How to set up .htaccess for 301 Redirects for Bluehost Addon Domains

This post will show how to use .htaccess to move a website to a new domain, especially when using Bluehost.

A couple of days ago, as I set up this website, jonathanlee.org, I struggled to set up a 301 redirect from my previous domain, jonathanleeonline.com.  My hosting is with Bluehost, and they offer a domain redirection tool – but it does not work with addon domains.

Specifically, if I own both oldsite.com and newsite.com, and both are registered with a single bluehost account, oldsite.com is the primary domain, and newsite.com is an add-on domain – and is set up as newsite.oldsite.com (although newsite.com also works).  It’s stupid.

But as a result, Bluehost’s regular domain redirection tool and does not work.  Technical support tells me I have to modify my .htaccess file, but refuses to give any guidance on how to do so.

I couldn’t find any turn-key solutions via Google searching, so I did some researched, and wrote my own .htaccess solution.  And I’m posting the solution online, to help out others.

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Travelogue: Night Markets of Taiwan

Taiwan’s night markets are world famous – there are many night markets and bazaars around the world, but as famous as in Taiwan. Just as how France equates wine and England equates crappy weather, Taiwan equates night markets. So I had to visit two of the most famous of Taipei – Shilin (士林) night market and Miaokou (廟口) night market located at Keelung (基隆).
Night Market - Keelung night market 1

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Travelogue: Taipei 101

The Taipei 101 is a one of a kind building.  For a couple of years, it was the tallest building in the world – until Dubai finished the Burj Khalifa in 2010.  But it’s not really special for its height, but for its design – like the nodes of a bamboo pole.  Or, for the more crude, Chinese takeout containers stacked on top of each other.

It took me quite some time visit the Taipei 101, since I waited for the perfect weather, so I could see far into the distance from the observation tower.   But it was totally worth it.

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Travelogue: Taipei

Taipei (臺北 / 台北)! In some countries (e.g. Australia, New Zealand), the capital is simply the administrative center, not the biggest or most important city. Not so with Taipei! Taipei is not only the administrative capital of Taiwan, but also the largest city, the arts and culture center, and clearly the most important. So I was lucky to spent quite some time living with relatives in Taishan – part of New Taipei City, which in turn is basically the suburbs of Taipei City. From here, I visited the many cultural and historical sites and Taiwan!


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Travelogue: National Day 2013 in Taiwan

October 10 (10/10) is National Day in Taiwan, celebrating the birth of the Republic of China in 1911 and the overthrow of the Qing dynasty (end history lesson, that’s about all I know), so I expected a huge celebration. Parades! Fireworks! Festivities! Expecting a grand old time, I took an early morning trip to Taipei, where I discovered that the capital was under martial law:
Taiwan National Day - martial law 1

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Unexpected Interlude: Spam!

Suddenly this month, my popularity has skyrocketed – or at least, my popularity with spam bots has skyrocketed.  We are only halfway through November, and I’ve already gotten more spam comments than the last six months combined!
Spam over time

Thankfully, I’ve got the Akismet plugin for my website, so I don’t need to worry about a horde of bots posting spam comments about North Face jackets, website SEO, and other nonsensical babble.

I do wonder though, where did this mob of bots come from?  How did I trigger this onslaught of useless and irrelevant comments?

On a semi-related note, it would be awesome if I got a lot of spam comments on this post.  It would be most ironic.

Travelogue: Shrimp Fishing in Taiwan

Indoor shrimp fishing is an entertainment industry that is unique to Taiwan. It’s a pretty simple business: you’ve got a warehouse in an industrial area, small concrete pools in the warehouse, and these cool special clawed shrimp in the pools. Whenever you’re bored, you can go to one of these businesses, spend NT600 (~$20), and fish for three hours, keeping whatever you catch.
Shrimp fishing - pool

I discovered very quickly that I do not have a hidden talent for shrimp fishing.

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Reflection: Returning to Taiwan

It’s odd, finally coming (back?) to Taiwan. Yes, I’m ethnically Taiwanese (I’ve got seven generations of ancestry in Taiwan), but I was born and raised in the USA. I spent my second grade in elementary school here in Taiwan, as well as countless summer breaks, but I haven’t been back here in almost 10 years now. And so it’s odd feeling, visiting Taiwan, my ancestral home – especially since my Chinese listening/speaking is conversational at best, my reading/writing is basic, and my Taiwanese language skills are basically nonexistent.

Taiwan first impressions - street view

Coming to Taiwan after being absent for ten years, everything is the same, but everything is different.

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