Simple product URL leading to 404 error

Question

I noticed that some simple products aren't accessible via direct URL. Magento version: 1.13.0.2 (enterprise edition).

I tested by going in the admin under Manage products and I manually composed the native URL using the product's ID (example: domain.com/catalog/product/view/id/1869). When I try this I'm getting a 404 error. The simple products have the visibility set to Not Visible Individually. If I change the visibility to anything else like, Catalog, Search or Catalog, Search and try the native URL again, I don't get the error anymore and the product page is loaded.

I also tried to use the URL key with the appropriate suffix and I'm getting the same thing.

Because of the way the store is built we have to keep the visibility of the simple products to Not Visible Individually, so my questions are:

Is it normal for products that are set to "Not visible individually" to not be accessible via direct URL? If not, what could be causing the issue and how could it be fixed?

Answer 1

Is it normal for products that are set to "Not visible individually" to not be accessible via direct URL? If not, what could be causing the issue and how could it be fixed?

Yes, this is perfectly normal behavior. You are setting the items up as such that they will only be visible when part of a parent item, such as a configurable item.

This feature has been designed to prevent grouped or configurable items from showing individually, to avoid the customer seeing duplication on the product list page.