# How to create Apache redirects for CentOS or Ubuntu Apache redirects are useful for a wide variety of situations. Among other things, you can use handy redirects to direct visitors from the **HTTP to the HTTPS** (Apache http to https redirect) version of your website, redirect traffic from a **www to a non-www URL**, or even change website and directory names. We help you understand and configure Apache redirects on CentOS and Ubuntu. ## 301 or 302 redirect: What’s the difference? When looking at redirects, it is important to distinguish between 301 and 302 redirects. The former status code (301) stands for a **permanent redirect**, while the latter (302) indicates a **temporary redirect**. A 301 redirect is far more desirable from an SEO perspective. If a [search engine crawler](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/online-marketing/search-engine-marketing/what-is-a-web-crawler/ "What is a web crawler?") encounters such a redirect, it understands that it is a permanent redirect. For this reason, it not only notes the new URL, but also initiates the process of transferring any **Page Rank value** from the old URL to the new one - the **already achieved SEO ranking** is thus preserved. On the other hand, if a crawler detects a 302 redirect, it notes the new address and moves on. Depending on the crawler, it may mark the URL for a repeat visit sometime in the future. This happens because a 302 redirect is supposed to indicate that **the redirect is only temporary** and the **“real” URL will be back online soon**. --- ### Tip Always specify that a redirect is a 301 redirect when creating it. In many situations, redirects default to 302 if the redirect type is not specified. --- ## Apache301 Redirects: Basics If you only need to redirect a **single URL** or a **small number of URLs**, you can easily mark them up individually in your project’s Apache configuration file. ### Simple URL redirect For a **single 301 redirect**, use the redirect directive in the Apache configuration file. The syntax for this looks like this: ```none Redirect 301 [old URL] [new URL] ``` The new URL can also be an **external URL**. This way, users can be communicated, for example, the catchy URL *example.com/store* instead of having to submit the long, complicated URL of an Amazon store page. The next example redirects traffic from example.com/store to an **Amazon store page** like this: ```none Redirect 301 example.com/store https://www.amazon.com/s?marketplaceID=.. ``` The Apache redirect directive must always be included in the **VirtualHost command block** in the main web server configuration file. By default, the file can be found in the following locations: - **CentOS:** /etc/httpd/conf.d/example.com.conf - **Ubuntu:** /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf --- ### Note The location and filename of the Apache configuration file may vary - depending on how you or your server administrator set up the hosting. --- Edit this file with an editor of your choice, such as the command line editor nano. **CentOS:** ```none sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/example.com.conf ``` **Ubuntu:** ```none sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf ``` Scroll through the file until you find the VirtualHost command block, which looks something like this: ```none ServerName example.com AllowOverride All ``` Now add the Apache redirect directive to the VirtualHost command block. When doing so, make sure to place the directive outside of directory command blocks: ```none ServerName example.com Redirect 301 /blog https://blog.example.com AllowOverride All ``` Save and close the file, then restart Apache for the changes to take effect: **CentOS:** ```none sudo systemctl restart httpd ``` **Ubuntu:** ```none sudo service apache2 restart ``` ### Apache: Redirect a directory You can also redirect a **subdirectory** on your current site in the same way. For example, suppose you want to move your site’s blog from a subdirectory (*'http://example.com/blog'*) to its own canonical domain (*'http://blog.example.com*'). The Apache redirect policy would be: ```none Redirect 301 /blog https://blog.example.com ``` ### Redirect from www to non-www domains It is common to redirect the www version of a URL to the non-www version (or vice versa) via a “**ServerAlias**” line in the Apache configuration file. Although this approach works well from a visitor perspective, it is not considered “best practice” from an SEO perspective. This is because using “ServerAlias” instead of a 301 redirect carries the risk that content in question could be flagged as [duplicate content](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/online-marketing/search-engine-marketing/duplicate-content/ "Duplicate Content"). Generally speaking, however, there is no difference between the www and non-www versions of an URL from an SEO point of view. The important thing is that you pick one of them. In the following, we **redirect** the **traffic from the www to the non-www variant.** Again, we need the main Apache configuration file, which you again open with the editor of your choice - for example, the command line editor nano. **CentOS:** ```none sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/example.com.conf ``` **Ubuntu:** ```none sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf ``` In the command block, look for the following line (with your project’s individual domain): ```none ServerAlias www.example.com ``` Delete this line and scroll to the end of the file. Add the following new “VirtualHost” command block there: ```none ServerName www.example.com Redirect 301 / https://example.com/ ``` Save and close the file. Then restart Apache for the changes to take effect. ## Complex Apache redirects with mod\_rewrite. For more complex 301 redirects, the Apache module mod\_rewrite is the best choice. This module is fast, flexible, and powerful - and gives you the ability to **manipulate URLs in a simple way**. You can define the appropriate rules in a [.htaccess file](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/hosting/technical-matters/htaccess-tricks/ ".htaccess tricks"). ### Enable mod\_rewrite on CentOS mod\_rewrite is **enabled by default** on CentOS. If you find that it has not been enabled, you can turn it on at any time in the module’s base configuration file. To do this, first open the file with the nano editor: ```none sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf.modules.d/00-base.conf ``` Add the following line or enable it if it was commented out: ```none LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so ``` In the next step, enable the use of .htaccess files. To do this, open the main Apache configuration file. ```none sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/example.com.conf ``` Scroll down to the main VirtualHost command block, which should look something like the following, as mentioned: ```none ServerName example.com AllowOverride None ``` Change the entry for “AllowOverride” from “None” to “**All**”: ```none AllowOverride All ``` If the directory entry is missing in the VirtualHost command block, add it manually: ```none AllowOverride All ``` --- ### Note Make sure to use the correct path to the root directory of your website. --- Save and exit the file. **Restart Apache** for the changes to take effect: ```none sudo systemctl restart httpd ``` ### Enable mod\_rewrite on Ubuntu To enable mod\_rewrite on an Ubuntu server, use the following command: ```none sudo a2enmod rewrite ``` Restart Apache for the changes to take effect: ```none sudo service apache2 restart ``` Next, allow the use of .htaccess files. To do this, edit the main Apache configuration file: ```none sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf ``` Scroll down to the main VirtualHost command block and find the directory command block (Directory), which should look something like this: ```none Options Indexes FollowSymLinks AllowOverride None Require all granted ``` In the “AllowOverride” line, replace the default entry “None” with “**All**”: ```none AllowOverride All ``` If the directory entry is missing in the VirtualHost command block, add it manually: ```none Options Indexes FollowSymLinks AllowOverride All Require all granted ``` Save and exit the file. Restart the web server for the changes to take effect: ```none sudo service apache2 restart ``` ### Create .htaccess file for Apache redirects After configuring Apache to use mod\_rewrite and allow .htaccess files, it’s time to go to your website’s document directory (root directory) and **create an .htaccess file**. --- ### Note You do not need to restart Apache after making changes to an .htaccess file. --- If you have not made any changes, go directly to the root directory of your Apache web server by typing the following: ```none cd /var/www/html ``` In the directory now **create the .htaccess file** and open it with the following command: ```none sudo nano .htaccess ``` Specify your **individual mod\_rewrite configurations**. Start with a simple test to make sure everything is working properly by adding the following lines to this file: ```none RewriteEngine on RewriteRule ^hello.html$ goodbye.html ``` This rule redirects requests for *hello.html* to the *goodbye.html* page. Save and exit the file, and then create the two HTML documents with the following commands: ```none sudo echo "Hello" >> hello.html sudo echo "Goodbye" >> goodbye.html ``` Now access the *hello.html* page in a browser. You should be redirected to *goodbye.html* via Apache redirect and see the message “Goodbye”. ## Redirect multiple domains to the same URL via Apache redirect There are several reasons why you should redirect different domains to the same address: - If your main site is *example.com*, you can best **capture** the **namespace** by purchasing *example.net* and *example.org*. - It makes sense to register **typical misspellings** of your domain name like exampl.com or exmple.com as well and include them in your strategy. This way you also protect yourself against so-called [typosquatting](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/domains/domain-tips/how-to-protect-your-domain-from-typosquatting/). - You may also simply own **variants** of your domain name such as *the-example.com* or *my-example.com*, which should also lead visitors to your web project when accessed. Although you can redirect these domain names to your main page in the usual way, from the SEO point of view it is advisable to set up 301 redirects in order to achieve your set goals. To **redirect multiple domains to the same domain via Apache redirect**, first enable the mod\_rewrite module as described in the previous section and set up a suitable .htaccess file. Then add the following lines to the .htaccess file: ```none RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{HTTP_Host} ^(www\.)?example\.net$ [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://example.com/$1 [R=301] ``` In the example, traffic is redirected from *example.net* to *example.com*. Now simply customize this rule to your domain names and desired results. For example, to redirect traffic to the www version of the URL (*www.example.com*), you would use the following: ```none RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{HTTP_Host} ^(www\.)?example\.net$ [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.example.com/$1 [R=301] ``` ## Apache: HTTP to HTTPS redirect: How it works For the safety of your users and your search engine ranking it is of elementary importance that all traffic on your [website is secured via SSL/TLS](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/websites/website-creation/how-do-i-convert-my-site-to-ssl-and-https/ "How do I convert my site to SSL and HTTPS?"). Also for this case, you can work with an Apache 301 redirect that automatically redirects visitors to the HTTPS version of your pages. Again, first set up mod\_rewrite and .htaccess file and then add the following lines to the configuration file: ```none RewriteEngine on RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule (.*) https://example.com$1 [R=301,L] ``` ## Renaming web pages and moving directories There are situations when you need to **rename an existing page or directory**. This will break all links pointing to that page - which not only degrades the user experience, but also affects your SEO. Use the following rules in the .htaccess file (after setting up mod\_rewrite and .htaccess files). **Rename web page:** ```none RewriteEngine on RewriteRule ^old-page.html$ /new-page.html [R=301] ``` **Rename directory:** ```none RewriteEngine on RewriteRule ^old-directory/ /new-directory/ [R=301] ``` In the examples above, the names of files and directories are specified as paths relative to the site’s root directory. There are three path options: - a **full file system path** such as /var/www/html/new-page.html - a **web path** relative to the root directory like /new-page.html - an **absolute URL** like 'http://example.com/new-page.html' ## Summary of the most important information about mod\_rewrite The mod\_rewrite module uses regular expressions to match and replace URLs. To enable mod\_rewrite, the first line of the rules in the .htaccess file must always look like this: ```none RewriteEngine on ``` **The heart** of mod\_rewrite are **RewriteRules**. Each RewriteRule consists of three parts: ```none RewriteRule [pattern] [substitution] [flags] ``` The **pattern** is created using regular expressions. The following substitutions can be made: - a full file system path - a web path relative to the root directory - an absolute URL **Flags** are optional. Some of the most common flags are: - L: indicates that this is the last in a series of rules - R=301: forces a 301 redirect - NC: ignores case sensitivity so the rule is not case sensitive For a complete list of available flags, see the [official Apache website](https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/rewrite/flags.html "Apache: Overview of the RewriteRule flags"). In some cases, a RewriteRule is **introduced by a RewriteCond**. This specifies the conditions under which the RewriteRule takes effect. A RewriteCond also consists of three parts: ```none RewriteCond [test string] [condition] [flags] ``` The **test string** is typically a server variable with the format %{VARIABLE NAME}. There are three types of **conditions**: - regular expressions - string comparisons - file/path tests **Flags** are again optional in this case. Three flags are available for RewriteCond: - NC: ignores case, so the condition is case-insensitive - OR: logical “or” - NV (“No Vary”): the header name will not be included in the Vary response header. ## What is the difference between RewriteRule and redirect? Both RewriteRule and Apache 301 Redirect can be distinguished in an .htaccess file to redirect website traffic. The main difference is that a RewriteRule is implemented by the mod\_rewrite module and a redirect is implemented by the mod\_alias module.
mod\_rewrite mod\_alias
uses RewriteRule and RewriteCond uses Redirect and RedirectMatch
very versatile as it uses regular expressions to match and replace URLs not very configurable
can be difficult to use easy to use
may not be installed or enabled by default enabled by default in most Apache installations
This is a markdown version of: [https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/configuration/apache-redirects/](https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/server/configuration/apache-redirects/) for AI/LLM consumption.