.htaccess redirect generator

How the .htaccess redirect generator works

Enter your domain and choose what should happen: redirect HTTP to HTTPS, pick a preferred host (don't change, without www or with www) and add single page redirects as old-path new-path-or-URL, one per line. Old paths start with a slash, the target can be a path like /new-page or a full URL on another domain. The status code you select (301, 302, 307 or 308) applies to these page redirects. The output updates as you type.

For example.com with HTTPS, without www and one page redirect, the result looks like this:

# Generated with https://redirect-tester.com/htaccess-redirect-generator/
RewriteEngine On

# HTTPS and example.com as preferred host in one redirect
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule ^ https://example.com%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]

# Page redirects (301)
Redirect 301 /old-page /new-page

What the rules do

• HTTPS and www in one hop: the RewriteCond lines are combined with [OR], so a request that is on HTTP or on the wrong host is sent straight to the final address. http://www.example.com/ goes directly to https://example.com/ instead of taking two redirects. That avoids unnecessary redirect chains.
• [R=301,L] makes it a permanent redirect and stops processing further rewrite rules.
• Redirect 301 /old /new comes from mod_alias and is the simplest way to move a single page. Note that it matches by prefix: /old/sub is redirected to /new/sub as well.

Use 301 or 308 for moves that are meant to last, and 302 or 307 only for temporary ones. The differences are explained in 301 vs. 302 and 307 vs. 308.

Where to put the .htaccess file

Place the rules in the .htaccess file in your document root, the folder that contains your index.php or index.html. If the file already exists, for example from WordPress, add the generated block above the existing rules so the redirects are applied first. Keep a backup of the original file.

Two requirements have to be met:

• mod_rewrite must be enabled. On most shared hosting it is. On your own server, enable it with a2enmod rewrite (Debian/Ubuntu) and restart Apache.
• AllowOverride must allow the directives, otherwise Apache ignores the .htaccess file. See the Apache .htaccess documentation.

If your site runs behind a CDN or load balancer that terminates TLS, %{HTTPS} is always off on your server and the HTTPS rule causes a redirect loop. In that case, set up the HTTPS redirect at the CDN instead.

Test after deploying

Once the file is live, check the HTTP version, the www version and a few old page URLs with the redirect checker. Every URL should reach its target in a single hop with the status code you expect. More background and examples are in the .htaccess redirect guide.