Redirect non-existing subpages with RewriteRule in htaccess

Server Config
1

I want to implement a redirect with using RewriteRule in my htaccess-file. I have following URLs:

* www.example.com

* www.example.com/report/    #should be redirected to front page www.example.com

* www.example.com/report/details/   # should be accessible normally without a redirect

* www.example.com/writing/   # should be redirected to front page www.example.com for SEO-reason, since this URL doesn’t exist anymore after the website restructuring

Here is my associated code, which I created with help from others:

# BEGIN iThemes Security - Do not modify or remove this line
# iThemes Security Config Details: 2
	# Protect System Files - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > System Files
	<files .htaccess>
		<IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
			Require all denied
		</IfModule>
		<IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
			Order allow,deny
			Deny from all
		</IfModule>
	</files>
	<files readme.html>
		<IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
			Require all denied
		</IfModule>
		<IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
			Order allow,deny
			Deny from all
		</IfModule>
	</files>
	<files readme.txt>
		<IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
			Require all denied
		</IfModule>
		<IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
			Order allow,deny
			Deny from all
		</IfModule>
	</files>
	<files wp-config.php>
		<IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
			Require all denied
		</IfModule>
		<IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
			Order allow,deny
			Deny from all
		</IfModule>
	</files>

	# Disable Directory Browsing - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > Directory Browsing
	Options -Indexes

	<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
		RewriteEngine On

		# Protect System Files - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > System Files
		RewriteRule ^wp-admin/install\.php$ - [F]
		RewriteRule ^wp-admin/includes/ - [F]
		RewriteRule !^wp-includes/ - [S=3]
		RewriteRule ^wp-includes/[^/]+\.php$ - [F]
		RewriteRule ^wp-includes/js/tinymce/langs/.+\.php - [F]
		RewriteRule ^wp-includes/theme-compat/ - [F]
		RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f
		RewriteRule (^|.*/)\.(git|svn)/.* - [F]

		# Disable PHP in Uploads - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > PHP in Uploads
		RewriteRule ^wp\-content/uploads/.*\.(?:php[1-7]?|pht|phtml?|phps)\.?$ - [NC,F]

		# Disable PHP in Plugins - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > PHP in Plugins
		RewriteRule ^wp\-content/plugins/.*\.(?:php[1-7]?|pht|phtml?|phps)\.?$ - [NC,F]

		# Disable PHP in Themes - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > PHP in Themes
		RewriteRule ^wp\-content/themes/.*\.(?:php[1-7]?|pht|phtml?|phps)\.?$ - [NC,F]
	</IfModule>
# END iThemes Security - Do not modify or remove this line



# php memory limit increase (only temporary)
php_value memory_limit 800M



# Redirect  "/report/"  &  "/writing/"  to root (and  HTTPS / www)
RewriteRule ^report/$ https://www.example.com/ [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^writing/$ https://www.example.com/ [R=301,L]

# Redirect to HTTPS & www
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.example\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule (.*) https://www.example.com/$1 [L,R=301]
    
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} !=443
RewriteRule (.*) https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]



<ifModule mod_gzip.c>
mod_gzip_on Yes
mod_gzip_dechunk Yes
mod_gzip_item_include file .(html?|txt|css|js|php|pl)$
mod_gzip_item_include handler ^cgi-script$
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^text/.*
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^application/x-javascript.*
mod_gzip_item_exclude mime ^image/.*
mod_gzip_item_exclude rspheader ^Content-Encoding:.*gzip.*
</ifModule>

<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/plain
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xhtml+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/rss+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/javascript
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-javascript
</IfModule>


# BEGIN W3TC Browser Cache
<IfModule mod_mime.c>
    AddType text/css .css
    AddType text/x-component .htc
    AddType application/x-javascript .js
    AddType application/javascript .js2
    AddType text/javascript .js3
    AddType text/x-js .js4
    AddType video/asf .asf .asx .wax .wmv .wmx
    AddType video/avi .avi
    AddType image/avif .avif
    AddType image/avif-sequence .avifs
    AddType image/bmp .bmp
    AddType application/java .class
    AddType video/divx .divx
    AddType application/msword .doc .docx
    AddType application/vnd.ms-fontobject .eot
    AddType application/x-msdownload .exe
    AddType image/gif .gif
    AddType application/x-gzip .gz .gzip
    AddType image/x-icon .ico
    AddType image/jpeg .jpg .jpeg .jpe
    AddType image/webp .webp
    AddType application/json .json
    AddType application/vnd.ms-access .mdb
    AddType audio/midi .mid .midi
    AddType video/quicktime .mov .qt
    AddType audio/mpeg .mp3 .m4a
    AddType video/mp4 .mp4 .m4v
    AddType video/mpeg .mpeg .mpg .mpe
    AddType video/webm .webm
    AddType application/vnd.ms-project .mpp
    AddType application/x-font-otf .otf
    AddType application/vnd.ms-opentype ._otf
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.database .odb
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.chart .odc
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula .odf
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics .odg
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation .odp
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet .ods
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text .odt
    AddType audio/ogg .ogg
    AddType video/ogg .ogv
    AddType application/pdf .pdf
    AddType image/png .png
    AddType application/vnd.ms-powerpoint .pot .pps .ppt .pptx
    AddType audio/x-realaudio .ra .ram
    AddType image/svg+xml .svg .svgz
    AddType application/x-shockwave-flash .swf
    AddType application/x-tar .tar
    AddType image/tiff .tif .tiff
    AddType application/x-font-ttf .ttf .ttc
    AddType application/vnd.ms-opentype ._ttf
    AddType audio/wav .wav
    AddType audio/wma .wma
    AddType application/vnd.ms-write .wri
    AddType application/font-woff .woff
    AddType application/font-woff2 .woff2
    AddType application/vnd.ms-excel .xla .xls .xlsx .xlt .xlw
    AddType application/zip .zip
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
    ExpiresActive On
    ExpiresByType text/css A31536000
    ExpiresByType text/x-component A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-javascript A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/javascript A31536000
    ExpiresByType text/javascript A31536000
    ExpiresByType text/x-js A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/asf A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/avi A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/avif A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/avif-sequence A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/bmp A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/java A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/divx A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/msword A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-fontobject A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-msdownload A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/gif A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-gzip A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/x-icon A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/jpeg A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/webp A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/json A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-access A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/midi A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/quicktime A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/mpeg A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/mp4 A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/mpeg A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/webm A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-project A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-font-otf A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-opentype A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.database A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.chart A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/ogg A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/ogg A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/pdf A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/png A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-powerpoint A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/x-realaudio A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/svg+xml A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-tar A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/tiff A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-font-ttf A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-opentype A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/wav A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/wma A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-write A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/font-woff A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/font-woff2 A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-excel A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/zip A31536000
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
        AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css text/x-component application/x-javascript application/javascript text/javascript text/x-js text/html text/richtext text/plain text/xsd text/xsl text/xml image/bmp application/java application/msword application/vnd.ms-fontobject application/x-msdownload image/x-icon application/json application/vnd.ms-access video/webm application/vnd.ms-project application/x-font-otf application/vnd.ms-opentype application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.database application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.chart application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text audio/ogg application/pdf application/vnd.ms-powerpoint image/svg+xml application/x-shockwave-flash image/tiff application/x-font-ttf application/vnd.ms-opentype audio/wav application/vnd.ms-write application/font-woff application/font-woff2 application/vnd.ms-excel
    <IfModule mod_mime.c>
        # DEFLATE by extension
        AddOutputFilter DEFLATE js css htm html xml
    </IfModule>
</IfModule>
<FilesMatch "\.(css|htc|less|js|js2|js3|js4|CSS|HTC|LESS|JS|JS2|JS3|JS4)$">
    FileETag MTime Size
    <IfModule mod_headers.c>
        Header unset Set-Cookie
    </IfModule>
</FilesMatch>
<FilesMatch "\.(html|htm|rtf|rtx|txt|xsd|xsl|xml|HTML|HTM|RTF|RTX|TXT|XSD|XSL|XML)$">
    FileETag MTime Size
</FilesMatch>
<FilesMatch "\.(asf|asx|wax|wmv|wmx|avi|avif|avifs|bmp|class|divx|doc|docx|eot|exe|gif|gz|gzip|ico|jpg|jpeg|jpe|webp|json|mdb|mid|midi|mov|qt|mp3|m4a|mp4|m4v|mpeg|mpg|mpe|webm|mpp|otf|_otf|odb|odc|odf|odg|odp|ods|odt|ogg|ogv|pdf|png|pot|pps|ppt|pptx|ra|ram|svg|svgz|swf|tar|tif|tiff|ttf|ttc|_ttf|wav|wma|wri|woff|woff2|xla|xls|xlsx|xlt|xlw|zip|ASF|ASX|WAX|WMV|WMX|AVI|AVIF|AVIFS|BMP|CLASS|DIVX|DOC|DOCX|EOT|EXE|GIF|GZ|GZIP|ICO|JPG|JPEG|JPE|WEBP|JSON|MDB|MID|MIDI|MOV|QT|MP3|M4A|MP4|M4V|MPEG|MPG|MPE|WEBM|MPP|OTF|_OTF|ODB|ODC|ODF|ODG|ODP|ODS|ODT|OGG|OGV|PDF|PNG|POT|PPS|PPT|PPTX|RA|RAM|SVG|SVGZ|SWF|TAR|TIF|TIFF|TTF|TTC|_TTF|WAV|WMA|WRI|WOFF|WOFF2|XLA|XLS|XLSX|XLT|XLW|ZIP)$">
    FileETag MTime Size
    <IfModule mod_headers.c>
        Header unset Set-Cookie
    </IfModule>
</FilesMatch>
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
    Header set Referrer-Policy "no-referrer-when-downgrade"
</IfModule>
# END W3TC Browser Cache

# BEGIN WordPress
# The directives (lines) between "BEGIN WordPress" and "END WordPress" are
# dynamically generated, and should only be modified via WordPress filters.
# Any changes to the directives between these markers will be overwritten.
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

# END WordPress

My questions to you:

  • The subpage https://www.example.com/writing/ doesn’t exist after my website restructuring. I would like to redirect it for SEO reasons to the front page. Do I still have to create this subpage in Wordpress backend as an empty page, although the content no longer exists after the restructuring? Or can I refrain from creating this subpage in the backend?
  • Could you please briefly look through my finished htaccess-code (especially the part with the redirect) and let me know if it looks good so far (including the code order)?

Appreciate your help!

2

Well I can’t speak to the organization of the htaccess file being good or not as it appears some of those rules are being dynamically added and utilized by WP and ithemes, but it looks fine to me. Ultimately if it works and has some fairly straight forward rhyme or reason to it, most people will get how it is organized. Just make sure to always think top down in the file. Rules that appear first will be accessed first.

As for your question about the page needing to exist, I don’t believe so. These rules are processed before Wordpress (or PHP) is reached. This is confirmed by the diagram shown in the following post…

The post also offers a little more details on how that works, depending how much you want to read up on it.

I hope that helps! :slight_smile:

3

Thanks for your answer. I just tested and deleted the page www.example.com/writing/ within WP, and then the redirect didn’t work. Instead there was a 404 error.
So it means that the subpage needs to exist in WP even though it’s not needed?

4

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