Websites often change by registering a new domain name, altering their URL structure, or relocating pages. These changes can cause issues when maintaining traffic levels, preserving SEO rankings, and ensuring a positive user experience. This is where domain redirects become necessary. In this guide, we show you how to set up domain redirects using the cPanel dashboard.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
How to Setup Domain Redirects in cPanel
This article assumes that you have already logged into cPanel from your Domains.co.za Account.
1. From your cPanel Dashboard, scroll through the Tools to the Domains section and click Redirects.
2. Choose the Type of redirection – whether you want it to be Temporary or Permanent.
3. Enter the Redirect URL or address you wish to redirect.
4. Next, enter the Destination URL. This is the URL to which you want visitors to be redirected.
5. Finalise this by clicking Add.
That’s it! The redirect should be created. Now, when a user visits your redirect page, they will automatically be taken to the new destination page.
At the bottom of the page, you can also view a list of domain redirects. You can delete these if they are no longer needed.
Additional Information
Advantages of Using Domain Redirection on Your Website
Changed Domain Name
If you decide to change your domain name, setting up redirects ensures that visitors wishing to access your old domain will automatically be redirected to the new one. This helps maintain your website’s traffic and prevents users from encountering issues.
Relocated Pages or Content
When you move pages or content to different URLs within your website or to a completely new site, redirects ensure that users trying to access the old URLs are forwarded to the correct new ones. This prevents broken links and maintains a smooth user experience.
Preserving SEO
Redirects, especially permanent ones like 301 redirects, help preserve your website’s SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) rankings. A 301 redirect passes the SEO value from the old URL to the new one, signalling to search engines like Google that the content has permanently moved.
Prevent Duplicate Content
If the same content appears on multiple URLs, search engines may view it as duplicate content, which can negatively affect SEO rankings. Redirects (especially 301 redirects) help consolidate links and tell search engines which domain is the preferred version, also known as a canonical URL.
Enhanced User Experience
Redirects contribute to a better user experience by automatically guiding visitors to the right page or site. Without redirects, users may encounter broken links or errors, which leads to frustration and potentially decreased traffic.
Marketing and Branding
If you have multiple domain names or variations of your domain, redirects can help direct visitors to your primary website’s domain. This ensures that all traffic is directed to your main site, strengthening your marketing and branding efforts.
Login to Domains.co.za Account
1. Go to the Domains.co.za Login website page.
2. Enter your Email and Password and click the “Sign In” button.
3. You will see the Domains.co.za Dashboard, displaying the Manage Account menu on the left and your Account Information, Account Overview and Open Support Tickets on the right.
Login to cPanel from your Domains.co.za Dashboard
4. Click on Manage Services to view the sub-dropdown menu and select the hosting package for the domain you want to work with – in our example we are using Web Hosting.
5. Click the Manage button to the right of the domain name you want to access.
6. The display will now show Product Information, Quick Manage, Resource Usage and Site Statistics for that domain name.
7. Under Product Information, scroll down to Control Panel, which will display cPanel to the right, and click on the Login button.
8. The cPanel Dashboard will now be displayed.
