301 redirect

[CarbonTerry]

Hello,
I want to do a 301 redirect using my .htaccess file.
Here's the code ( redirect 301 /masterpac.com/index.html http://www.masterpac.com/index.php )
The question is...does the old index.html remain on the server or can I delete?
Thanks for the time.

[Bethers]

Re: 301 redirect

After the redirect is in place, and you test it - put in that url and it goes to the new one - then you shouldn't need that page anymore.

[CarbonTerry]

Re: 301 redirect

Will that hurt my page results? The content is basically the same. I am on page 1 or 2 on all major SE's for my most popular keywords.