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Pretty Paths

When to Use

Use this guide when you want cleaner facet URLs — /search/color/blue/size/large instead of ?f[0]=color:blue&f[1]=size:large.

Decision

Module: drupal/facets_pretty_paths (contrib — not included in Facets core)

URL format comparison:

Approach URL Format
Default (query string) /search?f[0]=color:blue&f[1]=size:large
Pretty Paths /search/color/blue/size/large

SEO advantage — Pretty paths are easier to block in robots.txt with a single rule: 

Disallow: /search/*/

And easier to set up canonical URLs since the path structure is predictable.

Pattern

composer require drupal/facets_pretty_paths
drush en facets_pretty_paths

Then configure the facet source to use the pretty paths URL processor instead of query_string.

Common Mistakes

  • Wrong: Using both pretty paths and query string URL processors on the same source → Right: Choose one URL processor per facet source. Don't mix them.
  • Wrong: Using Drupal path segments as facet URL aliases → Right: Ensure facet URL aliases don't conflict with actual Drupal paths (e.g., don't use 'node' as a facet alias).
  • Wrong: Not accounting for increased cache entries → Right: Pretty paths create more unique cache entries than query strings. Monitor cache size on high-traffic sites.

See Also

  • URL Processors — the default query string approach
  • SEO & Bot Protection — how pretty paths help with SEO
  • Reference: https://www.drupal.org/project/facets_pretty_paths