How To 301 Redirect .html pages

[MyNet]

I need to redirect a page/URL that is purely .html to a new location.  I don't know how to do this.  All the redirects I can find are for server side code pages .php/.aspx etc.  From my understanding I can't put a server side redirect in a .html file.  I am hosting on a microsoft server, however the new page I am redirecting to is .php.  I am running some WordPress (.php) files on the server.  I need to make it redirect before the old page loads so visitors don't start reading something that is about to get redirected Can someone please help me?

[ShaMenz]

Hi MyNet,

The 301 redirect must be created on the originating server as it needs to intercept the request and send it to the new location.

Since you say that you are hosting on a microsoft server, I am thinking that you need the method for creating a 301 redirect on a IIS server.

You will find these instructions on this quick reference page for creating 301's.  This page actually provides instructions and/or code examples for about every situation you could think of...just choose the one you need. (you should check with your ISP to make sure that you know which suits your situation)

Hope that helps,

Sha

[MyNet]

Hi Sha,

Thank you for answering.  I actually ran across the example you provided.  However that example lists the code to put in various server-side technology pages.  For example it lists the script to put in a .php page or a .aspx page.  Since my old pages that need to be redirected are .html I didn't think these would work.  For example, let say my old page is page.html and I put this 301 redirect script on a page called page.php and upload it to the server.  Google will not see page.php and page.html as the same page and therefore will not redirect the right page.  This is my understanding please correct me if I am wrong.

PS.  I don't understand the directions for the IIS redirect your link mentions.  I don't know what it means by "internet services manager", therefore I don't know how to follow its directions.  That could be the answer to my problem, I just don't know how to follow it.

Thanks

[ShaMenz]

Hi again,

A 301 redirect is an instruction given to the server which tells it which page to send the request to.

If you were using an Apache server, you would create a .htaccess file with the lines of code in it to create the redirect.

With a Windows server you should have access to what is effectively a server management console that you can log into. In this console, within the Internet Services Manager, you basically choose the options which create the redirect within the server for you.

It does not matter whether your pages are .html or .php ...the process is the same according to which server setup you are dealing with.

I think perhaps you are confusing a 301 redirect with a redirect script which can be placed in the head of a document. This latter is not a great option for a number of reasons ...most notably that it does not allow link value to flow to the new page and also will not tell the search engine to de-index the old page and replace it with the new.

Hope that helps,

Sha