How to redirect / convert any URL to lowercase?
To implement such redirect using mod_rewrite and .htaccess you need to use RewriteMap
directive which cannot be placed in .htaccess -- only in server config / VirtualHost context. If you have such access:
1. Place this line inside <VirtualHost>
block for your site:
RewriteMap lc int:tolower
2. Place this in your .htaccess:
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} [A-Z]
RewriteRule . ${lc:%{REQUEST_URI}} [R=301,L]
This will redirect (301 Permanent Redirect) any URL that has at least 1 capital letter (Latin letters only) in path part of URL (query string is ignored) to the same but in lower case.
For example:
http://mydomain.com/myfolder-sample-URL.html
=>
http://mydomain.com/myfolder-sample-url.html
http://mydomain.com/myfolder-sample-url.HTML
=>
http://mydomain.com/myfolder-sample-url.html
but will do nothing for these URLs:
http://mydomain.com/myfolder-sample-url.html?say=MEOW
http://MYDOMAIN.com/myfolder-sample-url.html
If you want to restrict it to .html files only:
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} [A-Z]
RewriteRule ^.+\.html$ ${lc:%{REQUEST_URI}} [NC,R=301,L]
Where to place: I would place it after domain name redirect rule:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^domain\.com [NC]
RewriteRule (.*) http://mydomain.com/$1 [L,R=301]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} [A-Z]
RewriteRule . ${lc:%{REQUEST_URI}} [R=301,L]
# your other rules
I also recommend using rel="canonical" links:
<link rel="canonical" href="PROPER_URL_HERE" />
- http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=139394
- http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/02/specify-your-canonical.html
If you do not need redirect, but rather ability to serve the file regardless of the file name case (case insensitive file names), then you can use mod_spelling ( http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_speling.html ) and CheckCaseOnly On
directive.
Add this to the top of your .htaccess
SOURCE: Htaccess to Redirect Uppercase to Lowercase
RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / # If there are caps, set HASCAPS to true and skip next rule RewriteRule [A-Z] - [E=HASCAPS:TRUE,S=1] # Skip this entire section if no uppercase letters in requested URL RewriteRule ![A-Z] - [S=28] # Replace single occurance of CAP with cap, then process next Rule. RewriteRule ^([^A]*)A(.*)$ $1a$2 RewriteRule ^([^B]*)B(.*)$ $1b$2 RewriteRule ^([^C]*)C(.*)$ $1c$2 RewriteRule ^([^D]*)D(.*)$ $1d$2 RewriteRule ^([^E]*)E(.*)$ $1e$2 RewriteRule ^([^F]*)F(.*)$ $1f$2 RewriteRule ^([^G]*)G(.*)$ $1g$2 RewriteRule ^([^H]*)H(.*)$ $1h$2 RewriteRule ^([^I]*)I(.*)$ $1i$2 RewriteRule ^([^J]*)J(.*)$ $1j$2 RewriteRule ^([^K]*)K(.*)$ $1k$2 RewriteRule ^([^L]*)L(.*)$ $1l$2 RewriteRule ^([^M]*)M(.*)$ $1m$2 RewriteRule ^([^N]*)N(.*)$ $1n$2 RewriteRule ^([^O]*)O(.*)$ $1o$2 RewriteRule ^([^P]*)P(.*)$ $1p$2 RewriteRule ^([^Q]*)Q(.*)$ $1q$2 RewriteRule ^([^R]*)R(.*)$ $1r$2 RewriteRule ^([^S]*)S(.*)$ $1s$2 RewriteRule ^([^T]*)T(.*)$ $1t$2 RewriteRule ^([^U]*)U(.*)$ $1u$2 RewriteRule ^([^V]*)V(.*)$ $1v$2 RewriteRule ^([^W]*)W(.*)$ $1w$2 RewriteRule ^([^X]*)X(.*)$ $1x$2 RewriteRule ^([^Y]*)Y(.*)$ $1y$2 RewriteRule ^([^Z]*)Z(.*)$ $1z$2 # If there are any uppercase letters, restart at very first RewriteRule in file. RewriteRule [A-Z] - [N] RewriteCond %{ENV:HASCAPS} TRUE RewriteRule ^/?(.*) /$1 [R=301,L]
Alternatively your host may support mod_speling, in which if they do, you can use in the server config, virtual host, directory or within a .htaccess file, example below:
<IfModule mod_speling.c>
CheckCaseOnly On
CheckSpelling On
</IfModule>