How to do Domain name Masking?

What is Domain Masking?

Domain masking lets you show a unique URL in the browser's address bar and send visitors to another website. This creates the impression that the masked domain is the actual website, while in reality, it just links to another domain.

As a result of the above opinions, whenever a person types www. example. Com will perceive the letters "www." as part of the URL address, not as the abbreviation for the World Wide Web. another site. Com, but when you look at their address bar, the URL that appears will be www. example. com.

Why Use Domain Masking?

There are a few key reasons to consider domain masking:

Branding: Concealing your domain enables you to craft a URL that is both professional and easy to remember, aligning with your brand.

Protection of privacy: You will be surprised to learn that you can hide the original domain and make it look like it belongs to you on another third-party platform.

Redirection: Other features include domain masking, where visitors are redirected to another website but do not realize that they are at a different website.

How to Implement Domain Masking

There are a few different methods to mask your domain:

Using .htaccess

Editing the .htaccess file in your web server's document root folder is a straightforward method to conceal your domain. This is the way:

- Log into the File Manager's control panel or the cPanel if you use a web hosting account.

- Find the . to the actual file of '.htaccess' located in the server's root directory; usually, it is public_html or www.

- Asia Pacific needs to make alterations to the. Apache using the .htaccess file by adding the code given.

RewriteEngine On

RewriteRule ^$ http://www.example.com [L,R=301]

Substitute www. example. Since it works as an add-on to the website's main page, you can use com with the desired URL for redirection.

Make sure to store the modifications to the .htaccess document.

When a visitor frequents your domain, they are redirected to the said URL, but the original domain is displayed in the browser.

Using an HTML Iframe

Another method is to create an HTML iframe that loads the content from the target website. Here's an example:

XML

Substitute www. example. A request is made to the com with the requested unique URL for its presentation.

Retrieve this code and store it in an index. .html file that should be placed in the root directory of the Web server's documents. When a visitor comes to your domain, they can see the content that has been posted in the iframe retrieved from the given URL.

Using URL Forwarding

Many domain registrars and hosting providers offer URL forwarding functionality as an intrinsic feature. This allows you to redirect your domain's URL to a different location while no actual files on the server are affected.

In cPanel, you can navigate to Domains > URL Forwarding and configure a redirect. Choose the correct forwarding category (such as 301 Moved Permanently) and input the desired URL.

Drawbacks of Domain Masking

Even though domain masking can be beneficial in specific circumstances, it also comes with some disadvantages:

Decreased Visibility: Hiding your domain can make visitors understand their location on the internet and the website they are accessing.

Potential SEO problems: Masking your domain could cause duplicate content problems if the destination website contains identical content. Search engines can penalize your website for practicing such a strategy.

Bookmarking and sharing challenges: It becomes a problem for users to bookmark or share on social sites since the URL displayed differs from the actual site URL.

Security concerns: Some visitors might see domain masking as a method to conceal malicious behavior or phishing efforts.

Alternatives to Domain Masking

Instead of domain masking, consider these alternatives:

301 Permanent Redirects: Establish a lasting 301 redirection from your domain to the desired website. This provides advantages for SEO and visibility.

Subdomain Forwarding: To do so, use a subdomain, for instance, the subdomain.. example. Change the visitor's location to another website you intend to market.

Branded Shortlinks: Create shortlinks with your brand incorporated in them, such as examples. The com/target aims to reach the audience at a specific location on a different site.

Conclusion

Domain masking might be helpful on certain occasions, but a decision should be made after critically weighing the pros and cons. When managing your domain and website redirects, focus on transparency, SEO, and security.