You have an old domain that still gets traffic, has links pointing to it, or simply needs to send people somewhere new.
There’s just one problem: there’s no website on it anymore.
It might seem like you need to keep paying for hosting just to make the redirect work. You don’t.
A domain can keep redirecting visitors even when there’s no traditional website behind it. You still need something to handle the request, but that something doesn’t have to be a full hosting setup.
Why DNS alone isn’t enough
This part can be a little confusing because redirects and DNS often get mentioned together.
DNS tells browsers where to find a domain. A redirect tells them where to go next.
So if you want:
oldbrand.com → newbrand.com
you can’t create that HTTP redirect using a standard DNS record alone. DNS can point oldbrand.com toward infrastructure capable of handling the request, but something still needs to receive it and respond with the redirect.
Traditionally, that might be the server hosting your old website. But if the website is gone, keeping an entire hosting account around for that one job can feel like overkill.
And it usually is.
What can handle the redirect instead?
You have a few options.
Some domain registrars offer basic domain forwarding. This can work well when you simply need one domain to point to another, although the features and HTTPS support vary between providers.
You can also keep your existing hosting and configure redirects there. That gives you control, but it means maintaining hosting even if there’s no longer a website to host.
The other option is to use dedicated redirect infrastructure. Instead of pointing the domain to a website, you point it to a service whose job is simply to receive requests and return redirects.
That’s the approach Redirect Supply takes.
Your old domain stays yours. Its DNS sends requests to Redirect Supply, and Redirect Supply handles where those requests should go.
No old website required.
How to redirect a domain with Redirect Supply
If you’re using Redirect Supply, the setup is fairly short.
Add the domain you want to redirect.
Redirect Supply generates the DNS records required for that domain.
Add those records at your DNS provider.
Wait for the domain status to change from Pending to Connected.
Create your redirect rule and choose its destination.
Test the old domain to make sure it reaches the right place.
You don’t need to manually verify the DNS setup. Redirect Supply checks it automatically, and once everything is configured correctly, the domain becomes Connected.
DNS changes aren’t always instant, so the Pending status can stick around for a little while. In many cases propagation only takes a few minutes, but it depends on the DNS provider.
Once the domain is Connected and your rule is live, requests can be handled without a website sitting behind the old domain.
Don’t forget about HTTPS
There’s one detail that’s easy to miss.
People won’t necessarily visit:
http://oldbrand.com
They may visit:
https://oldbrand.com
And if the secure connection can’t be established, the browser may never get far enough to receive your redirect.
So whatever handles the redirect also needs to be able to deal with HTTPS for the source domain. This is one reason simply pointing a few DNS records around isn’t the same thing as having a working redirect.
With Redirect Supply, that infrastructure is handled for you. Once the domain is properly connected, requests are served through Cloudflare’s edge network rather than relying on the hosting that used to run the old website.
Redirect the whole domain or individual URLs?
Sometimes you really do want everything to go to one place.
Maybe you own an old campaign domain and simply want anyone visiting it to reach your main website. A global rule can handle that.
But if the old domain used to contain a full website, it’s worth being a little more careful.
Say you have:
oldbrand.com/pricingoldbrand.com/contactoldbrand.com/about
If equivalent pages exist on the new website, sending every one of those URLs to newbrand.com throws away useful context. Someone looking for pricing should ideally still reach pricing.
A better setup might be:
oldbrand.com/pricing → newbrand.com/plansoldbrand.com/contact → newbrand.com/contactoldbrand.com/about → newbrand.com/company
For a permanent move, a 301 redirect is usually the right choice. Redirect Supply also supports 302, 307 and 308 redirects when you need different behavior.
You can cancel the hosting, but keep the domain
This is the distinction that matters most.
If the old website is no longer needed and your redirects are being handled elsewhere, you generally don’t need to keep its hosting just for the redirects.
But don’t cancel the domain.
As long as people, search engines, bookmarks or backlinks are still using URLs on that domain, you need to keep control of it and its DNS for those redirects to continue working.
Before switching off old hosting, do a quick check:
Make sure your domain is Connected.
Check that all important redirect rules are in place.
Test both the domain itself and important old URLs.
Test HTTPS URLs too.
Only then cancel hosting you no longer need.
If you’re moving an entire website or changing domains, Google recommends keeping site-move redirects in place for at least a year. In practice, keeping useful redirects running for longer often makes sense, especially while old backlinks and bookmarks are still out there.
A redirect doesn’t need a website
That’s really the simple answer.
You don’t need to host a website just to redirect a domain. You need to own and control the domain, point it toward infrastructure capable of receiving its requests, and tell that infrastructure where visitors should go.
Redirect Supply separates that job from your website hosting. Your old website can disappear, your old hosting can be cancelled, and the domain can keep sending people exactly where they need to go.
Sometimes all you need from an old domain is the redirect.
There’s no reason to keep an entire website alive just to get it.
