How to Redirect a Domain to a Directory Using .htaccess

If you want visitors to be automatically redirected to a specific directory within your website, you can achieve this using rules in the .htaccess file.

This can be useful when:

• Rebuilding your main website while keeping a section online.
• Redirecting visitors directly to an online store.
• Making a subdirectory the primary entry point of the website.
• Temporarily displaying content from a specific folder.

For example, visitors accessing:

https://yourdomain.com

can be automatically redirected to:

https://yourdomain.com/store

Before You Begin

The .htaccess file should be located in your website’s root directory.

By default, this is:

public_html

If the file does not exist, you can create it manually.

Redirect the Domain to a Directory

Add the following rules to your .htaccess file:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?yourdomain\.com$ [NC]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/store/
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /store/$1 [L]

Replace:

yourdomain.com

with your actual domain name, and:

/store/

with the directory to which you want visitors redirected.

Example

To redirect all traffic from:

https://mywebsite.com

to:

https://mywebsite.com/shop

use:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?mywebsite\.com$ [NC]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/shop/
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /shop/$1 [L]

How the Rule Works

The configuration:

• Checks whether the request is for the specified domain.
• Verifies that the visitor is not already inside the target directory.
• Redirects all requests into the selected directory.
• Prevents redirect loops.

Without the second condition:

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/store/

the website could continuously redirect itself.

Important Notes

• Ensure the target directory already exists.
• Verify that the directory contains a valid website or index file.
• Back up your existing .htaccess file before making changes.
• Test the redirect after saving the file.

Troubleshooting

If the redirect does not work:

• Confirm the .htaccess file is located in the correct directory.
• Check that the directory name is correct.
• Clear your browser cache.
• Verify there are no conflicting redirect rules in the file.

Summary

To redirect all visitors from a domain to a specific directory, place the following rule in the .htaccess file located in your website’s public_html directory:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?yourdomain\.com$ [NC]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/store/
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /store/$1 [L]

After saving the file, visitors accessing the domain will automatically be directed to the selected directory within the website.