I’ve been carving through Joomla’s canonical URL chaos because I can’t let good sites—mine included—drown in duplicate URLs, poisoned SERPs, or half-hearted fixes that fumble query strings or demand cash. Round one was the rally cry, round two saw com_tags IDs tamed and 99% of Joomla’s core locked down—com_contact, com_content, com_finder, com_newsfeeds, com_users, com_weblinks, even com_k2. Now, as of April 1, 2025, I’ve spotted and slain another pest: start=0 parameters. My canonical URL plugin’s nearly release-ready, and I’m not stopping until it’s flawless.
Start=0, Stop Duplicates
Here’s the dirt: Joomla’s fine with URLs like mysite.com/articles?start=0—it’s valid, sure, but it’s the same damn page as mysite.com/articles without the parameter. start=0 just means “begin at the beginning,” which is the default—no need for the baggage. Left alone, those duplicates clog Google Search Console, split your SEO juice, and invite confusion. I’ve tuned the plugin to sniff these out and strip them, forcing the clean, no-parameter URL as the canonical. It’s running live on my sites, and it’s tight—com_content lists, com_tags pages, you name it. This isn’t a tweak; it’s a purge, and it’s pushing me closer to a rock-solid release.
Poison-Proof and Battle-Tested
SERP poisoning—where some fool’s ?junkparameter twists a good URL into trash—keeps getting smoked. With start=0 gone, alongside fixes like /tags/3 to /tags/joomla, this plugin’s a fortress across Joomla’s core and beyond. Live tests on my sites prove it: com_finder results, com_users profiles, com_newsfeeds feeds—all stay clean, no duplicates sneaking through. That 1% gap from last time? It’s shrinking fast. Edge cases like this are the last holdouts, and I’m hunting them down to make this thing bulletproof for release.
Free, Fierce, Almost There
Still free, still no gatekeepers—SEO shouldn’t come with a toll booth. At 99-point-something percent, it’s covering every core component I’ve thrown at it, plus com_k2, and now it’s shedding junk like start=0. It’s open too—drop in a fixer class, and you’re in the fight. I’m honing this for release because Joomla deserves a canonical URL plugin that’s not just good, but done—no half-measures, no loose ends.
Live testing’s my crucible; every tweak like this makes it sharper, readier for the world. I can't take a chance that Google isn't happy, because what's the point if it isn't? Besides, it's already spitting out better canonicals than any other plugin I've tested. LFG!
The Finish Line Beckons
Release is close—I can taste it. That start=0 fix is one of the final polish strokes, turning a 99% beast into a 100% blade. Next? Maybe third-party turf like VirtueMart if the community bites, but first, I’m locking this down for Joomla’s core. This is my Bad Wolf rewrite: duplicate chaos—start=0 or otherwise—dies, URLs shine, SERPs stay pure. I’m fighting for a Joomla where site owners don’t sweat Search Console warnings. Round three’s mine, and the war’s about to end—for me, for you, for good.
