Why is My Website Redirecting to Another Website?

Is your website redirecting to another website? Why is your website redirecting somewhere else every time you lands on it? Let’s keep this article short, there are two reasons why this could be happening to your website:

1. Your website has been hacked 

2. The internal components of your website are not functioning properly

If your website is being redirected to an unknown website or a spam website, then it is likely that it has been hacked. This is something you may want to fix as soon as possible, because chances are that any traffic you are currently getting is not going to want to visit your website anymore if it redirects them to a spammy or malicious site. Which can definitely hurt your brand if you don’t act upon this situation as soon as possible.

Let’s dive into why your website is redirecting to another website:

How Is My Website Redirecting to a Different Website?

There are numerous reasons why your website is redirecting to another website which can include:

  • Hackers have gained access to your WordPress Login information by obtaining the username and password
  • Hackers inject code into the backend of your website which can lead to malicious redirects
  • Your plugins have not been updated in a long time
  • Your website is old (the system hasn’t been updated in years)
  • A redirect was added into the WordPress settings by accident
  • A redirect was added from the Control Panel of the website/server

Most Common Ways Hackers Get Into Your Website:

Many hackers will use hack your website and cause it to redirect to another website by inserting a malicious code. Having a malicious code inserted into your website can have detrimental effects to not just only your website, but to:

  • Your brand
  • Your customers
  • All traffic that comes to your website
  • Could get you delisted from Google

You could try fixing the issue by identifying where the malicious code has been inserted in your website such as the .htaccess file, theme files, Core WordPress files, index.php, index.html:

malicious code in website (example)
Image from Malcare.com

I don’t recommend manually finding in the backend of your website (typically in the CPanel), because this can be extremely time consuming. 

During this kind of situation, time is of the essence, as customers are landing on your website, they will click out of it as soon as they get redirected to a another website that is spammy or malicious, you’re rankings can drop, or even worse. 

Don’t waste your time trying to manually find the malicious code or folder so that you can delete and try to “save” your website, because you can spend a lot of time trying to find the piece of code, but even if you’re a professional hacker for living, you may never find it.

At this point, you really only have 2 options:

  1. Delete Your Website and Start Over (this is why it’s so important to backup your website everyday)
  2. Install a Malware removal plugin (we highly recommend Malcare.com)

Deleting Your Website and Starting Over

Depending on how bad malware has gotten into your website and how much damage it has caused, you may just be better off deleting your website and starting over (which is why it’s important to backup your website every day). 

As explained earlier, you can spend a LOT of time trying to figure out by yourself how to remove malware from the backend of your website. 

If you don’t want to invest in a Malware removal service (which could take more time), you’re actually better off deleting your website and uploading your backup site because it’s much better to have a website that is down for a little while than to have all of your traffic redirected to a malicious website that can infect the computers of your users!

When Google finds out that you’re website is redirecting to another website that is spammy or malicious, it can look something like this:

Google alert of malware on website

Installing a Malware Removal Plugin

If you’re not looking to delete your website and uploading your backup site along with the database to keep your website from redirecting to another website that is malicious, you can start by installing malware removal plugin. 

If you cannot access your WordPress website, then your website may be compromised, to learn more, visit ThemeIsle to learn more about why you can’t log into your WordPress website. You may have to delete your website and restore a most recent backup.

Ways to Prevent Your Website From Getting Hacked:

website design and security
  • Install a security plugin
  • Update your themes, WordPress core updates, plugins, etc.
  • Have a unique username and password to prevent hackers from “guessing” your login credentials
  • DO NOT share login credential with ANYBODY
  • Backup your site everyday
  • Have an SSL certificate installed on your website

Now that you have learned why your website is redirecting to another website, why not share this post with your friends? 

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