DNS URL Redirect: What Works and What Doesn’t

Published on May 12, 2026

If you need a dns url redirect, the first thing to clear up is simple: DNS does not redirect web traffic. DNS only answers with records like A, AAAA, or CNAME. The actual redirect happens on a web server, reverse proxy, or registrar feature sitting in front of the domain.

This is where many setups go slightly sideways. A domain owner points a record and expects example.com to forward to www.example.com or to a new site path, but nothing moves. DNS did its job. It translated the name to an IP. It did not tell the browser to go somewhere else.

DNS URL redirect vs DNS records

If you want visitors sent from one URL to another, you need an HTTP redirect - usually 301 for permanent moves or 302 for temporary ones. That redirect is returned by a service that can speak HTTP or HTTPS. DNS cannot do this by itself because it works before the browser requests the web page.

A few providers label this feature as domain forwarding, which causes some confusion. Under the hood, they are not doing magic DNS. They are operating a forwarding service that listens for the request and answers with a redirect.

What to use instead of DNS for redirects

The clean options are a web server redirect, a control panel redirect feature, or registrar forwarding if you do not host the site yourself. For production use, server-side redirects are usually best because you control status codes, HTTPS behavior, and edge cases like preserving paths and query strings.

If the goal is only to make root and www behave correctly, a common pattern is to point both hostnames to the same server and force one canonical version in Nginx or Apache. If the goal is moving an entire site, set a 301 redirect and keep the old domain alive long enough for browsers and search engines to catch up. This is not the most beautiful DNS situation sometimes, but it is under control.

Common checks before you change anything

Verify where the domain resolves now, whether a web server is answering on port 80 and 443, and whether SSL is already valid for both names. HTTPS redirects fail very loudly if the certificate does not match. Also check TTL values, because DNS cache can make a fixed setup look broken for a while.

If you are running infrastructure for clients or stores, test both with and without www, over HTTP and HTTPS, and with a sample deep URL. A redirect that works only on the homepage is a small gremlin, not a finished job.

At kodu.cloud, this is usually handled at the server or panel level, where the behaviour is predictable and easy to monitor.

Andres Saar Customer Care Engineer