Redirecting Domains and Websites in cPanel

The Redirects feature in cPanel sends visitors of one domain or URL to a different URL. You can use it to shorten long URLs, point an old domain at a new one, or send the entire site to a different address. This article shows you how to add a redirect, choose the right type, and use advanced options like wildcards.

About cPanel redirects

A redirect tells the visitor's browser (and search engines) that a URL has moved. cPanel handles redirects by writing rules to your .htaccess file behind the scenes, so you don't have to edit configuration files manually. For more advanced or conditional redirects, see What Is the .htaccess File?.

Before you begin

• An active Exact Hosting cPanel hosting plan. Redirects are managed inside cPanel.
• The destination URL. Have the full target URL ready (including http:// or https://).
• An understanding of how the redirect should behave. Decide whether the change is permanent, whether www should be handled, and whether you need a wildcard.

Step 1: Open the Redirects interface

1. Sign in to cPanel. See Managing cPanel Access, or go directly to yourdomain.tld/cpanel.
2. In the Domains section, click Redirects.

Step 2: Choose the redirect type

The redirect type controls how browsers and search engines treat the change.

Step 3: Set the source URL

Choose which incoming URL the redirect applies to.

1. In the https?://(www.)? drop-down, pick a specific domain, or select All Public Domains to apply the redirect to every domain on your cPanel account.
2. In the field below the drop-down, enter the rest of the URL you want to redirect. For example, to redirect http://example.com/content/about.html, enter content/about.html.
3. Leave the field empty to redirect the bare domain (for example, http://example.com).

Step 4: Set the destination and options

1. In Redirects to, enter the destination URL in the format http://www.test.com.
2. Choose how the wwwprefix should be handled:
   • Only redirect with www. The redirect runs only when the URL begins with www.
   • Redirect with or without www. The redirect runs in both cases.
   • Do Not Redirect www. URLs that start with www are not redirected.
3. (Optional) Select Wild Card Redirect to redirect every file in a directory to the same file name in another directory. For example, with a wildcard redirect from example.com to test.com, a visitor who requests http://example.com/img.jpg is redirected to http://test.com/img.jpg.
4. Click Add.

Step 5: Manage existing redirects

All redirects you create are listed at the bottom of the Redirects page. Click Delete at the end of a row to remove a redirect you no longer need.

Next steps

• Force the entire site to HTTPS. See What Is the .htaccess File? for an HTTPS redirect snippet.
• Test the redirect. Open the source URL in an incognito window to confirm it sends you to the destination.
• Read the cPanel reference. See the official cPanel Redirects documentation.

Questions? Contact Exact Hosting Support.