Configure redirects

1 What a redirect is

A redirect is a server response technique that sends a user from one page or domain to another. It can be implemented on the server or the client, and the action is indicated mainly by an HTTP status code. A 301 redirect, for instance, is a permanent redirect meaning the resource of the old address has moved permanently to the new one.

Common scenarios:

• Domain change: when a site moves to a new domain, a 301 redirect sends visitors of the old domain to the new one while keeping search rankings and link equity;
• Site structure optimisation: after a redesign, old URLs redirect to the new structured pages;
• Page migration: a page moved elsewhere redirects visitors from the old address;
• Handling error pages: users are redirected from an error page to the correct one;
• Multi-version sites: the www and non-www versions use a 301 to declare the preferred domain and avoid split equity;
• SEO strategy: a 301 transfers page equity and avoids losses caused by URL changes.

2 Why redirects help

• Consolidate equity: equity from the old address moves to the new one, improving its ranking;
• Better experience: users no longer hit error pages after a URL change or page move;
• Keep existing links: inbound links stay valid instead of breaking;
• Avoid duplicate content: search engines index only one version;
• Simpler management: a sound redirect policy simplifies maintenance of large sites.

3 Redirect configuration

Set type to rewrite in the location and give the target address in rewrite:

{
  "listen": 7000,
  "server_name": "localhost",
  "location": [
    {
      "url": "/api1",
      "type": "rewrite",
      "rewrite": "http://xxxx.com"
    }
  ]
}

4 Example: HTTP to HTTPS

{
  "http": {
    "server": [
      {
        "listen": 80,
        "server_name": "xxxx.com",
        "location": [
          {
            "url": "/",
            "type": "rewrite",
            "rewrite": "https://xxxx.com"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "listen": "443 ssl",
        "server_name": "xxxx.com",
        "ssl_certificate": "config/cert/localhost.pem",
        "ssl_certificate_key": "config/cert/localhost-key.pem",
        "location": [
          {
            "url": "/",
            "type": "local",
            "root": "./httpdoc/root",
            "index": ["index.html", "index.htm"]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Notes:

• The first server block listens on port 80 and rewrites every request to https://xxxx.com, so http://xxxx.com automatically moves to the encrypted address;
• The second block listens on 443 ssl and is the actual configuration of the HTTPS site;
• ssl_certificate and ssl_certificate_key point at the certificate and key files;
• root and index define the static directory and its default documents.