Forum Moderators: phranque
One of the sites to be moved we donot have root access, and cannot make an htaccess file. The URL it will be moved to will be different.
Is there someway on Apache to make the search engines think it is at the new URL if we just change the DNS to point there?
[edited by: Wlauzon at 4:46 am (utc) on Feb. 7, 2009]
Want google etc to think that they are both at frogs.com and not see widget.com.
If you want a good answer, we need detailed answers and correct usage of terminology here.
Jim
Do you mean you haven't got "root user" access so cannot get at the httpd.conf file, or do you mean you haven't got FTP access to the web root folder to drop a .htaccess file in, or both?
[edited by: g1smd at 4:43 pm (utc) on Feb. 7, 2009]
If you have Control Panel access, you may be able to set something up in there, but facilities vary and are often quite limited.
Do you mean you haven't got "root user" access so cannot get at the httpd.conf file, or do you mean you haven't got FTP access to the web root folder to drop a .htaccess file in, or both?
Both - this is on a Yahoo store.
OK, in more detail:
1. New server - site1 and site2 will be moved there. No problem, I can htaccess 301 and/or just change DNS to there.
2. Site3 - no htaccess, will have to move DNS to point to server at site1.
3. Site1 will be the new main URL, and all 3 sites will now reside under the same URL.
4. Site1 and site2 will be in a subdirectory (one is a forum, one is a blog). Site3 will be the main.
If not, you can use mod_rewrite in .htaccess, and use a RewriteCond to check %{HTTP_HOST} and rewrite requests for the various domains to the appropriate subdirectories with the subsequent RewriteRule.
Jim
Eventually all but ONE domain/URL will go away, or at least not be used.
One reason we are doing this is because while the ecommerce site only has PR4, one of the info sites has PR5 or PR6 (depending on what phase of the moon I guess).
So the high PR site will become the overall domain for all sites, which will all reside on the same server.
So essentially what I want to do is get all the content of the info sites on new server. Then just change the DNS (or htaccess) of those URL's to the new one - but I want them all to show just the one single URL, no matter where they came from originally.
Is this making any sense?
[edited by: Wlauzon at 7:55 pm (utc) on Feb. 7, 2009]
You'll need to leave the redirect in place almost forever.
Specifically, until all links to the old domains and URLs on the Web have been updated or removed, or have become irrelevant.
Jim
Yes, I keep mixing URL with domain. What I mean is domains.
So apparently it can be done on Apache (or any Linux?), next question is - what kind of server or setup would I need, just root access, something like a cPanel VPS or?
You can do some stuff in the Control Panel but it is usually limited in what it can do.
Make sure that ModRewrite is allowed by the host. A very few don't allow you to use it.
Jim
If you have server config file access, then forget control panels and .htaccess -- Anything they can do can be better done in the server config files.
If you know what you are doing. I don't :(
I can do the relatively easy stuff, like the .htaccess files, but pretty much a dummy when it comes to things beyond that and simple rewrites. So would probably have to hire someone for that when we start to get things moving, if we need it.
I like having the control panel available, because sometimes it stops me from doing something really horrible.
[edited by: Wlauzon at 9:27 pm (utc) on Feb. 7, 2009]
