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Why Your Shopify Product URL Ends in -1 (and Whether to Fix It)

By Evan Walter · Updated 2026-11-11

Every Shopify product URL uses a handle, like /products/linen-shirt. Handles must be unique, so when you create or duplicate a product whose handle already exists, Shopify appends a number: linen-shirt-1, linen-shirt-2.

Is it a problem?

The number itself does little harm. What it usually signals is the real issue: duplicated products, re-imports, or near-identical pages. Check whether the original linen-shirt still exists. If both are live, see fixing duplicate products.

Renaming a handle safely

1. Open the product and scroll to Search engine listing, then click the edit icon.
2. Change the URL handle to a clean, descriptive version.
3. Make sure Create a URL redirect is checked. Shopify then 301-redirects the old URL to the new one, so existing links and rankings carry over.

If an old URL is already returning a 404, see fixing 404s with URL redirects. Avoid renaming handles repeatedly. Each rename adds another redirect, and long-established URLs are worth keeping when they're already fine.