---
title: why I removed my self-healing URLs
description: the act of removing my self healing URLs
date: 2025-07-07
tags:
  - webdev
image: why-i-removed-self-healing-urls.png
atUri: "at://did:plc:qxichs7jsycphrsmbujwqbfb/site.standard.document/3mn5hpc2oig22"
---

In the past, I wrote about how I used [self-healing URLs](https://isabelroses.com/blog/self-healing-urls/). But while rewriting my website for the roughly the sixth time, a realization hit me: _who am I really building this for?_

That question completely shifted how I approached my site. I had been optimizing for SEO, but the real purpose of my site is self-documentation and sharing what I learn with others who want to learn alongside me.

With that in mind, I decided to delete the self-healing URLs. I no longer wanted to cater to machines—I wanted to build for people. Self-healing URLs are inherently anti-user. How is a human supposed to remember which number blog post this is? Or worse, if it's just a random string?

Maybe this will prompt you to remove your self-healing URLs... or maybe it won't :D
