Moved to a new domain? Renamed a page? A proper 301 redirect tells both browsers and search engines that the change is permanent, so rankings and bookmarks transfer instead of breaking.
1. Using cPanel's Redirects tool
From cPanel's home screen, click Redirects under Domains. Choose the domain, enter the path you're redirecting from, and the full destination URL, then set the type to Permanent (301).
2. Redirecting an entire domain
Leave the "from" path as the root (/) to redirect the whole domain to a new one — useful when consolidating an old brand's site into a new address.
3. Redirecting to HTTPS
If you've just installed an SSL certificate, enable "Force HTTPS Redirect" under Domains for the domain so all HTTP traffic is automatically sent to HTTPS.
4. Redirecting a single page manually
For finer control, open File Manager, locate your .htaccess file in the domain's root folder, and add a line such as: Redirect 301 /old-page.html /new-page.html
Key takeaway: Always use a 301 (permanent) redirect rather than a 302 (temporary) one for anything you don't plan to reverse — search engines transfer ranking value far more reliably with a 301.
5. Redirecting www to non-www (or vice versa)
Pick one version as your canonical address and redirect the other to it consistently — mixing both confuses search engines and can split your SEO value between two URLs.
6. Testing your redirects
After setting one up, open the old URL in a private browser window and confirm it lands on the new page with a single redirect hop, not several chained ones.
7. Update internal links
A redirect fixes broken visits, but it's still worth updating your own internal links and navigation menus to point directly at the new URL over time.