DNS Redirects and URL Forwarding

DNS redirects and URL forwarding are techniques to send visitors from one domain or URL to another. While DNS itself doesn't perform HTTP redirects, several DNS-related methods can achieve the same result. Understanding the options helps you choose the right approach.

DNS Redirect vs. HTTP Redirect

It's important to understand that DNS and HTTP redirects work at different layers:

DNS alone cannot change the URL in a browser's address bar. For that, you need an HTTP redirect served by a web server.

Method 1: CNAME Records (DNS-Level Alias)

A CNAME record points one domain to another at the DNS level:

blog.example.com.  3600  CNAME  example.com.

When someone visits blog.example.com, DNS resolves it to example.com's IP address. The browser connects to that IP, but the URL bar still shows blog.example.com.

When to Use CNAME

• Pointing subdomains to cloud services (app.example.com → myapp.herokuapp.com)
• Pointing www to the apex domain
• When you don't need the URL to change in the browser

Limitations

• Doesn't work at the apex domain (use ALIAS instead)
• The URL in the browser doesn't change
• Cannot redirect to a specific path (e.g., can't redirect to example.com/blog)

Method 2: HTTP 301 Redirect (Permanent)

A 301 redirect tells browsers and search engines that a page has permanently moved to a new URL:

HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Location: https://www.example.com/

Example: Redirect Non-WWW to WWW

Nginx:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    return 301 https://www.example.com$request_uri;
}

Apache (.htaccess):

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example\.com [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [L,R=301]

When to Use 301

• Permanently moving a site to a new domain
• Consolidating http:// to https://
• Redirecting example.com to www.example.com (or vice versa)
• Migrating from an old URL structure to a new one

SEO Impact

301 redirects pass most link equity (SEO value) to the new URL. Search engines will eventually update their index to show the new URL.

Method 3: HTTP 302 Redirect (Temporary)

A 302 redirect indicates a temporary move:

HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Location: https://maintenance.example.com/

When to Use 302

• Temporary maintenance pages
• A/B testing different URLs
• Geolocation-based routing to different content
• Any redirect that might be reversed in the future

SEO Impact

302 redirects tell search engines to keep the original URL in their index, since the redirect is temporary.

Method 4: HTTPS Record (DNS-Level)

The newer HTTPS record type can signal to browsers that a domain supports HTTPS, eliminating the need for an HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect:

example.com.  3600  IN  HTTPS  1 . alpn="h2,h3"

This doesn't replace HTTP redirects but reduces the latency of the initial HTTP → HTTPS upgrade for supporting browsers.

Common Redirect Scenarios

Redirect HTTP to HTTPS

DNS setup (point both to the same server):

example.com.      3600  A  192.0.2.1
www.example.com.  3600  A  192.0.2.1

Web server handles the redirect:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

Redirect Apex to WWW

DNS setup:

example.com.      3600  A      192.0.2.1
www.example.com.  3600  CNAME  myapp.example.com.

Web server on 192.0.2.1:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name example.com;
    return 301 https://www.example.com$request_uri;
}

Redirect Old Domain to New Domain

DNS setup (old domain points to a redirect server):

olddomain.com.      3600  A  192.0.2.99
www.olddomain.com.  3600  A  192.0.2.99

Redirect server:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name olddomain.com www.olddomain.com;
    return 301 https://newdomain.com$request_uri;
}

Redirect Subdomain to External Service

DNS setup:

docs.example.com.  3600  CNAME  example.gitbook.io.

No redirect needed — the CNAME handles it at the DNS level. The content is served from GitBook but accessed via your subdomain.

301 vs. 302 vs. CNAME: Decision Guide

Setting Up DNS for Redirects in DNScale

For most redirect scenarios, you need DNS records pointing to the server that will issue the HTTP redirect.

Using the Dashboard

1. Navigate to your zone in DNScale
2. Add an A record pointing to your redirect server's IP
3. Or add a CNAME record pointing to the destination domain (for subdomain aliases)

Using the API

# Point the domain to your redirect server
curl -X POST "https://api.dnscale.eu/v1/zones/{zone_id}/records" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "@",
    "type": "A",
    "content": "192.0.2.99",
    "ttl": 3600
  }'

Related Topics

• CNAME Records Explained — how CNAME aliases work
• CNAME vs A Record — choosing the right record type
• What Is an ALIAS Record — CNAME-like behavior at the apex
• What Is an HTTPS Record — signal HTTPS support via DNS

Conclusion

DNS records and HTTP redirects work together to route users to the right destination. Use CNAME for subdomain aliases where the URL doesn't need to change, and HTTP 301/302 redirects for permanent or temporary URL changes. DNScale makes it easy to configure the DNS side — just point your records to the right servers and let your web server handle the redirect logic.