GoDaddy is where a lot of domains live, so it’s also where a lot of redirects start.
The good news: GoDaddy’s built-in forwarding has improved. According to its own help pages, HTTPS is now applied automatically when you set up forwarding.
For sending one domain to one website, that may be all you need. But it has limits worth knowing before you rely on it for a rebrand or migration.
How to forward a domain in GoDaddy
Based on GoDaddy’s help article, the steps are:
Sign in to your Domain Portfolio and select the domain.
Go to DNS, then Forwarding, and select Add Forwarding.
Choose whether to forward the root domain or a subdomain.
Choose
http://orhttps://for the destination and enter the URL.Pick a forwarding type: Permanent (301), Temporary (302) or Forward with masking.
Save. GoDaddy says most changes take effect within an hour, and up to 48 hours globally.
For a permanent move, choose 301. Our guide to 301, 302, 307 and 308 explains why.
What GoDaddy changes behind the scenes
A few details are easy to miss:
Nameservers. If your domain uses nameservers outside GoDaddy, GoDaddy switches it to its own nameservers. If your DNS lived at Cloudflare or elsewhere, check your other records first.
The @ A record. Adding forwarding updates and locks the root A record. To change it later, you delete the forwarding first.
www. To forward
wwwtoo, GoDaddy says to point thewwwCNAME to@.
Masking deserves a warning. It keeps your old domain in the address bar by loading the destination in a frame. Many sites block that, so visitors can see a blank page. For a real move, use a 301 instead.
When GoDaddy forwarding is enough
You have one domain and one destination.
You’re happy for every URL on the old domain to land on the same place.
Your DNS can live at GoDaddy.
A parked domain or a campaign domain that points to your main site is a typical example.
When you need more than forwarding
Forwarding sends the domain somewhere. It doesn’t give you rules for individual pages. That starts to matter when:
The old domain had a real website.
oldbrand.com/pricingshould land onnewbrand.com/pricing, not your homepage.You need wildcard paths. For example,
/blog/*should keep its path on the new domain.Your DNS lives elsewhere. If moving nameservers to GoDaddy isn’t an option, forwarding there gets awkward.
You manage several domains. Keeping all redirects in one dashboard is easier than clicking through each registrar.
You want to see traffic. Analytics tell you whether the old domain is still used and when it’s safe to stop paying for it.
Using GoDaddy with Redirect Supply
You can keep the domain registered at GoDaddy and let Redirect Supply handle the redirects.
Add the domain in Redirect Supply.
In GoDaddy, remove any existing forwarding for that domain. Otherwise it keeps the root record locked.
Add the DNS records Redirect Supply shows you. Our GoDaddy DNS setup guide walks through each screen.
Wait until the domain shows Connected, then create your rules.
Certificates are issued automatically, so https:// works on the old domain. You can add path rules, wildcards and a catch-all, and import many rules at once from a CSV file.
Your email isn’t affected as long as you leave the MX records alone. Redirects only use the web records.
Moving existing forwarding to Redirect Supply
If you already use GoDaddy forwarding and want page-level rules, plan the switch in this order:
Write down where the domain forwards today, and which old URLs still matter.
Create the rules in Redirect Supply first, including a catch-all that matches your current forwarding.
Delete the GoDaddy forwarding, then add the new DNS records straight away.
Wait for the domain to connect, then test.
Doing it in this order keeps the gap short. Visitors may see an error for a few minutes while DNS updates, but not for hours.
Keep an eye on the domain itself
Whatever handles the redirect, the domain stays at GoDaddy. Make sure auto-renew is on and the payment card is current. A redirect only works as long as you own the domain it starts from.
Check it from every angle
After any change, test:
http://olddomain.comhttps://olddomain.comhttps://www.olddomain.comone or two old page URLs
Our redirect tester shows every hop and its status code. If you’re weighing the two approaches, see Redirect Supply vs GoDaddy forwarding.
