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  4. How to rewrite/redirect a folder name with .htaccess

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How to rewrite/redirect a folder name with .htaccess

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  • SheffieldMarketing
    SheffieldMarketing last edited by Dec 13, 2013, 5:35 PM

    I have a folder in my site that I want to rename. I don’t want to just rewrite the URL and keep my old folder name, I want to change the folder name and then do whatever is necessary with .hataccess to not lose search engine rankings. The folder name I want to change has a space in it and also is misspelled (whoops x2)

    Example.

    Mysite.com/old foldr/page.html

    Mysite.com/newfolder/page.html

    How would I go about doing this with .htaccess?  Do I just switch the folder name on my server and then set up a redirect, or do I do a rewrite?  Sorry now familiar with the terms or .htacces.

    Thanks all

    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • MickEdwards
      MickEdwards @brad.s.knutson last edited by Dec 14, 2013, 9:34 AM Dec 14, 2013, 9:34 AM

      You might possibly have to detail the white-space explicitly with \s

      RewriteEngine On
      RewriteRule ^old\sfoldr/(.*) /newfolder/$1 [R=301,NC,L]

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • customerparadigm.com
        customerparadigm.com last edited by Dec 13, 2013, 6:10 PM Dec 13, 2013, 6:10 PM

        Yes, Bradley's method will allow you to redirect everything in the folder.  I thought you were just needing to re-index one file. 🙂

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • SheffieldMarketing
          SheffieldMarketing @customerparadigm.com last edited by Dec 13, 2013, 6:08 PM Dec 13, 2013, 6:08 PM

          Ok thank you! Unfortunately there are LOTS of .html files within this folder, is there a way to just switch the folder name and not each individual file?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • brad.s.knutson
            brad.s.knutson last edited by Dec 13, 2013, 6:08 PM Dec 13, 2013, 6:06 PM

            To 301 redirect all files in the direct to the new directory in .htaccess, try this:

            RewriteEngine On
            RewriteRule ^old\ foldr/(.*) /newfolder/$1 [R=301,NC,L]

            This should redirect all HTML pages, images, you name it.  It should also account for the space too.

            You'll want to move all your files to the new folder location so when the redirect happens your end user doesn't receive a 404 error.

            MickEdwards 1 Reply Last reply Dec 14, 2013, 9:34 AM Reply Quote 1
            • customerparadigm.com
              customerparadigm.com last edited by Dec 13, 2013, 6:01 PM Dec 13, 2013, 6:01 PM

              Yes, you will want to create a 301 redirect from the older location to the newer location.

              Steps to take:

              1. Change the folder on your server from /old foldr/ --> /newfolder/

              2. Add this line in your .htaccess file:

              redirect 301 /old%20foldr/page.html http://www.mysite.com/newfolder/page.html

              **3. Make sure this is working properly. ** I like to use this 301 redirect checker tool:

              http://httpstatus.io/

              SheffieldMarketing 1 Reply Last reply Dec 13, 2013, 6:08 PM Reply Quote 0
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