Domain Pointing
The process of setting & redirecting multiple or a single domain to your primary domain or pointing one domain to another is called as Domain Pointing. It can be deployed to point a domain to a specific directory or folder of another domain/site. For example, pointing http://exampledomain.com to http://testdomain123.com/testpagefor/. Here exampledomain.com can be seen pointing to /testpagefor directory of http://testdomain123.com.
Domain Pointing helps in maintaining two dissimilar and different web sites within a single hosting account thereby reducing the hosting charges.
This useful convenience can be rolled in a few ways as described below one-by-one.
– Domain Forward
All domain forwarding does is send a website that has been linked to another website. For instance, when you view the website http://exampledomain.com, it will automatically direct you to http://testdomain123.com. The website is accessible at both domains in this manner. Email service is unaffected by domain forward since the two hosted domains are maintained entirely separate.
The “Redirects” function in cPanel makes it simple to set up domain forwarding. To forward a domain, just create it in Plesk. Then, under the “Hosting Type” menu, choose “Forwarding” rather as “Web Site Hosting,” and adjust the remaining parameters to your preference.
– 301 Redirect
301 Redirect can be deployed when you already have a website at http://exampledomain.com, but still want it to be forwarded/pointed to http://testdomain123.com. Or it can be explained as a permanent redirect from one URL to the other.
It is used when required to alter the URL of a web page as it is displayed in search engine. 301 redirect, can be set in numerous ways , by using a htaccess file, Perl, PHP, JavaScript, etc. It’s also important to note that 301 redirects can be utilized to redirect individual pages and not only entire websites.
– Domain Alias
Also called as domain stacking, mirrors all services including email service, etc. of a domain for the pointed domain. A domain alias can have separate custom DNS records, can own DNS zone and separate mail service.
It is noteworthy that the use of domain alias can bring about negative impact to the site and a drop in page rank can be seen. We recommend the use of 301 Redirect if you care about your web site ranking.
