The Web Redirect (WR) record (also known as URL redirect or HTTP forwarding) allows you to redirect the requests for http://yourdomain.com to http://anotherdomain.com. It is a common technique for making a web page available under more than one URL address.
The WR record has the following look in your ClouDNS Control Panel:
| Host: | Type: | Points to: | TTL |
| yourdomain.com | WR | http://anotherdomain.com | 1 Hour |
WR records are valuable if you need to redirect traffic from an old URL to a new URL or if you want to send visitors to a different page or website. This can be valuable if you've changed your website structure, rebranded your business, or moved your website to a new domain.
Web Redirects are used for various reasons:
Go to your DNS zone management page and click on Add new record. For Type choose Web Redirect and type as follows:
There are two different types of web redirects - 301 Redirect (permanent redirect) and 302 Redirect (temporary redirect). Each one of these types has its own specific purpose and uses.
This type of redirect is a constant type of unmasked redirect. It is used if your website is permanently moved to a new address and you want it to be indexed by search engines and routed to the new URL. It is considered to be the most efficient and search engine-friendly method for webpage redirection.
This is a temporary type of unmasked redirect. It is used if a certain URL has been changed to a different address temporarily. Search engines will index the original URL and not the destination URL and display the original URL in search results.
Redirect with frame (also known as URL masking or URL cloaking) is similar to Web Redirect, except that instead of redirecting the client to your web page, the web page is displayed in a frame from the server. With this type of redirection, the visitor's browser will display your domain name (for example, www.yourdomain.com) and the pointed web site.
Note: Redirect with frame is available only for Premium, DDoS Protected and GeoDNS subscriptions.
You can choose to redirect and/or to save the request path for example - if your user request yourdomain.com/path, "/path" will be saved on redirect). For example if you use Web Redirect record with "Save path" option checked the result will be - when you open yourdomain.com with a certain path behind it (yourdomain.com/path1/path2/) you will be redirected to your target with the same path (anotherdomain.com/path1/path2/).
You can use these variables for your record:
{*host*} = The current host (ex. www.yourdomain.com)
{*domain*} = The current domain (yourdomain.com)
{*subdomain*} = The value of the field Host (ex. your-name)
{*wildcard*} = The value of the field Host to (ex. your-name)
Example 1:
Host: www
Points to: http://{*domain*}/?ref={*host*}
What will happen?
When a user goes to http://www.yourdomain.com he will be redirected to http://yourdomain.com/?ref=www.yourdomain.com
Example 2:
Host: ref-id-123
Points to: http://some-referal-site.net/?ref={*host*}
What will happen?
When a user goes to http://ref-id-123.yourdomain.com he will be redirected to http://some-referal-site.net/?ref=ref-id-123.yourdomain.com
Example 3:
Host: your-name
Points to: http://some-referal-site.net/?ref={*subdomain*}
What will happen?
When a user goes to http://your-name.yourdomain.com he will be redirected to http://some-referal-site.net/?ref=your-name
Example 4:
Host: *
Points to: http://{*wildcard*}.some-referal-site.net
What will happen?
When a user goes to http://your-name.master-zone-test-202206011252.com he will be redirected to http://your-name.some-referal-site.net
ClouDNS provides full support for Web Redirect records for all our DNS services, including the listed below. Just write to our technical support, if you need any assistance with your Web Redirect records configuration. Our Technical Support team is online for you 24/7 via live chat and tickets.
Question: My users often mistype my domain. Can I register these "misspelled" domains and redirect them to the "correct" domain via Web Redirect record?
Answer: Yes, absolutely. This is one of the main benefits of using web redirects.
Question: How many web redirect records can I create for a domain?
Answer: There is no limit to the number of web redirect records you can create for a domain. However, keep in mind that too many redirects can slow down your website.
Question: How can I test my web redirect record?
Answer: You can test your web redirect record by entering the old URL into a browser and making sure that it redirects to the new URL.
Question: How long does it take for a web redirect record to take effect?
Answer: It can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours for a web redirect record to take effect, depending on the TTL (time to live).