[How to] Setup www.yourdomain.com or yourdomain.com (www vs. non-www) - With .htaccess 301 redirects

So is it better to use www in .htaccess file or not www?

With Google's Webmaster tools allowing you to select your preference, it is not as much of a debate any more.

Check out:
Canonicalization & SEO : Should I use WWW or not?

I prefer to NOT use www. Less to type, and it is more reflective of the reality that it is not needed. That is... if you are using a web browser in 2008, then we know that it's the "World Wide Web" (www). It's also easier to squeeze into business cards, banners, and other graphics, etc.

However, use of www was the traditional way to indicate the HTTP protocol for the Web. Many users (of all levels of tech skills) have that firmly locked into their brains. As a result, they may commonly link to your site with a link that includes the www whether you do or not.

I would say. Whatever you choose, put a htaccess redirect in place, and ALWAYS use your Google Webmaster Tools to indicate your preference.

What will be the nginx version of the rewrite, if I choose NON-WWW.

You can use this:

Code:

if ($host = 'www.domain.com' ) {
rewrite ^/(.*)$ http://domain.com/$1 permanent;
}

thanks, its working good.

btw, can I put it anywhere between server { .... }

I currently have it like this, and works fine.

Code:

server {
    listen          80;
    server_name     domain.com;
    access_log      /home/username/logs/access.log main;
    error_log       /home/username/logs/error.log debug;

    if ($host = 'www.domain.com' ) {
    rewrite ^/(.*)$ http://domain.com/$1 permanent;
   }
.
.
.
}

1. Does this look good?




2. Another small nginx question i was wondering about:-

I have seen few nginx.conf's that have two blocks of server code, something like this:-

Code:

server {
        listen   80;
        server_name  example.com;
        rewrite ^/(.*) http://www.example.com/$1 permanent;
}

server {
        listen   80;
        server_name www.example.com;

        access_log /home/username//logs/access.log;
        error_log /home/username/logs/error.log;
........
.....
}

What does it mean? When I try to do something like that, it gives me redirection loop error.

Thanks

1. Yes, it should work directly in server{} section.

2. You can use that if you want to handle www and non-ww *differently*. Otherwise you can use one block:

Code:

server {
        listen   80;
        server_name  example.com www.example.com;
        rewrite ^/(.*) http://www.example.com/$1 permanent;
}

So when I type in
http://gunandgame.com/forums
http://gunandgame.com/forums/

I get a 404

Is it just me or am I not doing a redirect correctly? I thought it was pretty straight forward?

The redirect seems to work for me on your site.

I have had my site with www for a couple months now after changing my domain and server but I want to swap to non-www due to the longer nature of my domain name. I tried this twice before but I stumbled on cookie problems where I couldn't login or logout correctly with a 301 redirect via .htaccess from www to non-www.

Was it actually the redirect that gave me the cookie problem and if so, is there a way to prevent it?

As described in the first post, why is ! removed from NON-WWW version:-

Choosing WWW:-

Code:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.example\.com
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]

Choosing NON-WWW:-

Code:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.example\.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://example.com/$1 [L,R=301]

Thanks

okay adding a ! in non-www gives a redirection loop error.

How do I take care of parked domains to redirect to main domain? My main domain is non-www.

thanks

"!" means "not equal".

You can use this:

Code:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^example\.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://example.com/$1 [L,R=301]

Go to Dashboard > Tools > Set preferred domain

it is now:

Go to Dashboard > Settings > Set preferred domain

Using vbseo 3.3 Gold

It was previously recommended to delete the .htaccess file within a forum child directory

There's lines in that forum .htaccess file which haven't been addressed though.

Code which is in the forum file:

Code:

RewriteRule ^((urllist|sitemap_).*\.(xml|txt)(\.gz)?)$ vbseo_sitemap/vbseo_getsitemap.php?sitemap=$1 [L]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !(admincp/|modcp/|cron|vbseo_sitemap)
RewriteRule ^((archive/)?(.*\.php(/.*)?))$ vbseo.php [L,QSA]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !^(admincp|modcp|clientscript|cpstyles|images)/
RewriteRule ^(.+)$ vbseo.php [L,QSA]

If these lines provide benefit, then the best recommendation will be to just modify the .htaccess file in the forum folder with the necessary code.

what does the L do in [L, r=301]