Adding URL Forwarding
URL forwarding allows you to redirect visitors from one domain or subdomain to a different URL. There are two types of URL forwarding:
Types of URL Forwarding
Masked (Iframe) Forwarding
Masked forwarding retains the original domain in the address bar and will not reveal or display the actual destination URL. For example, if you are forwarding mydomain.com to mysite.example.com, the address bar will continue to show mydomain.com.
Note: Some destinations do not allow masked forwarding, and your registrar has no control over this.
Redirect (301) Forwarding
Redirect forwarding does not retain the original domain in the address bar, so the user will see the URL change. For example, if you are forwarding mydomain.com to mysite.example.com, the address bar will change to show mysite.example.com. This is also known as a 301 redirect.
How to Set Up URL Forwarding
- Log in to your domain registrar account.
- Navigate to your domains list.
- Select the domain you wish to enable URL forwarding on.
- Look for a URL Forwarding option in your domain settings.
- You’ll see a group of fields that you can enter values into:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Domain/Subdomain | The subdomain to forward. Use * for wildcard, or leave blank to forward both the bare domain and all subdomains. |
| Title | Only applies to Masked forwarding — sets the browser tab title. |
| Forwards To | The destination URL you’d like to forward traffic to. Make sure to include http:// or https://. |
| Type | Choose between Redirect (301) and Masked (iframe). |
| Meta Tags | Only applies to Masked forwarding — helps search engines crawl your page. |
- Click Add Forwarding to establish your URL forward.
Important Notes
- You may need to wait a few minutes to see your URL forwarding changes take effect.
- URL forwarding will typically add A records that are required for it to work. If these A records are deleted, the forwarding will break.
- You need to be using your registrar’s default nameservers for URL forwarding to function.
- HTTPS limitation: Most registrar-based URL forwarding tools cannot forward from an HTTPS source URL (e.g.,
https://www.example.com). However, you can forward to an HTTPS destination (e.g., forwardhttp://example.com→https://www.newsite.com). - You can usually edit or delete previously created URL forwards from the same management page.