Configure URL Rewrite Rules

The Problem

You need specific URL behaviour your application or CMS doesn't provide out of the box — a custom redirect, a cleaner URL structure, or rewriting old URLs to new ones after a site restructure — and getting rewrite rule syntax right is notoriously fiddly.

About this problem

URL rewriting lets a web server quietly translate what a visitor sees in their address bar into whatever internal path or query string the application actually needs, which is how most frameworks achieve clean URLs, and it's also how old URLs get redirected to new ones after a site restructure without breaking existing links and SEO value.

This typically comes up after a site redesign that changed URL structure, or when a custom integration needs a specific URL pattern the application doesn't natively support.

What's Included

• Writing the specific rewrite/redirect rules your situation requires
• Testing each rule against both the intended case and realistic edge cases
• Making sure existing working URLs aren't accidentally broken by the new rules
• Documentation of what each rule does for your own future reference

What's NOT Included

• A full site-wide URL restructure strategy (that's a planning decision for you, I implement the rules)
• Fixing broken links beyond what the new rewrite rules address (see the broken-links service for a fuller sweep)
• Framework-level routing configuration if the issue is actually inside the application, not the web server

How It Works

1. Map out exactly which URL patterns need to change and what they should become.
2. Write the rewrite/redirect rules at the appropriate level (Nginx's rewrite/location blocks, or Apache's mod_rewrite/.htaccess).
3. Order the rules correctly, since rewrite rules are evaluated in sequence and an earlier match can prevent a later, more specific one from firing.
4. Test each rule against the intended URLs plus a few realistic variations (trailing slashes, query strings, different cases).
5. Confirm existing working URLs on the site are unaffected by the new rules before calling it done.

In practice: you buy the service, send over whatever access or details the job needs, I investigate and do the work, and you confirm it's resolved before we call it done.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between a redirect and a rewrite?

A redirect sends the visitor's browser a new URL to request (visible in the address bar), while a rewrite changes what the server does internally without the visitor's address bar changing at all.

Why isn't my rewrite rule working?

Often because an earlier rule in the file already matched and stopped processing, or a small regex mistake in the pattern — rewrite rule order and precision both matter a lot.

Can URL rewriting help with old URLs after a site redesign?

Yes, this is one of the most common uses — redirecting old URL patterns to their new equivalents preserves both visitor bookmarks and the SEO value built up by the old pages.

Do I need rewrite rules for clean URLs in WordPress?

WordPress handles its own permalink rewriting automatically once configured, but custom rewrite needs beyond what WordPress's permalink settings offer still require manual rules.

Is it risky to add custom rewrite rules to a live site?

It can be if untested, since a badly written rule can accidentally redirect or break working pages — thorough testing against both target and existing URLs before finalising is the safeguard.

Where do rewrite rules live — in the web server or the application?

They can live in either, depending on the need — web-server-level rules (Nginx config, .htaccess) handle things before the application even runs, while some frameworks also offer their own routing layer.