WordPress page slug keeps getting modified and generates duplicate content

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1

I’m dealing with a strange WordPress issue that I haven’t encountered before. I have a page that’s been using the same URL slug for years, let’s say it’s called “services” at mysite.com/services.

This page has worked perfectly with the /services slug for about 5 years without any problems. But recently when I tried to edit this page, something weird happened. I went to mysite.com/services and clicked edit, but then I noticed the permalink had automatically changed to /services-2 and WordPress wouldn’t allow me to change it back to the original.

When I saved the page with the /services-2 slug, all the related subpages and media files got reassigned to this new URL. But here’s the really strange part - when I visited the original mysite.com/services URL, it still worked but now showed a completely different page with a new post ID that was created at the exact same time I saved the /services-2 version.

I managed to reproduce this behavior with another page called “contact”. This time instead of keeping the /contact-2 slug, I tried fixing it by going to permalink settings and switching from post name to default, then back to post name. But this just made things worse - now the original /contact page has a new post ID and all the original content moved to /contact-2.

I’m running WordPress 4.9.4 with all plugins updated. Has anyone seen this kind of slug duplication issue before?

2

This issue often points to a problem with the database itself. It seems that WordPress believes your slug is already in use due to orphaned entries or previous drafts that didn’t get removed. I experienced something similar and fixing it involved checking the database directly. Backup your database first, then inspect the wp_posts table in phpMyAdmin for any entries with your original slug, particularly those marked as ‘trash’ or ‘auto-draft’. Removing these can resolve the matter. It worked for me, and your case sounds alike.

3

yup, I’ve had this kinda thing happen too. it might be a plugin messing with slugs, or even some theme settings. just ensure you back things up before tinkering too much. gl!

4

Had the same nightmare last year with my portfolio site. Turned out to be a corrupted revision system creating phantom entries. I fixed it by deactivating all plugins first, then checking if the problem was still there. An SEO plugin was messing with WordPress’s slug handling. Once I found the bad plugin, I manually cleaned the wp_posts table and reset slugs through the database. Look for entries with post_status set to ‘inherit’ or ‘revision’ - they were blocking my original slug. Also check your .htaccess file for custom rewrite rules that might conflict.