Human-Readable URLs (HRUs) and GUIDs

Learn the difference between human-readable URLs (HRUs) and Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs). Understand how to use them to create positive navigation experiences for users.

On this page

• Overview of GUIDs and Human Readable URLs (HRUs)
• When to use GUIDs and HRUs
• Find a GUID in CMS Lite
• How HRUs are formed
• Modifying page paths and locations
• Modifying assets and asset folders
• Pasting GUID links into documents
• Request a simple URL

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Overview of GUIDs and Human Readable URLs (HRUs)

CMS Lite creates two web addresses for each page or asset:

• Human-readable URL (HRU)
• Globally unique identifier (GUID)

Both HRUs and GUIDs lead to the same page or asset, but each serves different purposes. Learn about the risks of changing a page or asset's HRU.

When to use GUIDs and HRUs

Since human-readable URLs (HRUs) can change over time, it's usually best to use the permanent GUID link.

Use the GUID when you are:

• Linking to CMS Lite pages or assets
• Linking to a CMS Lite page from a document
• Bookmarking a page or asset

This creates a stable link that won't break if the page or asset is moved or renamed.

Use the HRU when you are:

• Linking to an external page and do not have access to the GUID
• Sharing a link in print materials
• Sharing a web address that someone will need to write down or type

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Finding a GUID in CMS Lite

All gov.bc.ca pages and assets hosted on CMS Lite have GUIDs. There are many ways to find the GUID:

Option 1: CMS Lite Settings tab

1. Open the page or asset in CMS Lite
2. Go to the Settings tab
3. Scroll to the bottom to find the Prod GUID URL

Option 2: Page or asset picker

When linking to a page or asset from a page in CMS Lite:

1. In the text editor, highlight the text you want to link
2. Select the link button in the toolbar
3. Select Asset Picker or Page Picker
4. Use the Search or Tree Navigation tab to find the page or asset
5. Click on the page or asset, then click Select. The asset or page ID will populate in the URL field
6. Click Ok

Option 3: From the webpage itself

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How Human Readable URLs are formed

Page HRUs

HRUs for pages are based on the page's location within the website’s structure. The URL is formed by combining:

• The page path of the current page
• The page path of all its parent pages

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Asset HRUs

HRUs for assets are formed by combining:

• The name of the asset folder and all its parent folders
• The asset's file name

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Moving and modifying page paths and locations

When moving a published page or changing its page path name, use extreme caution. You may break links to the page.

• Content editors can update the page path on the Settings tab
• Learn how to move a page

How Human Readable URLs change

A webpage's human readable URL (HRU) will change when you:

• Move the page within the website's structure
• Change the page path name
• Change the page path name of a parent page

Impact on links

When an HRU changes, any links to the page that using the the old HRU will no longer work. This can affect:

• Bookmarks
• Links from other pages
• Links within PDFs or other documents
• Links to child pages

Note: Links to the page using the GUID will remain unaffected. Unrelated links on your webpage will also not be affected.

Effect on child pages

Child pages inherit their URLs from their parent pages. If you change the HRU of a parent page, the HRUs of all its child pages will also change.

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Changing the page path

Content editors can update the page path on the Settings tab. When you do this, consider the following:

Characters allowed in page paths

The page path (on the Settings tab on the Topic template) has a restricted character set:

• Only a - z, 0 - 9 and - [dash] will be used to form the HRU
• All other characters and spaces will be replaced with a dash

For example: 'Programmes de langue française' will be converted to 'programmes-de-langue-fran-aise'

Ensure HRU is unique

After updating the page path and selecting 'Save', the system will automatically validate the HRU to ensure HRU is unique.

• Child pages within the same parent cannot have the same page path name
• Pages can have the same page path name if they are under different parent pages

Shorten the HRU

When creating a page, consider shortening the page path to make the HRU easier to type, share, and reduce user error. For example:

• Original HRU: www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education/k-12/teach/training/become-a-teacher-in-a-b-c-offshore-school/
• Shortened HRU: www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education/k-12/teach/training/offshore/

Be cautious of breaking links

Changing the HRU of a published page can break links to the page and its child pages. To minimize this risk:

• Create short page paths: Set a concise and accurate page path when first creating the page, before it is published
• Keep the page path unchanged: If the existing page path still makes sense after updating the Title or Nav Title, do not alter it

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Moving and modifying assets and asset folders

When you move or modify assets and asset folders, the Human Readable URL (HRU) will change, which may cause broken links.

An asset's HRU will change when you:

• Move the asset to a different folder
• Change the asset name
• Change the folder name
• Change the name of a parent folder

Any links to the asset that used the former HRU will no longer work. Affected links may include:

• Bookmarks
• Links from other pages
• Links within PDFs or other documents

Links to the asset using the GUID will remain unaffected.

Modifying asset folders

It is important to use caution when modifying asset folders, including moving the published folder or changing the folder name.

Moving or renaming a folder changes the HRUs for all assets within the folder and all its nested folders. The old HRU links to assets within the folder and subfolders will no longer work. This can create broken links in bookmarks, documents, and other pages.

Renaming or moving an asset folder updates the Human Readable URL immediately in QA, PROD, and the database.

Pasting GUID links into documents

How GUIDs are displayed in CMS Lite

When linking to a GUID, CMS Lite will display the GUID as an ID instead of a full web address. For example:

• URL: /gov/content ?id=CE80B80E514549C39774C794BCA07B2E

Even though the GUID displays as an ID in the content editor, the link will work correctly on the published webpage.

Issues with copying GUIDs

If you copy content from CMS Lite, the GUID link will not include the "gov.bc.ca/" domain. When pasted into a Word document or another application, the computer will convert the link to a local file path, causing it to malfunction when pasted back into CMS Lite.

To avoid this issue, either:

• Paste directly from CMS Lite to CMS Lite
• If pasting into a Word document, copy the content from the QA or production pages
  • Note: Content copied from QA or production will use the HRU, not the GUID. If you paste it back into CMS Lite, you may need to update the links back to GUID

Request a simple URL

If you require a simple URL, submit your simple URL request to the Joint Working Group.