What the cPanel Redirects tool is for
Redirects is a cPanel section that sets up a page redirect without manually editing the .htaccess file. The tool suits cases where one address must point to another: an old article moved, a product was discontinued, a domain merged into the main site. The rule ends up in the same .htaccess lines as manual configuration, just without the risk of a typo.
The section opens through cPanel → Domains → Redirects.
How a 301 differs from a 302
The response code determines how search engines and browsers treat the page. The difference matters a lot for SEO:
| Code | Type | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| 301 | Permanent redirect | The address changed for good and needs to pass on the page's ranking value |
| 302 | Temporary redirect | The page will return to the old address later, for example during a sale |
Search engines reindex a page with a 301 code to the new address and gradually shift its search rankings there. A 302 code has no such effect: the old address stays the primary one in the index.
How to create a redirect through the cPanel interface
In the Redirects section, fill in three fields: the domain, the path of the source page, and the destination address. Pick the type — Permanent (301) or Temporary (302). The Wildcard Redirect checkbox carries over to the new address everything after the given path, including query parameters.
Once saved, the rule appears right away in the .htaccess file in the domain's root folder — you can check it through the file manager.
What the rule looks like in .htaccess
Every redirect created through the cPanel interface adds one line like this:
Redirect 301 /old-page.html https://example.com/new-page.html
Redirect 302 /sale/ https://example.com/sale-2026/For moving a whole section of a site, it is easier to write a RewriteRule by hand — that is covered in the article on .htaccess and rewrite rules. The Redirects tool does not support such patterns, only exact paths or Wildcard.
Common mistakes when setting up redirects
- A chain of several redirects in a row: the old address leads to a second old address instead of straight to the new one
- Redirecting a page to itself — creates an infinite loop and a browser error
- Using a 302 for a permanent move — the search engine does not pass ranking value to the destination page
- A rule in Redirects clashing with a rule in a WordPress SEO plugin, so only one of the two fires
How to check that a redirect is working
Open the page address in a browser in incognito mode and look at the final URL in the address bar. To check the response code without opening the page, use the curl command:
curl -I https://example.com/old-page.htmlIn the response, look for the line HTTP/2 301 or HTTP/2 302 and a location: line with the destination address. If the code is 200, the rule did not fire or conflicts with another redirect.
Summary: redirect setup checklist
- Pick 301 for a permanent page move, 302 for a temporary one
- Create the redirect through cPanel → Domains → Redirects instead of editing .htaccess by hand
- Check the final response code with the curl -I command
- Avoid chains of several redirects in a row
- Use RewriteRule instead of exact paths when moving a whole section