Htaccess Tools
Professional Domain Migration Code Generator
Executing a domain migration is a high-stakes technical SEO task. Our generator provides you with the exact, battle-tested Apache and Nginx directives required to permanently redirect an entire old domain to a new one, ensuring all link equity and user traffic is preserved correctly.
# Your configuration will appear here...
SEO Redirect Strategy
When migrating a whole domain, a permanent 301 redirect is critical to transfer authority and link juice. Selecting "Preserve URI Path" ensures that deep links (e.g., old.com/page) point to the corresponding page on the new domain (new.com/page), which is essential for maintaining individual page rankings.
Inputs
- Old Domain: Enter the domain you are migrating away from (e.g., old-site.com).
- New Domain: Enter the destination domain for your migration (e.g., new-site.com).
- Server Type: Select the target web server environment, either Apache or Nginx.
- Preserve URI Path: A toggle to decide if you want to map specific pages or redirect everything to the new homepage.
Outputs
- Configuration Code: The exact code snippet required for your .htaccess file or Nginx server block.
- Copy Functionality: A dedicated button to transfer the generated redirect rules directly to your clipboard for deployment.
Interaction: Enter your domains. Choose your server type. If you want to maintain the URL structure, leave 'Preserve URI Path' checked. Click generate to produce the code block, which you can then copy and paste into your server configuration.
How It Works
A transparent look at the logic behind the analysis.
Input Your Source And Destination Domains
Start by defining the two domains involved in the migration process to ensure the generator can map the redirect logic accurately between the hosts.
Select The Appropriate Server Architecture
Choose between Apache's mod_rewrite rules or Nginx's server block return directives to match the technical requirements of your specific hosting infrastructure.
Define The Deep Link Mapping Strategy
Determine if each individual page on the old domain should redirect to its identical counterpart on the new domain or if all traffic should go to the homepage.
Generate Syntactically Perfect Redirect Rules
The tool processes your selections and creates the specific regex-based directives needed to handle both the root domain and the www version of your old host.
Deploy The Code To Your Live Server
Copy the resulting code snippet and add it to your server configuration file. This will trigger a permanent 301 status for all incoming requests.
Why This Matters
Generate high-performance server-side 301 redirect code to safely migrate your entire website from an old domain to a new one while preserving SEO rankings.
Preservation Of All Existing Link Authority
A 301 redirect tells search engines that your site has moved permanently, transferring nearly all the 'link juice' from the old domain to the new one.
Seamless Transition For Existing Site Visitors
Ensure that users who have bookmarked your old pages or click on old social media links are automatically and instantly taken to the correct new location.
Prevention Of Duplicate Content SEO Issues
By redirecting the old domain, you ensure that search engines don't see two identical websites, which could lead to cannibalization and ranking penalties.
Protection Against 404 Error Spikes
Meticulously redirecting your entire domain prevents a massive spike in 404 errors that typically occurs during a site migration, maintaining your technical health.
Consolidation Of Search Engine Signals
Help search engine crawlers quickly understand your brand's new digital identity by consolidating all historical ranking signals into your new domain architecture.
Key Features
Apache mod_rewrite Rule Support
Generates robust RewriteCond and RewriteRule directives for .htaccess, handling both the apex domain and the www subdomain with advanced regex logic.
High-Performance Nginx Directives
Provides clean, efficient 'return 301' directives for Nginx server blocks, ensuring minimal latency and high performance during your site migration process.
Dynamic URI Path Preservation
Intelligently appends the original request path to the new domain, ensuring that deep links from external sites continue to function perfectly for users.
Client-Side Domain Validation
Includes built-in validation to ensure you enter valid domain names, preventing syntax errors in your server configuration that could cause a site-wide crash.
Instant Real-Time Code Generation
Experience zero-lag configuration updates. The tool updates the generated code instantly as you toggle settings or update your domain name inputs.
Developer-First Professional UI
A clean, dark-themed interface designed for high-productivity technical SEO audits and server management tasks across all modern device types.
Secure One-Click Clipboard Copy
Transfer complex configuration code without manual errors using our integrated clipboard support, which handles multi-line snippets with perfect character fidelity.
Quick Reset and Iteration Workflow
Easily clear your migration workspace to start a new project or test different redirect strategies for various subdomains or staging environments.
Sample Output
Input Example
Interpretation
In this example, the user is migrating a brand from one domain to another on an Nginx server. The tool generates a server block that listens for requests to both the root and www versions of the old domain. The 'return 301' directive ensures that every visitor is permanently moved to the new domain while the '$request_uri' variable preserves the exact page they were trying to visit, ensuring zero loss of traffic to deep pages.
Result Output
server {
listen 80;
server_name old-brand.com www.old-brand.com;
return 301 https://new-brand.com$request_uri;
}Common Use Cases
Brand Rebranding Project
Safely move your business to a shorter, more memorable domain name without losing the search engine authority you've built over several years.
Domain Acquisition Strategy
Redirect recently acquired domains to your client's main website to consolidate backlink power and capture historical industry traffic signals.
Infrastructure Upgrades
Generate clean redirect code when moving a client from a legacy shared hosting environment to a modern, high-performance cloud VPS.
Consolidation Audits
Provide clients with the exact code required to merge multiple smaller microsites into a single, high-authority brand domain for better ranking potential.
Protocol Standardization
Ensure that all domains in an enterprise portfolio are correctly redirecting to the preferred secure HTTPS version of the primary corporate website.
Campaign URL Management
Redirect temporary campaign domains to a permanent landing page on the main company site once a specific marketing event has concluded.
Troubleshooting Guide
Infinite Redirect Loop Detected
This happens if you accidentally try to redirect a domain back to itself. Ensure that your old and new domains are distinctly different hostnames.
Redirects Not Working On HTTPS
If you are using Nginx, ensure you have a separate server block or appropriate 'listen 443' directives to handle secure traffic during the migration process.
Nginx Syntax Error (Missing Semicolon)
Our tool adds all necessary punctuation, but if you edit the code manually, ensure every Nginx directive ends with a semicolon to prevent server startup failure.
Mod_Rewrite Not Enabled On Apache
If the .htaccess rules aren't working, check if your server has the 'mod_rewrite' module enabled and that 'AllowOverride All' is set in your config.
Wrong Domain Being Redirected
Double-check the spelling of your domains in the input fields. A single character error can cause your redirect to fail or point to the wrong destination.
Pro Tips
- Always use 301 redirects for domain migrations; 302 redirects are temporary and will not transfer your search engine rankings or link authority.
- Update your Google Search Console settings using the 'Change of Address' tool after deploying your 301 redirects to speed up the indexing process.
- Monitor your server logs for a few weeks after migration to ensure that most requests are successfully hitting the 301 redirect and reaching the new domain.
- If you are migrating to a different URL structure, map your most important pages individually before using this global domain redirect as a safety net.
- Remember to renew your old domain for at least 1-2 years after the migration to ensure the redirects stay active while search engines update their index.
- Check your new domain for any manual actions or penalties in Search Console before starting the migration to ensure you are moving to a 'clean' host.
- Use Nginx for domain-level redirects whenever possible as it is significantly more efficient than Apache for handling large volumes of redirect traffic.
- Avoid 'daisy-chaining' redirects (Domain A to Domain B to Domain C) as each hop can slightly decrease the amount of authority transferred to the final site.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a 301 redirect and why is it used for domain migrations?
A 301 redirect is a permanent HTTP status code that tells both web browsers and search engine crawlers that a page or website has moved to a new location forever. For domain migrations, it is the only recommended way to transfer search engine authority, rankings, and traffic from an old domain to a new one.
How long should I keep the 301 redirects active after a migration?
SEO best practices suggest keeping your 301 redirects active for at least one year, although many experts recommend keeping them forever if possible. This ensures that any remaining search engine signals are fully consolidated and that users with old bookmarks can still find your website.
Will I lose my search rankings if I change my domain name?
If done correctly using a 301 redirect, any ranking loss should be minimal and temporary. However, there is always some risk during a migration. Using a professional tool like this to ensure your redirect code is syntactically perfect is one of the best ways to minimize that risk and maintain your authority.
Can I use this tool for moving from HTTP to HTTPS?
While this tool is specialized for domain-to-domain migration, the Apache and Nginx logic is very similar. For a specific HTTP to HTTPS migration on the same domain, we recommend using our dedicated SSL/HTTPS redirect generator for the most accurate and specialized configuration code.
Does this tool handle the www and non-www versions of my domain?
Yes, our generator includes logic to catch both the apex (root) domain and the www subdomain version of your old host. This ensures that no matter how a user or bot enters your old site, they are correctly and securely redirected to your new destination.
Where do I put the generated code on an Apache server?
For Apache servers, you should place the generated code at the very top of your '.htaccess' file in the root directory of your website. This ensures the redirect is processed before any other rules, providing the fastest and most reliable experience for your visitors.
Is it better to redirect every page or just the home page?
From an SEO perspective, it is significantly better to redirect every page to its corresponding page on the new domain (URI preservation). This preserves the rankings of individual pages. Only redirect everything to the home page if you are completely changing your content and site structure.
Is my domain information safe when using this tool?
Absolutely. All processing for this tool is performed locally in your web browser using JavaScript. We do not transmit your old or new domain names to our servers, and we do not store any record of your migration, ensuring complete privacy and security for your technical infrastructure.