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Redirecting from www to non-www with Nginx (CentOS 7)

What will you learn in this guide?​

In this guide, you will learn how to configure www and non-www domain redirection in an SEO friendly way on Nginx servers running on CentOS 7.
With 301 permanent redirects, you will set a single canonical domain name and maintain your search engine score.

1. Verify DNS records​

Both domains must reach the server before the redirect works.

Make sure the following A records point to the server IP address:

  • @ → Server IP address
  • www → Server IP address

This setting ensures that both addresses reach Nginx.

2. Create Nginx redirect block​

In this example, www.site.com → site.com is redirected.

Open the main configuration file:

sudo vi /etc/nginx/conf.d/site.com.conf
  • Leave only the actual domain name in this file:

server {
    server_name site.com;
    # Diğer site ayarları
}
  • Now create a new file for redirect:

sudo vi /etc/nginx/conf.d/www.site.com.conf
  • Let the content be as follows:

server {
    server_name www.site.com;
    return 301 $scheme://site.com$request_uri;
}
  • This structure permanently redirects all requests coming via www to the main domain.

3. Test and apply configuration​

Check the syntax first:


sudo nginx -t
  1. This command checks for Nginx configuration errors.
  1. Then restart the service:

sudo systemctl restart nginx
  • This action activates the new routing rule.

4. Verify the redirect​

  1. Check HTTP headers via terminal:

curl -IL http://www.site.com

  • The first response should be 301 Moved Permanently, the second response should be 200 OK.

  • This result indicates that the redirect is working correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)​

1. Why is 301 redirection important? It notifies search engines of the permanent address and concentrates SEO power in a single address.

2. Why should I use 301 instead of 302? 302 is temporary. SEO value is not fully transferred.

3. What changes if I use HTTPS? The same structure is applied in SSL blocks with listen 443 ssl.

4. Does this redirect slow down the site? No. Nginx processes redirects in milliseconds.

A properly configured Nginx redirect is critical for SEO consistency and user experience. You can immediately evaluate GenixNode solutions for high-performance infrastructures where you can apply such settings without any problems.