Guides

Web Forwarding Explained: Redirect Your Domain to Any URL

2026-07-06 · OSIR Team

Summary: Web forwarding (also called URL forwarding or domain redirect) sends anyone who visits a domain you own straight to another web address - a shop, a landing page, a social profile, or a site hosted elsewhere. You keep the memorable domain; visitors land on the real destination. At OSIR the redirect runs on our own forwarding servers with automatic HTTPS, so https:// works from day one with no certificate to install. This guide explains what happens behind the scenes and, more importantly, the short list of do's and don'ts that keep a forward live.

What web forwarding does

You enter a target URL, and every request to your domain gets an HTTP redirect to that target. Type yourdomain.com, land on https://the-real-site.com/page. Nothing is copied or hosted - the browser is simply told "the page you want lives over there," which is why forwarding is instant to set up and needs no hosting of its own.

Define: an HTTP redirect is a small response (status 301 or 302) carrying a Location header. The browser reads it and immediately requests the new address.

How it works under the hood

Turning on a forward wires up three things that must stay in sync:

Because the redirect happens on our servers, there is no plugin, no separate redirect service, and no cert management on your side. The one requirement: your domain must use our nameservers so we can point its A record at the forwarding server.

Define: automatic HTTPS means the forwarding server obtains and renews the TLS certificate for your domain on demand - the first https:// visit triggers issuance, which takes a few moments, then it is cached and renewed indefinitely.

The do's - keep a forward working

• Do keep your nameservers pointed at us (ns1.osir.com / ns3.osir.com). This is the single most important rule. If you move your domain's nameservers elsewhere, its A record no longer points at our forwarding server and the redirect stops. Our system notices this and auto-suspends the forward, then auto-restores it the moment your DNS points back - but while it is drifted, the link is down.
• Do include the scheme in the target (https:// or http://). example.com alone is rejected; https://example.com is correct.
• Do pick the right redirect type. 301 Permanent is cached hard by browsers and search engines - ideal for a permanent move. 302 Temporary is not cached - use it if the destination might change, or while you are still testing.
• Do give it a short while after enabling. DNS needs to propagate and the HTTPS certificate is issued on the first visit, so the very first load can take a moment before everything is live.

The don'ts - what breaks a forward

• Don't forward to a specific page with "preserve path" left on. This is the most common mistake. With preserve path enabled, whatever path a visitor arrives with is appended to your target. That is perfect when the target is a site root (https://shop.com -> shop.com/summer follows /summer), but it breaks when the target is a single page: forwarding to https://site.com/store/Index.htm with preserve-path on turns a visit to your root into https://site.com/store/Index.htm/ - an extra slash the destination server does not recognise, so it 404s. Rule of thumb: pointing at one exact page? Turn preserve path off. Pointing at a whole site? Leave it on.
• Don't point a domain back at itself. Forwarding yourdomain.com to https://yourdomain.com (or its www) creates an endless loop; we reject it at setup.
• Don't set conflicting records at the apex. Web forwarding manages your root A record. If you later replace it with your own hosting IP, the forward will drift and suspend - use forwarding or host at the root, not both.
• Don't assume moving your DNS away keeps the forward. It will not. Forwarding is tied to our nameservers; if you transfer DNS control elsewhere, recreate the redirect there or point the nameservers back.

When you might use it instead of hosting

Forwarding shines when you own a name but the content lives somewhere you do not control the DNS for: a marketplace store, a booking system, a link-in-bio page, a campaign microsite, or a memorable short domain that should land on a longer URL. For a site you host yourself, use normal DNS records instead - forwarding is for sending visitors elsewhere, cleanly and over HTTPS.

Web Forwarding FAQ

What is web forwarding?

Web forwarding (URL forwarding) makes a domain you own redirect visitors to another web address. The browser receives a 301 or 302 redirect and lands on your chosen target URL. Nothing is hosted on the domain itself - it simply points elsewhere.

Does web forwarding support HTTPS?

Yes. The forwarding server issues and renews a TLS certificate for your domain automatically, so https://yourdomain.com works without you installing anything. The certificate is obtained on the first visit, which can take a few moments the very first time.

Why does my forward add a slash and land on a broken page?

Because "preserve path" is on while the target is a single page. With preserve path enabled, the visitor's path (at minimum /) is appended to the target, turning .../Index.htm into .../Index.htm/, which the destination does not recognise. Turn preserve path off when forwarding to one specific page; keep it on only when the target is a site root.

My forward suddenly stopped working - why?

Almost always because the domain's nameservers were changed away from ours. Forwarding relies on our nameservers to point the domain's A record at the forwarding server. When DNS drifts away, the forward auto-suspends; it auto-restores as soon as the nameservers point back to ns1.osir.com / ns3.osir.com.

Should I use a 301 or a 302 redirect?

Use 301 Permanent when the move is permanent - it is cached by browsers and search engines and passes SEO signals. Use 302 Temporary when the destination might change or while testing, since it is not cached.

Does www forward too?

Yes, when "include www" is enabled both yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com redirect to your target. It is on by default.

Can I forward to any URL?

Any valid http:// or https:// address, as long as it does not point back at the same domain (that would loop). Include the scheme - a bare example.com without https:// is not accepted.

Set up forwarding in a couple of clicks

Every domain at OSIR can be forwarded from the dashboard - enter a target, choose your options, and we handle the DNS, the redirect and the HTTPS certificate. Browse the extensions directory and pricing to register a name, or automate everything via API and MCP. New to DNS? Start with DNS and Nameservers Explained.