Redirect is supposed to redirect all URLs starting with the string. Since the URL you redirect to started with that string, naturally you instantly redirected again. RedirectMatch redirects URLs that match a regular expression. You used $ to explicitly match the end of the URL as part of that. That means that “starting with” is not enough.
Summary of existing answers plus my own two cents: 1. Basic answer You can use the header() function to send a new HTTP header, but this must be sent to the browser before any HTML or text (so before the <!DOCTYPE …> declaration, for example). 2. Important details die() or exit() Why you should use die() or exit(): The Daily WTF Absolute or relative URL … Read more
Use the header() function to send an HTTP Location header: Contrary to what some think, die() has nothing to do with redirection. Use it only if you want to redirect instead of normal execution. File example.php: Result of three executions: Resuming — obligatory die()/exit() is some urban legend that has nothing to do with actual PHP. It has nothing to do with client “respecting” the Location: header. Sending a header does not … Read more