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How to Create Redirects Using .htaccess File

The .htaccess file is a powerful tool for controlling the behavior of your website without modifying the core code. It is often used to create redirects, which are helpful in scenarios such as moving a page to a new URL or redirecting traffic from an old domain to a new one. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create different types of redirects using the .htaccess file.

Prerequisites​

  • Access to your website’s .htaccess file (usually found in the root directory of your server).
  • An understanding of the basic structure of your website’s URL.

1. Accessing the .htaccess File​

  1. Log into your hosting provider: Most web hosts offer a file manager or cPanel where you can manage files. You can also use an FTP client like FileZilla to connect to your server.

  2. Navigate to the root directory: The .htaccess file is usually located in the root folder of your website (e.g., /public_html/ or /www/).

  3. Edit or create a new .htaccess file: If you don’t have a .htaccess file, you can create a new one using a text editor like Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac). Ensure it is saved as .htaccess.

2. Creating Redirects in the .htaccess File​

There are several types of redirects you can implement in .htaccess. The most common types are 301 (Permanent) and 302 (Temporary) redirects.

1. 301 Redirect (Permanent Redirect)​

A 301 redirect is used when a page or site has moved permanently to a new URL. This type of redirect passes 100% of the ranking power to the redirected page.

Redirect 301 /old-page.html http://www.yoursite.com/new-page.html
  • /old-page.html is the old URL you want to redirect from.
  • http://www.yoursite.com/new-page.html is the new URL you want to redirect to.
Example:​

If you want to permanently redirect https://example.com/about.html to https://example.com/about-us.html, add the following line to your .htaccess file:

Redirect 301 /about.html https://example.com/about-us.html

2. 302 Redirect (Temporary Redirect)​

A 302 redirect is used when a page has moved temporarily and you plan to bring it back. This type of redirect does not pass any ranking power.

Redirect 302 /old-page.html http://www.yoursite.com/new-page.html

Use this if the change is temporary, such as for maintenance or A/B testing.

Example:​

To temporarily redirect https://example.com/sale.html to https://example.com/sale-new.html:

Redirect 302 /sale.html https://example.com/sale-new.html

3. Redirect Entire Domain​

If you want to redirect all traffic from one domain to another, you can use the following:

Redirect 301 / http://www.newdomain.com/

This will redirect every request made to your old domain to the new domain.

Example:​

If you're moving http://oldsite.com to http://newsite.com, add the following line to your .htaccess file:

Redirect 301 / http://newsite.com/

4. Redirect www to non-www (or vice versa)​

To redirect traffic from www.yoursite.com to yoursite.com or vice versa, use one of the following configurations.

Redirect www to non-www:​
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.*)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://%1/$1 [R=301,L]
Redirect non-www to www:​
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

5. Redirect HTTP to HTTPS​

To enforce secure connections by redirecting all traffic from HTTP to HTTPS, add the following:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

This will ensure that all non-HTTPS requests are redirected to the HTTPS version.

3. Best Practices for Using .htaccess Redirects​

  • Use 301 for permanent moves: This will ensure that search engines pass on the SEO value of the original page to the new one.
  • Keep the .htaccess file organized: Comment your redirects if you’re managing a large number of them. You can add comments using # before the text.

Example of a comment:

# Redirecting the old blog page to the new blog page
Redirect 301 /old-blog.html https://example.com/new-blog.html
  • Test the redirects: After making changes to the .htaccess file, test the URLs to ensure the redirects are functioning properly.

4. Common Issues and Debugging​

  1. 500 Internal Server Error: This usually happens due to syntax errors in the .htaccess file. Ensure there are no typos or extra spaces in the rules.

  2. Redirect Loop: If you’re redirecting from URL A to URL B, ensure that URL B isn’t redirecting back to URL A. Redirect loops can be avoided by clearly defining the URLs.

  3. Permissions: Ensure that the .htaccess file has the correct permissions (644). Permissions that are too restrictive might cause the file not to work.

Conclusion​

Using the .htaccess file for redirects is a powerful way to manage your website’s traffic. Whether you're moving pages, switching to a new domain, or enforcing HTTPS, .htaccess provides a simple solution with a few lines of code. Always test your redirects to ensure they are working as expected and keep a backup of your .htaccess file before making any changes.

If you have more advanced redirection needs, feel free to reach out!