To do a 301 redirection for non-existing pages, you need to configure your web server to redirect these pages to a new, valid URL. A 301 redirect indicates that a page has permanently moved to a new location, which helps in maintaining search engine rankings and improving user experience by guiding visitors to active pages instead of showing error messages.
Here’s a step-by-step approach for handling 301 redirections on Apache and Nginx, two of the most commonly used web servers:
1. Edit the `.htaccess` file: Locate the `.htaccess` file in the root directory of your website. If you don’t have this file, you can create one.
1. Add Redirect Rule: Use the following syntax to create a 301 redirect: \`\`\`apach Redirect 301 /old-page.html http://www.yourwebsite.com/new-page.html \`\`\` For non-existing pages, you can redirect all 404 errors to a specific page by adding: \`\`\`apache ErrorDocument 404 /404.html Redirect 301 /404.html http://www.yourwebsite.com/new-page.html \`\`\`
1. Save and test: After saving the `.htaccess` file, test the redirection by accessing the non-existing page in a web browser to ensure it correctly redirects to the specified URL.
1. Edit the server block configuration file: Open the configuration file for your site, typically located in `/etc/nginx/sites-available/` or similar directory depending on your setup.
1. Add Redirection Rule: Insert the following lines to create a redirection for a non-existing page: \`\`\`nginx server { listen 80; server\_name yourwebsite.com www.yourwebsite.com;
location / { try\_files $uri $uri/ /404.html; } error\_page 404 /404.html; location = /404.html { internal; return 301 http://www.yourwebsite.com/new-page.html; } } \`\`\`1. Save and reload Nginx: Save your changes and reload Nginx to apply the new configuration: \`\`\`sh sudo systemctl reload nginx \`\`\`
1. Apache HTTP Server Documentation:
- [URL Rewriting Guide](https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/rewrite/)
- [mod_alias – Redirect](https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/mod_alias.html#redirect)
1. Nginx Documentation:
- [NGINX: A 301 Redirect for Non-existing Pages](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx/admin-guide/web-server/reverse-proxy/)
1. Google Search Central Blog:
- [Managing a Blog: Moving from One URL to Another](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2008/04/managing-blogger-workarounds-moving)
By implementing these 301 redirections, your website will gracefully handle requests for non-existing pages, ensuring a smooth user experience and preserving SEO equity.
