How to Redirect Non-WWW to WWW in Apache Over HTTPS (Step-by-Step Guide)

Prerequisites

- Apache web server installed and running
- SSL/TLS enabled with a valid certificate (self-signed, Let’s Encrypt, or paid)
- Domain name resolving to your server
- Access to Apache configuration files (usually in /etc/apache2/sites-available/)
- Basic knowledge of using the command line and a text editor like nano or vim

If you don’t have an SSL certificate yet, follow this guide to create one.

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Introduction

Redirecting non-www to www in Apache over HTTPS is an essential step for improving SEO, preventing duplicate content, and standardizing your website URL. This guide walks you through configuring your Apache server to perform this redirect securely using HTTPS.

Step 1: Enable mod_rewrite

Apache’s rewrite engine must be enabled. Run the following commands:

sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 2: Update Your Virtual Host Configs

You’ll need two virtual host entries—one for the non-www version that performs the redirect, and another for the www version that serves your site content.

Non-WWW Redirect

<VirtualHost *:443>
    ServerName example.com

    SSLEngine on
    SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/certs/example.crt
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/private/example.key

    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
</VirtualHost>

WWW Version

<VirtualHost *:443>
    ServerName www.example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html

    SSLEngine on
    SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/certs/example.crt
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/private/example.key

    <Directory /var/www/html>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Be sure to replace example.com and certificate file paths with your own values.

Step 3: Restart Apache and Test

Run this command to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Open your browser and go to https://example.com. It should redirect to https://www.example.com. If not, check your Apache error log:

sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log

This Works for Public Web Servers Too

This setup works with both self-signed certificates (for local testing) and Let’s Encrypt or commercial SSL certificates (for production sites).

Just make sure your certs cover both example.com and www.example.com. With Let’s Encrypt, they usually do by default.

My Private Home Office Configuration

- Linux is my daily driver
- Windows 10 laptop
- VirtualBox installed on Windows
- Using VirtualBox to create LAMP servers for development and testing
- Linux and Windows hosts files used as internal DNS
- I use non-routable domain names like example.internal
- Everything runs on a private LAN with non-routable IP addresses

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I use this on a live server?

Yes, just use a real SSL certificate like Let’s Encrypt or one from a certificate authority.

Will this help with SEO?

Absolutely. Redirecting all traffic to the www version reduces duplicate content and improves your search engine indexing.

Do I need DNS changes?

Make sure both example.com and www.example.com point to the same IP address in your DNS records.

Can I redirect www to non-www instead?

Yes. Just reverse the roles of the virtual hosts—redirect from www to non-www and serve content on the non-www host.

Can I use this with a wildcard SSL certificate?

Yes, wildcard certs like *.example.com will work with this method.

Conclusion

Redirecting non-www to www over HTTPS in Apache is a simple but effective way to improve your site’s consistency and SEO. Whether you’re using a self-signed cert in a local test environment or a production-grade certificate on a public server, the steps are nearly identical.

Want to set up your SSL first? Don’t forget to check this out:
How To Create a Self-Signed SSL Certificate for Apache

With this redirect in place, your Apache site is now better organized and more secure.