove redirects cached at a CDN or browser. Purge those layers separately.