Adding Something to htaccess File

[annasus]

When I did a google search for site.kisswedding.com (my website) I noticed that google is indexing all of the https versions of my site.

First of all, I don't get it because I don't have an SSL certificate. Then, last night I did what my host (bluehost) told me to do.  I added the below to my htaccess file.

Below rule because google is indexing https version of site - https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/758RewriteEngine OnRewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^kisswedding.com$ [OR]RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^kisswedding.com$RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} ^443$RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.kisswedding.com [R=301,L]

Tonight I when I did a google search for site:kisswedding.com all of those https pages were being redirected to my home page - not the actually page they're supposed to be redirecting to.

I went back to Bluehost and they said and 301 redirect shouldn't work because I don't have an SSL certificate. BUT, I figure since it's sorta working I just need to add something to that htaccess rule to make sure it's redirected to the right page.

Someone in the google webmaster tools forums told me to do below but I don't really get it?

_"to 301 redirect from /~kisswedd/ to the proper root folder you can put this in the root folder .htaccess file as well:_Redirect 301 /~kisswedd/ http://www.kisswedding.com/"

Any help/advice would be HUGELY appreciated. I'm a bit at a loss.

[ShaMenz]

Hi Susanna,

Just wanted to post a quick update on this question since I understand the problem was resolved with the suggestions that we made after looking at the content of your .htaccess file.

The major issue with the original redirect was that the $1 had been omitted from the Rule. So the problem actually was not related to the secure protocol - just a coding error

Example code for the secure to non-secure redirect you needed to implement:

redirect away from https to http

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} ^443$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.yourdomain.com$1 [R=301,L]

Hope that's helpful for anyone who may be looking for help with the same issue in the future.

Sha

[ShaMenz]

Hi Susanna,

If you have trouble getting someone to fix the .htaccess for you, feel free to private message the file and we'll be able to sort it out for you.

It is never advisable to treat rules in the .htaccess in isolation as the order in which they appear in the file will determine how things work as Ryan explained. There are also other things that will influence whether the redirects function the way you want them to such as rules added to the file or overwritten by standard installations such as Wordpress, Joomla etc.

Hope your provider can get it sorted out for you. If not, just let us know and we'll be happy to help.

Sha

[annasus]

Thanks Ryan. I appreciate that. I had no idea that copy and pasting could cause so many problems. I'll try and see if I can speak with a supervisor.

Have a great night/day!

[RyanKent]

Hi Susan.

I will share two items regarding your situation. First, the modifications to your htaccess file involve a replacement language called Regex. The code you are copying and pasting are regex expressions. Basically they say "when a URL meets this condition, rewrite the URL as follows....". In your case, the original regex expression was not correctly written (a common occurrence) so you did not receive the desired effect.

The changes need to be made in your .htaccess file. The htaccess file controls all access to your website. A single character out of place can mean your entire site is unavailable, URLs are improperly redirected, or security holes are open on your site. On the one hand, you can copy and paste code into your htaccess file and it may work. On the other hand damage can be done. It also makes a difference where you locate the code within the file. Varying the location alters the logic and can lead to different results.

Based on the above it is my recommendation your host make the changes. If your host is unwilling to help, I would recommend asking to be assigned to another tech or a supervisor. Most hosts are very helpful in this area. If the host is not willing to help, perhaps you can ask your web developer to make the change.

If you decide to make the change yourself I recommend you doing some online research into how the htaccess file works. You do not want to fly blind in this file.

Suggested reading: http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/other/the-ultimate-guide-to-htaccess-files/