You just created a new page on your business’ WordPress site. You hit
Publish, and then check out finished page. In your address bar, you
notice something you didn’t expect. Instead of a clean URL, there’s a -2 at the end. For example, the URL is mysite.com/about-2/ instead of mysite.com/about/.

You try to edit the page, delete the -2 from the permalink, and click OK. But the -2 stays!

Now it seems you’re stuck with an unprofessional-looking URL on your
WordPress site. It’s not ideal. To get the permalinks you want for your
business, learn why the -2 happens, and how you can get rid of it.

The Cause

Every post, page, and media file in WordPress has a unique permalink.
When you create a new post, page or media file with the same name as a
previously existing item, WordPress will add a -2 to the end of the permalink (URL). It prevents duplication.

WordPress automatically generates permalinks based on the title of
the page, post, or media file. As a result, you might not be aware that
the URL you’re trying to use already exists until the -2 pops up in the permalink.

The Fix

This video walks through how to how to remove the -2 from a WordPress URL (permalink).

What if your permalink problem isn’t that simple? You can still fix it with these steps.

1. Find the Item

Make sure you’re logged into your WordPress account. Type the desired
permalink into your browser to see what’s there. If something loads,
you can click the Edit button in the Admin Toolbar at the top of the page and change it.

If that doesn’t work, then you’ll have to do a little digging. Try the following in order:

Maybe the item isn’t published. Search through your site’s pages,
posts, and custom post types (such as portfolio items or testimonials).
To make this faster, use the search box on each of those pages in the
WordPress admin area.

Maybe a media item is using the permalink. Search through the Media Library.

Maybe the item is in the Trash. Go to the admin page for pages,
posts, and custom post types (such as portfolio items or testimonials).
Then click the Trash link at the top of the page. Search there. You can’t see the permalink of items in the Trash, so you’ll need to first Restore the item, then click the All link at the top of the page and look there.

What if you still can’t find the item? Search your database directly.
We recommend you do this only if you’re familiar with MySQL, because a
misstep could break your site. Here’s a tutorial on searching a MySQL database if you’re familiar with MySQL but need specific instructions.

2. Change the Permalink

Once you find the item that has the permalink you want to use, you need to permanently delete it or change its permalink.

If you’ll never need the item again: Delete it by clicking Trash or Move to Trash. Typically this action frees up the permalink immediately. If it doesn’t, go to Trash and hit Permanently Delete.

If you may need the item again: Edit the item, then edit the Permalink. Next click OK, and then Update.

There are a few extra steps to change the permalink of a media file. Edit the media item, click Screen Options at the top of the screen, and check the box for Slug. Scroll down to the Slug box at the bottom of the page and edit the slug. Click Update.

Once you’ve freed up your desired permalink, edit the item you want to have the permalink, and the Permalink. Click OK, and then Update (or Publish).

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