Full breadcrumbs vs current SEF URLs (no IDs) + redirect strategy if it becomes

Hi Nicolas

On our website we currently use clean SEF URLs (no IDs in the path). We would like to display the full breadcrumb on product pages (Home > category > subcategory > product), but we understand that in HikaShop this may require adding a parameter/identifier to the product URL (related to the category/path), or even changing the URL format.

Before changing anything, we need to confirm the following:

Is there a way to show full breadcrumbs without changing our current SEF URL format?

Specifically: keep the friendly URL path exactly as it is, and if needed, let HikaShop resolve the breadcrumb internally.

Regarding the “Simplified breadcrumbs” option:

If we disable it to get full breadcrumbs, what exactly changes in the URLs? (does it add a category/path parameter?)

Can it generate multiple URLs for the same product (one per category)? If so, what is your official recommendation to avoid duplication issues (canonical URLs, “Force canonical URLs on listings”, etc.)?

Worst case, if there is no alternative and this requires changing URLs sitewide (both categories and products):

Does HikaShop provide any tool or recommended method to manage 301 redirects in bulk (export/import old URL → new URL mapping, integration with Joomla’s Redirect component, a plugin, etc.)?

We are concerned about doing this manually in .htaccess due to the volume. Is there a “simple and safe” approach you recommend (for example, a redirect mapping/table system) that avoids thousands of .htaccess rules?

Our goal is: full breadcrumbs + one canonical URL per product + zero SEO loss (no duplication, no unnecessary migrations).

Best regards
José Ángel Galiano