Domain Forwarding 101

Domain forwarding is simply the process whereby one Uniform Resource Locator(“URL”) is redirected to another. URL is the www address of your website. URL is useful for many different purposes. It is a simple one-time manual process for you don’t need a domain name forwarding software.

Multiple domain names pointing to one

If you have an ecommerce website that sells multiple products, you may have multiple domain names customized for each product and have it pointed to one main website. So say you might be selling toys and clothes for kids on your website. You may decide to purchase the following domain names: www.toys-for-kids-on-my-site.com and www.clothes-for-kids-on-my-site.com. Then you might forward both domain names to your main site www.on-my-site.com. Or let’s say you simply want more domains for the single product you sell online. You can arrange it such way that every domain name sends the visitor to you main website.

Many website owners also purchase different extensions available of their website’s URL. For example, if you own www.your-website.com, you may also consider www.your-website.net, www.your-website.org, www.your-website.us, www.your-website.eu and the list goes on. Forwarding allows a visitor to land on your main webpage regardless of what extension they type.

Domain forwarding is also very useful for those of you that have existing websites that are hosted with free service providers and you’d rather have a URL address that is more customized and professional looking for your purposes. One use of domain forwarding is making a long-winded domain name short.

You may consider putting your current website on hold and jumping into a new venture online, or for whatever reason leave your current website for a newer one. Consider forwarding your existing domain to your new domain immediately. By doing so you will move all your existing traffic to your new website. All that hard work you put in establishing a loyal traffic should not go to waste. If they liked your initial website, chances are they will at least consider your latest one.

Free domain name forwarding

How much does it cost to forward a domain name? Absolutely nothing! Domain forwarding used to cost around 20 bucks per year but is offered for free quite commonly today. In fact if you register with GoDaddy your forwarding options will be provided free of charge. You may keep forwarding active for as long as you own your domain name. Even if you already have a domain name but your provider charges you for forwarding, consider transferring your name to GoDaddy for only $ 9.95. All you have to do afterwards is sign up for domain forwarding. The process is absolutely painless and can be summarized as follows:

Register your domain name. If you already have a domain transfer it to www.godaddy.com

Choose the Domain “Forwarding” option in your Domain Management area

If you already have a domain name through GoDaddy, navigate to Domain Forwarding page and activate forwarding.

Regardless of your reasons to forward domain names, it is recommended that you mask your domain name. Masking is a free option and simply means that your selected domain name is the main URL that appears on the visitor’s web browser.

For example, you have a Friendster page whose URL reads www.friendster.com/you/@somehostoutthere/234.4343.html, and you register the domain name www.your-website.com, a visitor that types in www.your-website.com will see only this address in their web browser despite your actual Friendster page having a long and complicated URL address.

Can you see how this can be extremely helpful if you are advertising for a business? Your domain name is not only shorter, but it is easier to remember and you are building your own brand the more your page is exposed.

Sunil S. is the Author of Easy Extra Money Online and the Extra Money Blog,  a Blog dedicated to helping hard working and successful individuals get more out of life.

Related Domain Register Articles

Domain Forwarding 101