build/posts/netlify-urls/index.html


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	<title>Using Netlify for Dynamic URL Redirects</title>
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<h1 id="using-netlify-for-dynamic-url-redirects">Using Netlify for Dynamic URL Redirects</h1>
<p>2021-12-03</p>
<p>With the <a href="/minor-website-changes/">recent domain switch</a> that took place on this website, I needed to have a dependable setup to forward my old domain URLs to the new one. While using something like &#8220;URL forwarding&#8221; through your domain provider could work, it doesn&#8217;t natively support <em>dynamic</em> linking. Let me explain using a basic example:</p>
<ul>
<li>A user clicks on a link that targets a post on your old domain: <code>olddomain.com&#47;random-post</code></li>
<li>You want that link to forward using the same permalink structure: <code>newdomain.com&#47;random-post</code></li>
<li>&#8220;URL forwarding&#8221; through your domain provider <strong>does not</strong> support this</li>
</ul>
<p>Simple stuff. So, let&#8217;s breakdown how to easily set this up on Netlify <em>for free</em>.</p>
<h2 id="setting-up-netlify">Setting Up Netlify</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Create an account (or login to an existing one) and setup a new site[^1]</p></li>
<li><p>Change your &#8220;old&#8221; domain name nameservers to match Netlify&#8217;s (normally done through your domain register)
<ul>
<li><code>dns1.p03.nsone.net</code></li>
<li><code>dns2.p03.nsone.net</code></li>
<li><code>dns3.p03.nsone.net</code></li>
<li><code>dns4.p03.nsone.net</code></li>
</ul></p></li>
<li><p>Back in Netlify: under <strong>Domain Settings</strong> you need to add your custom &#8220;old&#8221; domain under the <strong>Custom domains</strong> section under <strong>Domain management</strong></p></li>
<li><p>Lastly, add the following content inside a <code>_redirects</code> file (no extension) to your website content&#47;build (changing to your own domains, of course)</p>
<p><a href="https://olddomain.com/*">https:&#47;&#47;olddomain.com&#47;*</a> <a href="https://newdomain.com/:splat">https:&#47;&#47;newdomain.com&#47;:splat</a> 301!</p></li>
</ul>
<p>That&#8217;s it! Now Netlify will dynamically forward all your pre-existing URLs from your old domain to the new one. No pesky <code>.htaccess</code> files or running your own basic web server(s)!</p>
<p>Hopefully this helps others trying to dynamically redirect their domains without the headache.</p>
<h2 id="refs">Refs</h2>
<ol>
<li>I normally set this up through Github &#47; git hosting</li>
</ol>
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