Here are the quick code snippets for common tasks you need to do in .htaccess to do redirects for Joomla, or any site for that matter. Most are linked to its own blog post that explains it in more detail.
In all reality, I am sure this post is missing several that would be helpful. If it isn’t listed, please comment on post and let me know which others should be on the list.
HTTP Redirects
Force HTTPS on whole site
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule .* https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
Force HTTP on whole site
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} on
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !protected [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [L,R=301]
WWW Redirects
Force non-www to www – when forcing any protocol to https
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.
RewriteRule .* https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
Force non-www to www – http explicit (multi protocol)
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule .* http://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
Force non-www to www – https explicit (multi protocol)
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} on
RewriteRule .* https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
Force www to non-www – when forcing any protocol to https
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.+)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%1/$1 [R=301,L]
Force www to non-www – http explicit (multi protocol)
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.+)$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://%1/$1 [R=301,L]
Force www to non-www – https explicit (multi protocol)
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.+)$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} on
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%1/$1 [R=301,L]
Joomla 3.8 Experimental URL Routing
Redirect old URLS with id to new ones
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (.*)\/(\d{1,}-|)(.*)\/(\d{1,}-|)(.*)
RewriteRule ^(.*)(\/)(.*) %1/%3/%5 [L,QSA,R=301]
Click on Joomla 3.8 Experimental URL Routing title link for more info.
Trailing Slash redirects
Remove trailing slash
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (.+)/$
RewriteRule ^ %1 [R=301,L]
Add trailing slash
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} /(.*)/$
RewriteRule ^ /%1 [R=301,L]
Remove index.php from Joomla SEF Links
Remove from middle of url
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/index\.php/
RewriteRule ^index.php/(.*) /$1 [R=301]
Remove from end of url
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^.*/administrator/index\.php [NC]
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^[A-Z]{3,9}\ /(.*)index\.php($|\ |\?) [NC]
RewriteRule ^ /%1 [R=301,L]
Removing the Temporary Url ~username out of Your Link
1. Comment Out with a #:
RewriteBase /~username/
2. Then add redirect, subbing out with your username:
RewriteEngine On
RedirectMatch 301 ^/~username(.*)$ $1
Redirect IP address to domain
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^111\.111\.11\.111$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301]
Change URL from old folder to new folder
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^oldfolder/(.*)$ /newfolder/$1 [R=301,NC]
Redirect pages after removing/disabling language code
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^en/(.*)$ /$1 [R=301,NC]
or
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/en(.*)$
RewriteRule ^en/(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]
if you also need to remove a .html then
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/en(.*)$
RewriteRule ^en/(.*)\.html$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]
if you need to remove a index.php and .html then
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/index\.php/en(.*)$
RewriteRule ^index.php/en/(.*)\.html$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]
Redirect Joomla 1.0 SEF links for Joomla 3.x
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^content/view/(.*)$ /index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=$1 [L,R=301]
That will redirect http://www.mysite.com/content/view/1234/2/ to http://www.mysite.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1234/2
Move website, remove folder name from path
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /folder/(.*)
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} ^GET\ /folder/(.*)
RewriteRule ^folder/(.*) http://www.example.com/index.php/$1 [L,R=301]
or shorter version:
RewriteRule ^folder/(.*)$ /$1 [L,R=301]
Remove .html from URL
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)\.html$ /$1 [L,R=301]
Force domain to HTTPS but set subdomain to HTTP
Here are some others I plan to add later when I get time:
- Remove Query String from link
- Add folder to link
- Match folder and remove everything before it
- Redirect one folder to another folder
- Redirect subdomain to folder
- Match query string and redirect to page
Common Problems and Things to Check
If any of these aren’t working, please double check that you have the RewriteEngine On and have substituted the appropriate placeholders (mysite.com, folder, username, etc)
If you are getting 500 server errors, try enabling/disabling the various commands that start with “Options,” like Options +Indexes and Options +FollowSymLinks. Their usage varies widely between hosting companies where having it or not having it will throw 500 server errors.
If you are getting double index.phpindex.php then find these lines:
########## Begin – Rewrite rules to block out some common exploits
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} proc/self/environ [OR]
and add in this extra conditional:
########## Begin – Rewrite rules to block out some common exploits
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/index\.php
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} proc/self/environ [OR]
Bonus Items
Also, if you need to tinker with the code, this tool by madewithlove is the best thing since sliced bread: .htaccess Tester
A great starting point for comprehensive security tweaks and so forth is the Master Htaccess written by the creator of Akeeba Backup and Admin Tools: Download Master .htaccess
