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Site Builder
Indiana University
Configure Your Site

Redirects

Set up redirects for pages and folders on your site

Technical knowledge required

The configuration options on this page require familiarity with Apache .htaccess rules. If you need assistance, contact WebHelp.

Overview

Use the fields in your site's .ht file to configure redirects for your Site Builder site. Redirects automatically send visitors (and search engines) from one URL to another.

This is helpful when content moves, URLs change, or you need to guide users to the correct location.

Before you begin

  • Redirects affect how users and search engines access your site—use them carefully
  • Incorrect rules can break pages or cause redirect loops
  • If you're unsure about patterns or advanced rules, contact WebHelp
Republish required
If you change the value of any of the fields listed below, be sure to republish your site's .ht file.

Redirects

Element name Required Multiple
RewriteRule

Group containing fields for a single redirect. Creates a RewriteRule in your site's .htaccess file.
Yes Yes
Rule type Choose External (redirect to another website) or Internal (redirect to another URL on your own site).
Yes No
Request path

Path or pattern that triggers this rule. This is the URL users try to visit.

Examples: /old-page.html, /programs/old-path, /news/(.*)
Yes No
Destination path

Target path or full URL for this redirect. This is where users should be sent instead.

Include the https:// for redirects to pages on other websites.

Examples: /new-page.html, /programs/new-path, https://external-site.edu/page
Yes No
Redirect status code HTTP status code used for External redirects.
Yes No
Forward query string? If checked, the original query string is forwarded to the destination URL. This ensures that URL parameters (like ?id=123) are preserved during the redirect.
No No

Example redirects

  • Redirect an old page to a new page

    This redirects a single page on your site to a different page on your site.

    • Rule type: Internal
    • Request path: /about-old.html
    • Destination path: /about.html
  • Redirect an entire section to a new folder

    This sends all blog URLs to the matching path under /news (e.g., /blog/some-story.html redirects to /news/some-story.html.

    • Rule type: Internal
    • Request path: /blog/(.*)
    • Destination path: /news/$1
  • Redirect to an external site

    This redirects a single page on your site to a different page on another site.

    • Rule type: External
    • Request path: /some-page.html
    • Destination path: https://somesite.iu.edu/another-page.html
    • Status code: 301 (Moved Permanently) or 307 (Temporary Redirect)
    • Foward query string: Checked