#7937 – 4SEO vs sh404SEF

Hi

4SEO is not a replacement for sh404SEF, even though there is a bit of overlap in some basic features. When using both, there's no special configuration to do as 4SEO does not care how SEF URLs are managed.

The big thing is SEF URLs and you need sh404SEF for that, this cannot go away.

However, you will need to decide how you handle some things which can be done in both:

- managing meta data: if you use sh404SEF to customize page title and description, you can keep doing that in sh404SEF or start doing it in 4SEO if you prefer (4SEO can do it on the frontend directly) for instance. Meta data already created in sh404SEF will keep working as before of course, even if you switch to usng 4SEO for new content.

- injecting Analytics snippets. Note that only sh404SEF can display analytics statistcs results so if you use that, you should keep doing Analytics through sh404SEF. Else you can use 4SEO to inject Google Analytics (or some of the other providers 4SEO has).

Here is the global picture:

- sh404SEF does SEF URLs, 4SEO does nothing with URL construction and management (it has redirections and canonical,  a lot)

- It means you can use 4SEO with sh404SEF for SEF URLs, but also with JoomSEF or another SEF extension, or directly with Joomla SEF URLs.

- sh404SEF has few SEO features, 4SEO is only SEO

- you can use both together on Joomla 3

- 4SEO runs on Joomla 3 and 4

- sh404SEF will only run on Joomla 3

- when Joomla 4 is stable, we will have a small Joomla 3&4 extension, called 4SEF, that will take over the URL management part of sh404SEF, and provide a transparent migration from Joomla 3 to Joomla 4 for SEF URLs and custom meta data.

So there's a bit of overlap, but 4SEO is SEO for 2021. It does away with most of the extra baggage accumulated by sh404SEF but adds SEO features lacking in sh404SEF, those that matters today:

- structured data generation

- sitemap with only relevant URLs

- redirection engine, canonical rules

- content replacement (auto linking for instance)

- several other tools needed for SEO (analytics snippets, custom code insertion, put some pages offline)

- work on the frontend

and of course 4SEO has a much better user interface.

In addition, I'd like to mention that sh404SEF will be supported (on Joomla 3) for as long as Joomla 3 is relevant. Joomla 3 will be supported by the Joomla project officially for 2 years after Joomla 4 is released, but I know people will keep using it for more than that so I will support sh404SEF at least another year after that, and maybe more depending on demand.

Best regards

Yannick Gaultier

weeblr.com / @weeblr