How to write an Apache .htaccess redirect rule

1. Source and destination

   "Source path" is the URL path Apache should match (e.g. `/old-page` or `/blog/(.*)`). "Destination URL" is where the visitor goes (absolute URL recommended: `https://example.com/new-page`).

2. Status code

   "Status code" picks `301` (Moved Permanently — for permanent URL changes, search engines update their index) or `302` (Found — temporary; the old URL stays canonical). For SEO-friendly migrations always use 301.

3. Press Run

   Result returns a single `htaccess` field — a `Redirect <code> <source> <destination>` line ready to paste into `.htaccess` at your site root. Add `RewriteEngine On` above your block if it's not already there for other rules.

4. Test before going live

   Use `curl -I https://example.com/old-page` to confirm the redirect returns the expected `Location:` header. A common pitfall is matching with a trailing slash on one side but not the other — Apache treats `/foo` and `/foo/` differently.