How to Redirect HTTP to HTTPS, www to non-www, or One Domain to Another

This guide covers the three most common redirects and how each one works in OpenPanel:

HTTP to HTTPS​

When you add a domain, OpenPanel requests a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for it automatically. Once the certificate is issued, visitors are sent to the https:// version of your site - you don't need to add any rules.

For this to work:

• The domain (and www) must point to the server's IP, so the certificate can be issued.
• Ports 80 and 443 must be open.

If the site still loads over http://, check the SSL status in OpenPanel → Domains → SSL and see SSL troubleshooting.

To tell browsers to always use HTTPS, even before the first redirect, enable HSTS.

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP:X-Forwarded-Proto} =http
RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

www to non-www (or non-www to www)​

Every domain you add in OpenPanel automatically:

• gets a www DNS record (a CNAME to the main domain) in its DNS zone,
• answers on both example.com and www.example.com,
• gets an SSL certificate for both.

So www works out of the box, as long as www points to the server. If your DNS is hosted elsewhere (Cloudflare, your registrar), add the record there:

www    CNAME    example.com.

Both versions show the same site. For SEO it's better to choose one and redirect the other to it:

WordPress and most CMSs​

WordPress redirects automatically to the address set in Settings → General → Site Address (URL). Set it to https://example.com or https://www.example.com - no other rules needed. Joomla, Drupal and others have similar settings.

Apache / OpenLiteSpeed (.htaccess)​

Redirect www to non-www:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.+)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^ https://%1%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Redirect non-www to www:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule ^ https://www.%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

Nginx / OpenResty​

.htaccess files are ignored by Nginx. Add the rule at the top of the domain's server blocks in Domains → Edit VHosts File (Edit VHosts, Enterprise):

if ($host = www.example.com) {
    return 301 https://example.com$request_uri;
}

Not sure which web server you use? See switching the web server.

Redirect a Domain to Another Domain or URL​

Use the Redirects feature to send all traffic for a domain somewhere else - for example after a rebrand, or to point extra domains (example.net, example.org) to your main site.

1. Go to OpenPanel → Domains.
2. Click Redirect next to the domain.
3. Enter the destination URL, starting with http:// or https://, and save.

The redirect is applied by the proxy before the request reaches your web server, so it works even if the domain has no website files. It applies to both example.net and www.example.net.

Keep the page path​

By default every page redirects to the exact URL you entered - old.com/blog/post goes to https://new.com. To keep the path, add {uri} to the end of the destination:

https://new.com{uri}

Now old.com/blog/post?id=1 redirects to https://new.com/blog/post?id=1.

301 vs 302​

Domain redirects created from the Domains page are temporary (302) redirects. That's fine for parked and extra domains. When you move a site permanently and want search engines to transfer rankings to the new domain, use a 301 instead - keep the old domain's website active with a rule like this in its .htaccess:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^ https://new.com%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

or in its Nginx vhost:

return 301 https://new.com$request_uri;

Then add the new domain in Google Search Console and use its Change of address tool.

Remove a redirect​

On the Domains page, click Redirect next to the domain and choose Delete to remove the rule.

Troubleshooting​

Related​

• Add a subdomain, addon or parked domain
• Why does my domain show the default page?
• Custom SSL certificates