Sometimes you own more than one domain and want them all to lead to a single website. Redirecting one domain to another sends anyone who visits the first domain straight to the second, which is useful after a rebrand, when you own multiple spellings of your name, or when you want a shorter marketing URL to point to your main site. This guide explains when and how to do it.
When you might redirect a domain #
- Rebranding: your old domain should now send visitors to your new one.
- Protecting your brand: you registered common misspellings or other extensions and want them all to reach your main site.
- Marketing: a short, memorable domain points to a longer campaign page.
- Consolidation: several old sites are being merged into one.
Choosing the right type of redirect #
Just as with page redirects, a domain redirect can be permanent or temporary, and the choice matters for SEO. A permanent (301) redirect tells search engines the move is final and passes ranking value to the destination, which is what you usually want when consolidating domains. A temporary (302) redirect is only appropriate when the change is short-lived.
How to set up a domain redirect #
There are two common approaches, depending on where the domain is managed:
- Via your control panel: point the domain to your hosting, then use the Redirects tool to send it to the destination URL. Choose a 301 for a permanent move.
- Via a forwarding feature: many registrars offer domain forwarding in the domain’s settings, where you simply enter the destination address.
Either way, the steps are: log in, find the redirect or forwarding option for the domain, enter the full destination URL, select permanent (301), and save.
Keep the destination consistent #
Decide whether your canonical address uses www or not, and whether it uses https, then redirect consistently to that one version. Sending everything to a single, secure canonical URL avoids duplicate content and keeps analytics clean.
Verifying the redirect #
After propagation, type the source domain into your browser and confirm it lands on the destination. You can also use an online redirect checker to confirm it returns a 301 status, which is the signal search engines look for.
Troubleshooting #
- Redirect not working: allow time for DNS and cache to update.
- Redirect loop: make sure the source and destination are not pointing at each other.
- Lands on the wrong page: check the destination URL for typos.
Need help? #
If you want to route several domains to one site cleanly, our support team can set the redirects up with you over live chat.
