Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • SEO Q&A
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • MozCon

        Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers

        Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Intermediate & Advanced SEO
    4. We are redirecting http and non www versions of our website. Should all versions http (non www version and www version) and https (non www version) should just have 1 redirect to the https www version?

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    We are redirecting http and non www versions of our website. Should all versions http (non www version and www version) and https (non www version) should just have 1 redirect to the https www version?

    Intermediate & Advanced SEO
    3
    7
    2391
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • Caffeine_Marketing
      Caffeine_Marketing Subscriber last edited by

      We are redirecting http and non www versions of our website. Should all versions http (non www version and www version) and https (non www version) should just have 1 redirect to the https www version?

      Thant way all forms of the website are pointing to one version?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • BlueprintMarketing
        BlueprintMarketing @Caffeine_Marketing last edited by

        I am happy I could be of help please let me know if there's anything else I can be of assistance with?

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • BlueprintMarketing
          BlueprintMarketing @Caffeine_Marketing last edited by

          PS I will run a crawl to check

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • BlueprintMarketing
            BlueprintMarketing @Caffeine_Marketing last edited by

            It is fine to 301 redirect to** "/"** you need to pick forward slash "/" or no forward slash.

            • SEE:
            • https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2010/04/to-slash-or-not-to-slash.html
            • https://www.seroundtable.com/google-trailing-slashes-url-24943.html

            You should force HTTPS

            • http://cardiff.co.uk 301's to http://www.cardiff.co.uk/
            • See: https://i.imgur.com/fg34sXR.png
            • You should add https
            • https://dash.cloudflare.com/sign-up
            • or
            • https://www.rapidtables.com/web/tools/redirect-generator.html

            Add a SSL cert I would just add cloudflare.com (if you want fast & easy also Free)

            • https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/204144518
            • https://support.cloudflare.com/hc/en-us/articles/200172286-Configuring-URL-forwarding-or-redirects-with-Cloudflare-Page-Rules

            When configuring Page Rules, the Always use HTTPS action is the simplest method to redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS.  You can also use the Forwarding URL action with a 301 redirect if you need to redirect to another subdomain in addition to forcing HTTPS. For example, a Page Rule match for

            **_http://_cardiff.co.uk_/*_**
            

            with a _Forwarding URL _of

            **_https://www.cardiff.co.uk/$1_**
            

            https://www.cardiff.co.uk/

            ASP.NET

            or ASP.NET

            <%@ Language="VBScript" %>
            <%
            ' ASP permanent URL redirect - generated by www.rapidtables.com
            Response.Status="301 Moved Permanently"
            Response.AddHeader "Location", "https://www.cardiff.co.uk/"
            Response.End
            %>

            Redirect entire domain from HTTP to HTTPS

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

            Redirect entire domain from non-www to www and HTTP to HTTPS

            RewriteEngine On
            RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]
            RewriteRule ^ https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
            RewriteCond %{HTTP:X-Forwarded-Proto} !https
            RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
            RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
            

            Hope this helps,

            Tom

            fg34sXR.png

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Caffeine_Marketing
              Caffeine_Marketing Subscriber last edited by

              Thank you for the advice it is very useful.

              In GWT we are also showing redirects on all pages from the non / page to the / page

              ie cardiff.co.uk redirects to  cardiff.co.uk/

              is this OK?

              BlueprintMarketing 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • BlueprintMarketing
                BlueprintMarketing last edited by

                if you talking about the domain

                you should 301 redirect each of the 3 of 4 different URLs to the one you want to be the primary domain that is using https

                This is a great guide

                https://ahrefs.com/blog/301-redirects/

                You can always use CloudFlare as free & easy fix.

                If you want to use HSTS preload or just HSTS

                Test your 301 setup using

                https://hstspreload.org/?domain=example.com

                If you are using https://www.  as the primary

                See you must force http to https and the HTTP://www

                Must redirect to the https:// bare domain so that means two redirects.

                Error: No redirect from HTTPhttp://example.com does not redirect to https://example.com.

                Hope this helps,

                Tom

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Xiano
                  Xiano Subscriber last edited by

                  Ideally, yes.

                  However, it's not likely to have a massive impact if you do have a redirect chain first to www and then to https.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • 1 / 1
                  • First post
                    Last post

                  Got a burning SEO question?

                  Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                  Start my free trial


                  Browse Questions

                  Explore more categories

                  • Moz Tools

                    Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                  • SEO Tactics

                    Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                  • Community

                    Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                  • Digital Marketing

                    Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                  • Research & Trends

                    Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                  • Support

                    Connect on product support and feature requests.

                  • See all categories

                  Related Questions

                  • SeoBlogs61

                    Moving site from www to non www and also hosting to vps what will be the effect?

                    shared hosting to vps www to non www

                    Hi SEO gurus,
                    I am trying to move my site from shared hosting to VPS hosting and also moving from www to non www version.
                    What is the best possible way to avoid any issue and without losing the backlinks.
                    Is it good or bad to do? URL: https://buylikesservices.com/

                    Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | SeoBlogs61
                    0
                  • amag

                    Would You Redirect a Page if the Parent Page was Redirected?

                    Hi everyone! Let's use this as an example URL: https://www.example.com/marvel/avengers/hulk/ We have done a 301 redirect for the "Avengers" page to another page on the site. Sibling pages of the "Hulk" page live off "marvel" now (ex: /marvel/thor/ and /marvel/iron-man/). Is there any benefit in doing a 301 for the "Hulk" page to live at /marvel/hulk/ like it's sibling pages? Is there any harm long-term in leaving the "Hulk" page under a permanently redirected page? Thank you! Matt

                    Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | amag
                    0
                  • binhlai

                    If my website do not have a robot.txt file, does it hurt my website ranking?

                    After a site audit, I find out that my website don't have a robot.txt. Does it hurt my website rankings? One more thing, when I type mywebsite.com/robot.txt, it automatically redirect to the homepage. Please help!

                    Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | binhlai
                    0
                  • Steven_Macdonald

                    Switching from HTTP to HTTPS: 301 redirect or keep both & rel canonical?

                    Hey Mozzers, I'll be moving several sites from HTTP to HTTPS in the coming weeks (same brand, multiple ccTLDs). We'll start on a low traffic site and test it for 2-4 weeks to see the impact before rolling out across all 8 sites. Ideally, I'd like to simply 301 redirect the HTTP version page to the HTTPS version of the page (to get that potential SEO rankings boost). However, I'm concerned about the potential drop in rankings, links and traffic. I'm thinking of alternative ways and so instead of the 301 redirect approach, I would keep both sites live and accessible, and then add rel canonical on the HTTPS pages to point towards HTTP so that Google keeps the current pages/ links/ indexed as they are today (in this case, HTTPS is more UX than for SEO). Has anyone tried the rel canonical approach, and if so, what were the results? Do you recommend it? Also, for those who have implemented HTTPS, how long did it take for Google to index those pages over the older HTTP pages?

                    Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Steven_Macdonald
                    0
                  • BrandBuilder

                    New Site (redesign) Launched Without 301 Redirects to New Pages - Too Late to Add Redirects?

                    We recently launched a redesign/redevelopment of a site but failed to put 301 redirects in place for the old URL's. It's been about 2 months. Is it too late to even bother worrying about it at this point? The site has seen a notable decrease in site traffic/visits, perhaps due to this issue. I assume that once the search engines get an error on a URL, it will remove it from displaying in search results after a period of time. I'm just not sure if they will try to re-crawl those old URLs at some point and if so, it may be worth it to have those 301 redirects in place. Thank you.

                    Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | BrandBuilder
                    0
                  • SMG-Texas

                    301 Redirect of subdomain?

                    Fellow Mozzers, I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around a redirect issue and thought it was worth posing the question to the Moz community.  I did a search first but couldn't find the exact answer I was looking for. How does a 301 redirect work when you redirect a sub domain example.homepage.com to www.homepage.com but you keep the sub directories of example.homepage.com/page-1 active and are trying to rank them?  I'm dealing with a current project where this is happening and this doesn't make sense to me, to redirect the subdomain if you're also trying to rank/create search traffic for pages, sub directories on example.homepage.com. This also get's into the debate of if a sub domain site is viewed as it's own website and therefore has to rank itself.  If this is true, it seems like we're kind of killing the authority of the site by redirecting it. Additionally, www.homepage.com has a much stronger link profile than example.homepage.com I hope this makes sense.  Any thoughts are appreciated.  Thanks for your time.

                    Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | SMG-Texas
                    0
                  • abargmann

                    301 vs 410 redirect: What to use when removing a URL from the website

                    We are in the process of detemining how to handle URLs that are completely removed from our website? Think of these as listings that have an expiration date (i.e. http://www.noodle.org/test-prep/tphU3/sat-group-course). What is the best practice for removing these listings (assuming not many people are linking to them externally). 301 to a general page (i.e. http://www.noodle.org/search/test-prep) Do nothing and leave them up but remove from the site map (as they are no longer useful from a user perspective) return a 404 or 410?

                    Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | abargmann
                    0
                  • rexjoec

                    Effects of having both http and https on my website

                    You are able to view our website as either http and https on all pages. For example: You can type "http://mywebsite.com/index.html" and the site will remain as http: as you navigate the site. You can also type "https://mywebsite.com/index.html" and the site will remain as https: as you navigate the site. My question is....if you can view the entire site using either http or https, is this being seen as duplicate content/pages? Does the same hold true with "www.mywebsite.com" and "mywebsite.com"? Thanks!

                    Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | rexjoec
                    1

                  Get started with Moz Pro!

                  Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                  Start my free trial
                  Products
                  • Moz Pro
                  • Moz Local
                  • Moz API
                  • Moz Data
                  • STAT
                  • Product Updates
                  Moz Solutions
                  • SMB Solutions
                  • Agency Solutions
                  • Enterprise Solutions
                  Free SEO Tools
                  • Domain Authority Checker
                  • Link Explorer
                  • Keyword Explorer
                  • Competitive Research
                  • Brand Authority Checker
                  • Local Citation Checker
                  • MozBar Extension
                  • MozCast
                  Resources
                  • Blog
                  • SEO Learning Center
                  • Help Hub
                  • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                  • How-to Guides
                  • Moz Academy
                  • API Docs
                  About Moz
                  • About
                  • Team
                  • Careers
                  • Contact
                  Why Moz
                  • Case Studies
                  • Testimonials
                  Get Involved
                  • Become an Affiliate
                  • MozCon
                  • Webinars
                  • Practical Marketer Series
                  • MozPod
                  Connect with us

                  Contact the Help team

                  Join our newsletter
                  Moz logo
                  © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                  • Accessibility
                  • Terms of Use
                  • Privacy

                  Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.