subpage is not accessible after 301-redirect in .htaccess

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I want https://www.example.com/ca-report/ to be redirected to the front page https://www.example.com/.

But when I tried to place a 301 redirect for https://www.example.com/ca-report/ in .htaccess, unfortunately the subpage https://www.example.com/ca-report/subpage is not accessible anymore.

I guess I did something wrong. Could you please review my .htaccess code and help me?

btw: I am not sure if I am allowed to use RewriteEngine On several times as I did.

Here is my unsuccessful try:

# BEGIN iThemes Security - Do not modify or remove this line
# iThemes Security Config Details: 2
    # Protect System Files - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > System Files
    <files .htaccess>
        <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
            Require all denied
        </IfModule>
        <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
            Order allow,deny
            Deny from all
        </IfModule>
    </files>
    <files readme.html>
        <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
            Require all denied
        </IfModule>
        <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
            Order allow,deny
            Deny from all
        </IfModule>
    </files>
    <files readme.txt>
        <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
            Require all denied
        </IfModule>
        <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
            Order allow,deny
            Deny from all
        </IfModule>
    </files>
    <files wp-config.php>
        <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
            Require all denied
        </IfModule>
        <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
            Order allow,deny
            Deny from all
        </IfModule>
    </files>

    # Disable Directory Browsing - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > Directory Browsing
    Options -Indexes

    <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
        RewriteEngine On

        # Protect System Files - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > System Files
        RewriteRule ^wp-admin/install\.php$ - [F]
        RewriteRule ^wp-admin/includes/ - [F]
        RewriteRule !^wp-includes/ - [S=3]
        RewriteRule ^wp-includes/[^/]+\.php$ - [F]
        RewriteRule ^wp-includes/js/tinymce/langs/.+\.php - [F]
        RewriteRule ^wp-includes/theme-compat/ - [F]
        RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f
        RewriteRule (^|.*/)\.(git|svn)/.* - [F]

        # Disable PHP in Uploads - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > PHP in Uploads
        RewriteRule ^wp\-content/uploads/.*\.(?:php[1-7]?|pht|phtml?|phps)\.?$ - [NC,F]

        # Disable PHP in Plugins - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > PHP in Plugins
        RewriteRule ^wp\-content/plugins/.*\.(?:php[1-7]?|pht|phtml?|phps)\.?$ - [NC,F]

        # Disable PHP in Themes - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > PHP in Themes
        RewriteRule ^wp\-content/themes/.*\.(?:php[1-7]?|pht|phtml?|phps)\.?$ - [NC,F]
    </IfModule>
# END iThemes Security - Do not modify or remove this line

# BEGIN WordPress
# The directives (lines) between "BEGIN WordPress" and "END WordPress" are
# dynamically generated, and should only be modified via WordPress filters.
# Any changes to the directives between these markers will be overwritten.
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

# END WordPress



# redirect to https & www
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    
    RewriteEngine On
    
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www.example.com$ [NC]
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [L,R=301]
    
    RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} !=443
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
    
</IfModule>


 # 301-redirect
 RewriteEngine On
 Redirect 301 /ca-report/ https://www.example.com/


<ifModule mod_gzip.c>
mod_gzip_on Yes
mod_gzip_dechunk Yes
mod_gzip_item_include file .(html?|txt|css|js|php|pl)$
mod_gzip_item_include handler ^cgi-script$
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^text/.*
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^application/x-javascript.*
mod_gzip_item_exclude mime ^image/.*
mod_gzip_item_exclude rspheader ^Content-Encoding:.*gzip.*
</ifModule>

<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/plain
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xhtml+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/rss+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/javascript
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-javascript
</IfModule>

EDIT:

@MrWhite now I understand a bit more about htaccess after your detailed explanations. As I said the htaccess-code has changed slightly in the meantime because of another plugin. And additionally I added a redirect for www.example.com/ca-writing/.

www.example.com
  www.example.com/ca-report/    #should be redirected to front page www.example.com
    www.example.com/ca-report/subpage   # should be accessible normally
  www.example.com/ca-writing/   # should be redirected to front page www.example.com for SEO-reason, since this URL doesn’t exist anymore after the website restructuring

I have implemented your tips now Here is my final htaccess-code:

# BEGIN iThemes Security - Do not modify or remove this line
# iThemes Security Config Details: 2
    # Protect System Files - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > System Files
    <files .htaccess>
        <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
            Require all denied
        </IfModule>
        <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
            Order allow,deny
            Deny from all
        </IfModule>
    </files>
    <files readme.html>
        <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
            Require all denied
        </IfModule>
        <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
            Order allow,deny
            Deny from all
        </IfModule>
    </files>
    <files readme.txt>
        <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
            Require all denied
        </IfModule>
        <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
            Order allow,deny
            Deny from all
        </IfModule>
    </files>
    <files wp-config.php>
        <IfModule mod_authz_core.c>
            Require all denied
        </IfModule>
        <IfModule !mod_authz_core.c>
            Order allow,deny
            Deny from all
        </IfModule>
    </files>

    # Disable Directory Browsing - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > Directory Browsing
    Options -Indexes

    <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
        RewriteEngine On

        # Protect System Files - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > System Files
        RewriteRule ^wp-admin/install\.php$ - [F]
        RewriteRule ^wp-admin/includes/ - [F]
        RewriteRule !^wp-includes/ - [S=3]
        RewriteRule ^wp-includes/[^/]+\.php$ - [F]
        RewriteRule ^wp-includes/js/tinymce/langs/.+\.php - [F]
        RewriteRule ^wp-includes/theme-compat/ - [F]
        RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f
        RewriteRule (^|.*/)\.(git|svn)/.* - [F]

        # Disable PHP in Uploads - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > PHP in Uploads
        RewriteRule ^wp\-content/uploads/.*\.(?:php[1-7]?|pht|phtml?|phps)\.?$ - [NC,F]

        # Disable PHP in Plugins - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > PHP in Plugins
        RewriteRule ^wp\-content/plugins/.*\.(?:php[1-7]?|pht|phtml?|phps)\.?$ - [NC,F]

        # Disable PHP in Themes - Security > Settings > System Tweaks > PHP in Themes
        RewriteRule ^wp\-content/themes/.*\.(?:php[1-7]?|pht|phtml?|phps)\.?$ - [NC,F]
    </IfModule>
# END iThemes Security - Do not modify or remove this line



# php memory limit increase (only temporary)
php_value memory_limit 800M



# Redirect  "/ca-report/"  &  "/ca-writing/"  to root (and  HTTPS / www)
RewriteRule ^ca-report/$ https://www.example.com/ [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^ ca-writing /$ https://www.example.com/ [R=301,L]

# Redirect to HTTPS & www
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.example\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule (.*) https://www.example.com/$1 [L,R=301]
    
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} !=443
RewriteRule (.*) https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]



<ifModule mod_gzip.c>
mod_gzip_on Yes
mod_gzip_dechunk Yes
mod_gzip_item_include file .(html?|txt|css|js|php|pl)$
mod_gzip_item_include handler ^cgi-script$
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^text/.*
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^application/x-javascript.*
mod_gzip_item_exclude mime ^image/.*
mod_gzip_item_exclude rspheader ^Content-Encoding:.*gzip.*
</ifModule>

<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/plain
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xhtml+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/rss+xml
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/javascript
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-javascript
</IfModule>


# BEGIN W3TC Browser Cache
<IfModule mod_mime.c>
    AddType text/css .css
    AddType text/x-component .htc
    AddType application/x-javascript .js
    AddType application/javascript .js2
    AddType text/javascript .js3
    AddType text/x-js .js4
    AddType video/asf .asf .asx .wax .wmv .wmx
    AddType video/avi .avi
    AddType image/avif .avif
    AddType image/avif-sequence .avifs
    AddType image/bmp .bmp
    AddType application/java .class
    AddType video/divx .divx
    AddType application/msword .doc .docx
    AddType application/vnd.ms-fontobject .eot
    AddType application/x-msdownload .exe
    AddType image/gif .gif
    AddType application/x-gzip .gz .gzip
    AddType image/x-icon .ico
    AddType image/jpeg .jpg .jpeg .jpe
    AddType image/webp .webp
    AddType application/json .json
    AddType application/vnd.ms-access .mdb
    AddType audio/midi .mid .midi
    AddType video/quicktime .mov .qt
    AddType audio/mpeg .mp3 .m4a
    AddType video/mp4 .mp4 .m4v
    AddType video/mpeg .mpeg .mpg .mpe
    AddType video/webm .webm
    AddType application/vnd.ms-project .mpp
    AddType application/x-font-otf .otf
    AddType application/vnd.ms-opentype ._otf
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.database .odb
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.chart .odc
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula .odf
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics .odg
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation .odp
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet .ods
    AddType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text .odt
    AddType audio/ogg .ogg
    AddType video/ogg .ogv
    AddType application/pdf .pdf
    AddType image/png .png
    AddType application/vnd.ms-powerpoint .pot .pps .ppt .pptx
    AddType audio/x-realaudio .ra .ram
    AddType image/svg+xml .svg .svgz
    AddType application/x-shockwave-flash .swf
    AddType application/x-tar .tar
    AddType image/tiff .tif .tiff
    AddType application/x-font-ttf .ttf .ttc
    AddType application/vnd.ms-opentype ._ttf
    AddType audio/wav .wav
    AddType audio/wma .wma
    AddType application/vnd.ms-write .wri
    AddType application/font-woff .woff
    AddType application/font-woff2 .woff2
    AddType application/vnd.ms-excel .xla .xls .xlsx .xlt .xlw
    AddType application/zip .zip
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
    ExpiresActive On
    ExpiresByType text/css A31536000
    ExpiresByType text/x-component A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-javascript A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/javascript A31536000
    ExpiresByType text/javascript A31536000
    ExpiresByType text/x-js A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/asf A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/avi A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/avif A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/avif-sequence A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/bmp A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/java A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/divx A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/msword A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-fontobject A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-msdownload A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/gif A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-gzip A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/x-icon A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/jpeg A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/webp A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/json A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-access A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/midi A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/quicktime A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/mpeg A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/mp4 A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/mpeg A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/webm A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-project A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-font-otf A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-opentype A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.database A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.chart A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/ogg A31536000
    ExpiresByType video/ogg A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/pdf A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/png A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-powerpoint A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/x-realaudio A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/svg+xml A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-tar A31536000
    ExpiresByType image/tiff A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/x-font-ttf A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-opentype A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/wav A31536000
    ExpiresByType audio/wma A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-write A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/font-woff A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/font-woff2 A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/vnd.ms-excel A31536000
    ExpiresByType application/zip A31536000
</IfModule>
<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
        AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/css text/x-component application/x-javascript application/javascript text/javascript text/x-js text/html text/richtext text/plain text/xsd text/xsl text/xml image/bmp application/java application/msword application/vnd.ms-fontobject application/x-msdownload image/x-icon application/json application/vnd.ms-access video/webm application/vnd.ms-project application/x-font-otf application/vnd.ms-opentype application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.database application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.chart application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.formula application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.graphics application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text audio/ogg application/pdf application/vnd.ms-powerpoint image/svg+xml application/x-shockwave-flash image/tiff application/x-font-ttf application/vnd.ms-opentype audio/wav application/vnd.ms-write application/font-woff application/font-woff2 application/vnd.ms-excel
    <IfModule mod_mime.c>
        # DEFLATE by extension
        AddOutputFilter DEFLATE js css htm html xml
    </IfModule>
</IfModule>
<FilesMatch "\.(css|htc|less|js|js2|js3|js4|CSS|HTC|LESS|JS|JS2|JS3|JS4)$">
    FileETag MTime Size
    <IfModule mod_headers.c>
        Header unset Set-Cookie
    </IfModule>
</FilesMatch>
<FilesMatch "\.(html|htm|rtf|rtx|txt|xsd|xsl|xml|HTML|HTM|RTF|RTX|TXT|XSD|XSL|XML)$">
    FileETag MTime Size
</FilesMatch>
<FilesMatch "\.(asf|asx|wax|wmv|wmx|avi|avif|avifs|bmp|class|divx|doc|docx|eot|exe|gif|gz|gzip|ico|jpg|jpeg|jpe|webp|json|mdb|mid|midi|mov|qt|mp3|m4a|mp4|m4v|mpeg|mpg|mpe|webm|mpp|otf|_otf|odb|odc|odf|odg|odp|ods|odt|ogg|ogv|pdf|png|pot|pps|ppt|pptx|ra|ram|svg|svgz|swf|tar|tif|tiff|ttf|ttc|_ttf|wav|wma|wri|woff|woff2|xla|xls|xlsx|xlt|xlw|zip|ASF|ASX|WAX|WMV|WMX|AVI|AVIF|AVIFS|BMP|CLASS|DIVX|DOC|DOCX|EOT|EXE|GIF|GZ|GZIP|ICO|JPG|JPEG|JPE|WEBP|JSON|MDB|MID|MIDI|MOV|QT|MP3|M4A|MP4|M4V|MPEG|MPG|MPE|WEBM|MPP|OTF|_OTF|ODB|ODC|ODF|ODG|ODP|ODS|ODT|OGG|OGV|PDF|PNG|POT|PPS|PPT|PPTX|RA|RAM|SVG|SVGZ|SWF|TAR|TIF|TIFF|TTF|TTC|_TTF|WAV|WMA|WRI|WOFF|WOFF2|XLA|XLS|XLSX|XLT|XLW|ZIP)$">
    FileETag MTime Size
    <IfModule mod_headers.c>
        Header unset Set-Cookie
    </IfModule>
</FilesMatch>
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
    Header set Referrer-Policy "no-referrer-when-downgrade"
</IfModule>
# END W3TC Browser Cache

# BEGIN WordPress
# The directives (lines) between "BEGIN WordPress" and "END WordPress" are
# dynamically generated, and should only be modified via WordPress filters.
# Any changes to the directives between these markers will be overwritten.
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

# END WordPress

My closing questions to you:

  1. I had another subpage https://www.example.com/ca-writing/ before the restructuring, but it no longer exists. I would like to redirect it for SEO reasons to the front page. Do I still have to create this subpage https://www.example.com/ca-report/ in Wordpress backend as an empty page to be able to redirect it, although the content no longer exists after the restructuring?
  2. Could you please briefly look through my finished htaccess-code and let me know if it looks good so far?

Appreciate your support!

mod-rewrite .htaccess redirect apache wordpress
1 Answers
# BEGIN WordPress
:
# END WordPress

# redirect to https & www
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    
    RewriteEngine On
    
    RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www.example.com$ [NC]
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [L,R=301]
    
    RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} !=443
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
   
</IfModule>

# 301-redirect
RewriteEngine On
Redirect 301 /ca-report/ https://www.example.com/

The mod_alias Redirect directive is prefix-matching and everything after the match is copied onto the end of the target URL. So, the above Redirect directive will "incorrectly" redirect /ca-report/subpage to https://www.example.com/subpage. (Incidentally, Redirect has nothing to do with RewriteEngine - which initiates mod_rewrite.)

To match a specific URL, your options are to either use the corresponding mod_alias RedirectMatch directive (which matches against a regex, rather than simple prefix-matching) or use mod_rewrite RewriteRule. However, it is not advisable to mix redirects from both modules as you can get unexpected conflicts, since both modules run independently and at different times during the request. So, since you are already using mod_rewrite (RewriteRule) throughout your config file, you should use a RewriteRule directive here also to perform your redirect.

HOWEVER, your rules are also in the wrong order. By changing this redirect to use RewriteRule it will never be processed at this point in the config file (after the WordPress code block). This needs to go before the WordPress code block, ie. before the # BEGIN WordPress comment marker. The same applies to your HTTPS and www canonical redirects - these are not currently working as you are expecting, as they are only going to redirect static resources, not your inner page URLs.

Your rules should be written like this instead:

# Redirect "/ca-report/" to root (and HTTPS / www)
RewriteRule ^ca-report/$ https://www.example.com/ [R=301,L]

# Redirect to HTTPS & www
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\.example\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule (.*) https://www.example.com/$1 [L,R=301]
    
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} !=443
RewriteRule (.*) https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]

# BEGIN WordPress
:
# END WordPress

The <IfModule> wrapper is not required and you do not need to repeat the RewriteEngine On directive either.

I am not sure if I am allowed to use RewriteEngine On several times as I did.

It's not an error, however, if you are hand-coding your config file then you should not repeat the RewriteEngine directive.

If there are multiple RewriteEngine directives throughout the file then it's actually the last instance of the RewriteEngine directive that "wins" and controls the entire file. The preceding RewriteEngine directives do nothing at all, so in that respect it can be confusing! As an example, if you wrote RewriteEngine Off at the very end of the file then all the mod_rewrite directives are disabled, despite there being (multiple) RewriteEngine On directives earlier in the file.

NB: As noted in the WP code comments, do not remove the RewriteEngine directive in the WordPress code block since WordPress itself (tries to) maintain this section.

UPDATE:

1A. Do I still have to create this subpage https://www.example.com/ca-report/ in Wordpress backend as an empty page to be able to redirect it

No, the page does not need to exist. The redirect in .htaccess occurs before the request is passed to WordPress/PHP.

1B. I would like to redirect it for SEO reasons to the front page.

For "SEO reasons" is questionable. Search Engines / Google will likely see a redirect (from an old/inner page) to the front page as a soft-404 so may not offer any real SEO benefit. It can also be confusing for users that end up seeing a page they are not expecting. The old page is also likely to remain in the search results for longer. It is often preferable in these situations to issue a custom 404 response, explaining to the user where the page has gone and perhaps suggesting alternative pages. This engages the user and keeps them on the site and still informs search engines that the page no longer exists.

# Redirect  "/ca-report/"  &  "/ca-writing/"  to root (and  HTTPS / www)
RewriteRule ^ca-report/$ https://www.example.com/ [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^ ca-writing /$ https://www.example.com/ [R=301,L]

You appear to have introduced some erroneous spacing in the RewriteRule pattern in the second rule. ^ ca-writing /$ should read ^ca-writing/$, otherwise this will result in an error. (Spaces are argument delimiters in Apache config files.)

However, these two rules can be combined using regex alternation if you wish. For example:

RewriteRule ^ca-(report|writing)/$ https://www.example.com/ [R=301,L]
MrWhite0
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