Create a 410 Redirect for Missing Files

htaccess & Redirects | Updated November 2026

A 410 (Gone) status code tells search engines that a page has been permanently removed and should be deindexed. Unlike a 404 (Not Found), a 410 explicitly communicates that the removal was intentional. Use this when you want Google to stop showing a deleted page in search results.

How to Set It Up

Add a RewriteRule to .htaccess

Add this to your .htaccess file for each URL you want to return a 410:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^old-page\.html$ - [G,L]
The [G] flag tells Apache to return a 410 Gone response.

01. Remove a Single Page

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^old-page\.html$ - [G,L]

02. Remove Multiple Pages

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^old-page-1\.html$ - [G,L]
RewriteRule ^old-page-2\.html$ - [G,L]
RewriteRule ^blog/outdated-post/?$ - [G,L]

03. Remove an Entire Directory

RewriteRule ^old-section/ - [G,L]

04. When to Use 410 vs 301

Use 301 when the content moved to a new URL - redirects users and passes SEO value
Use 410 when the content is gone and there is no replacement - tells search engines to remove it
Use 404 when the page simply does not exist (the default for missing URLs)

For 301 redirects, see 302 Redirects and the .htaccess Guide.

Need Help With Redirects?

Open a Support Ticket

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a 410 Gone status and how is it different from 404?

A 410 tells search engines a page was permanently and intentionally removed, so they should deindex it. A 404 just says not found, which engines may keep retrying. Use 410 when you deliberately deleted a page and want it dropped from search.

How do I return a 410 for a removed page?

In .htaccess use a Redirect gone directive, for example Redirect 410 /old-page.html, or a RewriteRule with the [G] flag. The server then returns 410 for that URL, signaling intentional removal to crawlers.

Should I use a 410 or a 301 redirect?

Use a 301 when the content moved and you want to send visitors and ranking to the new URL. Use a 410 when the content is gone for good and you want it deindexed with no replacement. Do not 301 unrelated pages to the homepage just to avoid a 404.

How do I return 410 for an entire directory?

Use a RewriteRule matching the directory path with the [G,L] flags in .htaccess, which returns 410 for everything under that path. This cleanly deindexes a whole removed section rather than leaving 404s.