How to change the URL on redirect?

Question

I've got a site http://abcd.com that I want to redirect to http://efgh.com . This works.

But unfortunately I have to use an .htaccess provided by the domain hoster as the first URL has no actual web space behind it.

The problem is both .htaccess and meta-refresh within the second page don't actually update the URL as far as the browser is concerned (ie the location-bar still shows abcd.com even though we're on efgh.com). That is an issue because cookies from the page are therefore treated as third-party cookies.

How do I change the URL the browser thinks it's on to solve the cookie issue?

EDIT: Perhaps I wasn't clear enough: The redirect itself works . The content is from efgh.com . But the location bar in the browser shows abcd.com which is important because it turns cookies from efgh.com into third-party cookies.

EDIT2: Aargh, after bashing my head against the wall for ages I only now realized the domain hoster boxed me into a hidden frameset. I can't believe I was this stupid and didn't realize it sooner.

Answer 1

Make sure to use R' flag in your RewriteRule` for external redirection (change the URL).

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?abcd\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^ http://efgh.com%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]

Since you're using R=301 here, make sure to test in a different browser.

Answer 2

One way to achieve this would be to send a 301 redirect for the old domain in your .htaccess file.

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !newdomain.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://newdomain.com/$1 [L,R=301]

Notice the R=301 on the last line - this will tell the browser that the move is permanent - the browser will then move on to another domain.