Q: On WordPress, should I use a redirect plugin or do it at the server level?

Q: On WordPress, should I use a redirect plugin or do it at the server level?

Fair question — plugins are convenient, but convenience has a cost worth understanding.

Short answer: plugin for small sites and quick edits; server-level once you have volume or care about speed.

Long answer:
Redirection-style plugins are great for non-developers — easy UI, logging, 404 monitoring. The downside: each redirect runs through PHP and often a database lookup, adding latency, and thousands of rules can bloat performance.

Server-level redirects (Nginx/.htaccess) fire before PHP loads — far faster and they don't depend on WordPress being healthy. The tradeoff is you need access and comfort editing config.

A solid middle path: build and test rules in the plugin, then export the bulk to server config and keep the plugin only for ongoing 404 cleanup.

Next step: if you have more than a few hundred redirects, migrate the bulk to server config and reserve the plugin for monitoring.