When you delete a page, WordPress returns a 404 status code. That fits typos and pages missing by accident. It doesn't say that you removed a page on purpose.
410 Response Manager is a free WordPress 410 plugin that sends an HTTP 410 Gone response for URLs you permanently removed. We built it at Rathly for site cleanups and migrations, and it is on WordPress.org with 70+ active installs.
What a 410 Gone status code means
The HTTP standard, RFC 9110, says a 410 means the resource is no longer available and the condition is likely permanent. It tells search engines and other users of the link that the owner removed the page on purpose and wants links to it removed. Our technical SEO work uses 410s for pages you removed on purpose and 301s for pages that moved.
Google handles 404 and 410 errors the same way. Its documentation says all 4xx errors except 429 get the same treatment. Pages already in the index that return a 4xx code drop out of it. So a 410 won't remove a page from Google faster or rank anything better. Its value is accuracy, since your server tells the truth about each old URL.
The plugin also adds an X-Robots-Tag noindex header to each 410 response, so search engines get a second signal not to index the page.
When to use 410, 404 or a 301 redirect
Each deleted URL needs the status code that matches what happened to it.
| Situation | Best response | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Page deleted with no replacement | 410 | The URL is gone for good |
| Page missing for an unknown reason | 404 | The issue may not be on purpose |
| Page moved or has a close replacement | 301 redirect | Visitors and links reach the new page |
| Product discontinued with no similar product | 410 | Nothing useful to send buyers to |
| Old category merged into another | 301 redirect | The new category serves the same need |
Don't redirect every deleted page to the home page. Visitors land on a page they didn't ask for, which rarely helps them.
What the plugin does
We checked these features against the plugin's version 1.0.2 code.
- Exact path rules. Add a path such as /discontinued-product/ and it returns 410 when the requested path matches exactly.
- Regex rules. Using one pattern, match a whole folder, such as everything under /products/deprecated/.
- Pattern checks. The plugin rejects invalid regex and duplicate rules before saving them.
- CSV import. Upload up to 5 MB of rules at once after an audit or migration.
- 404 to 410 setting. Turn every 404 on the site into a 410 automatically with one checkbox.
- Theme error page. Visitors see your theme's normal error page, while the status code is 410.
Rules live in their own database table, and the plugin removes it when you uninstall.
How to add 410 rules
- Open 410 Manager in the WordPress admin menu.
- Enter the URL path you removed, such as /discontinued-product/.
- Tick the regex option only when the rule should match a group of URLs.
- Save the rule, then request the old URL and check the status code.
Exact rules match the path character by character, so /discontinued-product and /discontinued-product/ are different rules. WordPress URLs usually end with a slash, so copy the path as visitors see it.
To check a rule, run curl -I with the full URL in a terminal, or use any HTTP status code checker. The first line of the response should show 410, and your server access log records the same code.
CSV import format
The CSV file has two columns. The first holds the path or regex pattern, and the second holds 1 for regex or 0 for an exact match.
url_pattern,is_regex /discontinued-product/,0 /2023-holiday-sale/,0 ^/products/deprecated/.*,1 ^/archive/2020/.*,1
The plugin skips rows with invalid regex and rows that duplicate an existing rule, then reports how many it added. Regex patterns need no delimiters, since the plugin adds them.
Should you turn all 404s into 410s?
The 404 to 410 setting suits a small site after a cleanup, where every missing URL really is gone. On a larger site, many 404s come from typos, spam bots and broken links on other sites. Turning those into 410s says something you can't know. An SEO audit sorts real removals from typos and broken outside links before any rule goes in.
A safer process for deleted URLs:
- Review the Pages report in Google Search Console for not found URLs.
- Redirect each URL that has a useful replacement page.
- Add a 410 rule for each URL that is gone for good.
- Leave unknown missing URLs as 404 until you know more.
- Remove old internal links and sitemap entries that still point to them.
Security and performance
The plugin adds no scripts or styles to the front end of your site. It checks each request once and keeps the answer in the WordPress object cache for an hour. The cache clears whenever you change a rule.
Only users who can manage options, usually administrators, can open its settings. Forms and AJAX actions check WordPress nonces, database queries use prepared statements, and CSV uploads must pass a file type check. The plugin stores no personal data, only URL patterns.
Install 410 Response Manager
The plugin needs WordPress 6.0 or newer and PHP 7.4 or newer, and WordPress.org lists it as tested up to 7.0.7. It is free and GPL licensed.
- Search Plugins for 410 Response Manager in the WordPress admin.
- Click Install Now, then Activate once the download finishes.
- Open 410 Manager from the admin menu and add your first rule.
The code is also on GitHub. For help, open an issue there or post in the plugin's support forum on WordPress.org, where users can see past answers. If you need a bigger cleanup or migration, our WordPress development team handles redirects, 410s and the rest of the move.