Hamburg PA, 19526   610.562.2900

 Marysville WA, 98720    360.322.4907

RANTS AND RAVES

How to 301 Redirect URL's

How To Create 301 Redirects for Joomla!

There will be cases where you need to set up a permanent redirect from an old path to a new path. It also allows search engines to know they need to update the links. I would recommend using redirects via your htaccess file rather than using the redirect manager in Joomla! unless it's only temporary.

Reasons for redirecting URL's:

Note: A website user should never notice a website redirecting. It should instantly redirect them to the new website URL.

 

Apache/Linux


Edit the .htaccess file

  • Log into FTP or use your hosting panel's file manager to edit files.
  • View your site's root. Usually located in public_html. If you see folders such as "administrator", "cache", "components", etc, then you are in your Joomla! site's folder
  • Find your "htaccess.txt" or ".htaccess" file and open it with an editor by right clicking it and "Open With.." a text editing program
  • Add the following lines, as needed, to the .htaccess file:
 

Redirect an old URL to a new URL within the same domain.

Redirect 301 /oldpath.html /newpath.html

 

Redirect a URL to a different domain.

Redirect 301 /oldPath.html http://yournewsite/path.html

 

Redirect an entire folder to a new path. (Not recommended for SEO reasons)

Redirect 301 /oldPath.html http://yournewsite.com/folder

 

Redirect an entire domain to another domain.

Redirect 301 / http://yournewsite.com

Of course you would change the path of these URL's to match your own domain name.