Overview
URL redirection or URL forwarding is a system that directs one domain name to another. For example, when a visitor types in wikipedia.com or wikipedia.net, they are automatically redirected to wikipedia.org.
URL redirection can be used for URL shortening, to prevent broken links when web pages are moved to allow multiple domain names belonging to the same owner to refer to a single website.
Below are instructions on how you can redirect your domain name or specific pages within your website to another URL. There are several different methods you can use to achieve this service based on what kind of hosting you have. The instructions for each hosting type are below:
Domain Manager Redirection
Our Domain Manager service includes a URL Redirection tool. This allows users to point their domain to another URL using an application available within the Console. To activate URL redirection, follow these instructions:
- Log into your Account
- Manage the domain you want to make changes to
- Click Redirection. If the Redirection icon does not appear within the Console, you may be subscribed to a plan that does not include this service, please email customer service for further assistance
- In the field type the URL you wish to redirect your domain name to
- Click Update redirection
You can also enable or disable cloaking from this page.
URL Cloaking is a redirection technique where the URL displayed in the browser’s address bar remains the same even though the user is being directed to a different destination page. Essentially, it masks the true destination URL by loading the content of the target site within an invisible frame (i-frame) or through a server-side script.
Cloaking keeps your custom domain visible in the address bar, preventing users from seeing messy, third-party URLs. This maintains a seamless brand experience from start to finish. It effectively hides long affiliate strings or complex tracking parameters. This not only looks cleaner but also protects your referral data from being easily identified or tampered with by end-users. Because the URL remains static and short, it is significantly easier for users to copy, paste, and share your links across social media or internal documentation.
However, it comes with several drawbacks:
SEO & Indexing Risks: Search engines generally view cloaking as a "black hat" tactic because it can be used to show different content to bots than to humans. Using it extensively can lead to your site being penalized or removed from search results.
Mobile & UX Issues: Since cloaking often relies on frames, it can interfere with how a page scales on mobile devices. This often results in "broken" layouts where scrolling or button clicks don't work as intended.
Security Header Conflicts: Many modern websites use security headers (like
X-Frame-Options) specifically designed to prevent their content from being loaded inside frames. If the destination site has these protections, a cloaked link will simply show a blank page or a connection error.Trust Indicators: Savvy users may feel uneasy if the address bar doesn't update when they navigate to a new section of a site, which can sometimes be flagged by browser security extensions as a potential phishing risk.
URL redirection for cPanel hosting
For more information on how to use the redirection options within cPanel, refer to the video tutorial available on the Redirection page within cPanel. To get to this page in cPanel, as well as how to add in a redirection, follow these instructions:
- Log into cPanel
- Click on the Redirects icon
- Select the domain as well as file or path you wish to redirect from
- Type in the URL that you wish to redirect to
- Select from the available parameters
- Click [Add]
301 redirect using PHP
Create a .php file (example: index.php) and add in the code below. When this is added to your website, any visitors to that file will be redirected to the URL that is entered into the code below.
<?
Header( "HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently" );
Header( "Location: http://www.new-url.com" );
?>
301 redirect using .htaccess
Create a .htaccess file with the below code.
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.newdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]
Place the .htaccess file into your root directory. The above code will redirect all visitors to the site where the .htaccess exists to the new URL you enter into the .htaccess file.