Web forwarding

Examples of possible values for domain forwarding are shown here.

• root domains
  • example.com
  • https://example.com
  • http://example.com
• subdomains
  • www.example.com
  • https://support.example.com
  • http://info.example.com
• folders
  • www.example.com/marketing
  • https://www.example.com/products
  • http://www.example.com/services
• web pages
  • www.example.com/welcome.html
  • https://www.example.com/login.aspx
  • http://www.example.com/page1.htm
• IP addresses
  • 123.123.123.123 (IPv4)
  • 2002:db80:1:2:3:4:567:89ab (IPv6)

Redirect type determines how routers and browsers store your web forwarding information. You can choose

• Temporary (HTTP 302) redirect allows you to propagate changes to your forwarding address quickly.
  • Browsers typically do not cache 302 redirects.
  • Can force a lookup to the routing table or DNS server for the redirect every time. 
  • Changes you make to web forwarding propagate very quickly.
• Permanent (HTTP 301) redirect allows browsers to cache the forwarding address.
  • This may help the address resolve slightly more quickly on subsequent visits from the same browser.
  • Changes may take longer to propagate.

HTTP 302 is the default for Google Domains. If you are unsure, use 302.

Redirect type and search ranking

When they were first implemented, 301 and 302 redirects would affect search ranking differently. Now, most search engines, including Google, do not differentiate between the redirect types. 

Forwards the path after the domain name to the same path at the new address.

For example, if you are forwarding documentationexample.com to example.com:

• Path forwarding on: documentationexample.net/about.html redirects to example.com/about.html 

• Path forwarding off: documentationexample.net/about.html redirects to example.com

Path forwarding is off by default.

Use path forwarding when your domain you are redirecting to has the same structure as the your current domain.

Once you have set up domain forwarding, it's important to verify that your domain will be forwarded to the location you intended.

1. Once you have set up Web forwarding, the the Website tab should display a small image of your destination site. 
2. Click the image to open the destination site in a new browser tab. 
   Note: It may take several minutes for your changes to propagate. If your destination does not display, check the URL and try again. 

When you set up web forwarding, Google Domains creates a Domain forward synthetic record which contains all the necessary A, AAA, and CNAME record values.

To see view the Domain forward record:

1. Click the DNS tab   and scroll down to Synthetic records. 
2. Click the  symbol next to the Domain forward synthetic record to view its details. 
3. Note the A, AAAA, and CNAME resource records within the synthetic record that are created for you.