Microsoft rewriting module - Force www on URL Or remove www from URL

Question

I have a shared hosting plan with Windows Server 2008 and IIS7.5, and there is Microsoft rewriting module installed and enabled.

<rewrite>
    <rules>
        <rule name="myRule" patternSyntax="Wildcard">
            <!--Rewriting code-->
        </rule>
    </rules>
</rewrite>

So, how to redirect mydomain.example/everywhere-in-site/my-page.html to www.mydomain.example/everywhere-in-site/my-page.html with Microsoft rewriting module?

And what if I want to redirect www.mydomain.example/everywhere-in-site/my-page.html to mydomain.example/everywhere-in-site/my-page.html ?

Answer 1

To remove the www from a domain and redirect to a "naked domain" you could di it like in the following code snippet:

<rewrite>
  <rules>
    <rule name="Remove WWW prefix" stopProcessing="true">
      <match url="(.*)" ignoreCase="true" />
      <conditions>
        <add input="{HTTP_HOST}" pattern="^www\.yourdomain\.example$" />
      </conditions>
      <action type="Redirect" url="http://yourdomain.example/{R:1}" redirectType="Permanent" />
    </rule>
  </rules>
</rewrite>

And the other way around (if you prefer that) to redirect a non-www to one with www:

<rewrite>
  <rules>
    <rule name="Add WWW prefix" stopProcessing="true">
      <match url="(.*)" ignoreCase="true" />
      <conditions>
        <add input="{HTTP_HOST}" pattern="^yourdomain\.example$" />
      </conditions>
      <action type="Redirect" url="http://www.yourdomain.example/{R:0}" redirectType="Permanent" />
    </rule>
  </rules>
</rewrite>

The redirectType="Permanent" is of course optional but for SEO and most scenarios I would recommend it.

Please see also these Stack Overflow questions/answers:

• IIS7 URL Rewrite - Add "www" prefix
• Forwarding http://mydomain.example/ctrlr/act/val to http://WWW.mydomain.example/ctrlr/act/val
• Proper method to remove www from address using IIS URL Rewrite