How to Redirect URLs in NGINX (Temporary and Permanent)

Navigating through the world of websites and the internet, sometimes web pages need to move to a new address, just like people do. When this happens, visitors going to the old address need to be sent to the new one so they don’t get lost. This process is called URL redirection. Nginx is a tool that helps websites manage these moves smoothly, ensuring that people find the page they’re looking for, whether the move is just for a little while (temporary) or for good (permanent). Understanding how to do this well is important for anyone running a website to keep visitors happy and make sure search engines can find the site easily.

Understanding URL Redirection

Before diving into the specifics of Nginx redirection, it’s important to grasp the fundamental difference between temporary and permanent redirects:

Permanent Redirects (301): A 301 redirect is a permanent redirection that tells search engines and browsers that the URL has permanently moved to a new location. It is commonly used when you change the URL structure of your website or when you move content from one page to another.
Temporary Redirects (302): A 302 redirect is a temporary redirection that tells search engines and browsers that the URL has moved temporarily to a new location. It is commonly used when you need to temporarily redirect traffic to a different page.

Choosing the correct type of redirect is crucial for SEO and user experience. Temporary redirects are ideal for short-term changes, like A/B testing or maintenance, while permanent redirects are used for site restructures or after moving a domain.

Configuring Nginx for URL Redirection

Temporary Redirection (302)

To implement a temporary redirect in Nginx, you can use the return directive within your server block. For example, to redirect all traffic from an old page to a new one temporarily, you can add the following configuration:


server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

    location /oldpage {
        return 302 http://example.com/newpage;
    }
}

This setup ensures that any request to /oldpage is temporarily redirected to /newpage, signaling to browsers and search engines that the move is not permanent.

Permanent Redirection (301)

For permanent redirections, the approach is similar but uses a 301 status code. This tells search engines to update their indexing to the new URL. Here’s how you can set it up:


server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

    location /oldpage {
        return 301 http://example.com/newpage;
    }
}

By changing the status code to 301, you indicate that /oldpage has permanently moved to /newpage, prompting search engines to update their records.

Wildcard and Regex Redirection

Nginx also supports more complex redirection rules using wildcards and regular expressions. This is particularly useful for redirecting multiple URLs or implementing pattern-based redirections. For example, to redirect all requests from an old domain to a new one, you can use:


server {
    listen 80;
    server_name olddomain.com;
    return 301 $scheme://newdomain.com$request_uri;
}

This configuration redirects all requests from olddomain.com to newdomain.com, preserving the path and query string.

Redirecting HTTP to HTTPS

One of the most common uses of URL redirection in NGINX is redirecting HTTP traffic to HTTPS. HTTPS is a secure version of the HTTP protocol that encrypts data between the server and the browser. To redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:


server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    return 301 https://example.com$request_uri;
}

This code listens on port 80 and redirects all HTTP traffic to HTTPS by returning a 301 status code.

Redirecting Non-WWW to WWW URLs

If you want to redirect non-www URLs to their www counterparts, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:


server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    return 301 $scheme://www.example.com$request_uri;
}

This code listens on port 80 and redirects all non-www URLs to their www counterparts by returning a 301 status code.

Redirecting WWW to Non-WWW URLs

If you want to redirect www URLs to their non-www counterparts, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:


server {
    listen 80;
    server_name www.example.com;
    return 301 $scheme://example.com$request_uri;
}

This code listens on port 80 and redirects all www URLs to their non-www counterparts by returning a 301 status code.

Custom 404 Error Page and Redirect

To create a custom 404 error page and redirect, add the following code to your NGINX configuration file:


server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    error_page 404 /404.html;
    location = /404.html {
        internal;
    }
}

This code redirects all 404 errors to the custom 404.html page.

Conclusion

Learning how to guide visitors to the right web page when it’s moved to a new address is a key skill in using Nginx, a tool for managing websites. This involves deciding whether the move is temporary or permanent and setting things up accordingly. Nginx can handle all kinds of moves, even complicated ones, making sure visitors go to the right place and search engines know where to find your pages. It’s important to check your work to make sure everything is running smoothly, and to keep an eye on how the changes affect your site’s visibility on the internet. Keeping up with these tasks makes sure your website stays easy to find and use, keeping both visitors and search engines happy.

How to Redirect URLs in NGINX