Here is what I want to accomplish.
I have domain A which I want to update the nameservers to use the custom nameservers setup on domain B (i.e. ns1.domainb.com and ns2.domainb.com).
Then, when users go to domainA.com I want it to take them to domainB.com/domainA
How can I accomplish this? Can't I accomplish this via HTACCESS files on domainB?
When users go to domainA.com I want it to take them to domainB.com/domainA
This solution explains how to achieve:
example.com --> domainB.com/example.com
First, set the DNS of domainA.com to point to the IP address of domainB.com's server. In the root of domainB.com, create an .htaccess file with a rule to redirect/rewrite domainA.com requests to domainB.com/domainA. There are two methods and outcomes.
User navigates to http://example.com, browser shows http://example.com.
Set these .htaccess rules in the root of domainB.com:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
# Check that the request is NOT from domainB.com, e.g. domainA
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !domainB\.com$ [NC]
# Capture the top-level domainA name
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(?:www\.)?(.+?)$
# Check that we are not already requesting a valid file or directory
# This prevents inserting the subdirectory name into an already valid path
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
# Rewrite requests with the domainA subdirectory
RewriteRule (.*) /%1/$1 [L]
User navigates to http://example.com, browser shows http://domainB.com/example.com.
Set these .htaccess rules in the root of domainB.com:
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
# Check that the request is NOT from domainB.com, e.g. domainA
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !domainB\.com$ [NC]
# Capture the top-level domainA name
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(?:www\.)?(.+?)$
# Force a 301 redirect to the new URI
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://domainB.com/%1%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
At the time of this writing, you can test and modify (most) .htaccess rules to support your customized requirements here: http://htaccess.madewithlove.be/
Here are tips and tricks to achieve further customization: http://mod-rewrite-cheatsheet.com/