Safest way to redirect

if you cant use htaccess

[mack]

What is the safest way to redirect traffic from your old domain to your new domain if your web host does not support htaccess?

[dingman]

If you can do PHP, this might help. I have it on a site where I used to have dynamic content and I want the same query string passed on to my current site location.

<?php
if ($QUERY_STRING) {$query = '?' . $QUERY_STRING;}
header("Location: [new.domain...]
?>

[edited 'cause I forgot to remove my own URL the first time]

[jdMorgan]

mack,

What kind of server is your old site on? If it's Apache, are you sure they don't support any .htaccess at all? Many do, but don't support mod_rewrite because it's too "powerful and dangerous".

I once used the following single-line .htaccess on my old ISP's "free personal home page" server with good results when I changed ISPs:

Redirect permanent / [mynewdomain.net...]

Note: For username-type domains like "home.widgets.net/~jimbob", use:

Redirect permanent /~username [mynewdomain.net...]

Other than that, get most of your incoming links updated (especially ODP and Yahoo), put up a "Moved - click here" manual link, and hope for the best! You could also try a javascript redirect if you want, but include the manual link too, for the 'bots to follow.

That's what I'd do... YMMV

Jim

[mack]

I emailed them and they say they dont suport htaccess. They run apache, so i uploaded an htaccess file just incase the person who emailed wasn't in the know. No sucess.

I can't use php either.. unsuported :(

[dcheney]

I use a small page with a bit of javascript to do the forward. The html on the page consists of a 1 line saying something like "go to yyy" (which is a link to the new page and a message like "this would have occurred automagically if javascript was available".

[mack]

I was concidering using a JS redirect, Is this sort of practice acceptable or is it frowned upon by the se's?

[dingman]

Don't know if SEs like it better or worse than javascript redirects, but javascript-free browsers are likely to prefer <meta http-equiv="redirect" >