How to Enable or Disable Addon Domain Redirection?

Addon domain redirection is as feature that enables a web master to redirect web traffic from one domain to another. As such it can prove of much use in various activities for instance, in circumstances when it is required to merge various websites, repositioning or in circumstances whereby it is required to enhance the various search engine optimization rankings. 

Thus, this knowledge base article will help explain how to enable or disable addon domain redirection and describe various approaches and recommendations for it.

1. Understanding Addon Domain Redirection:

Addon domain redirection is a process in which a second domain join to a primary domain and makes it direct to a subdirectory of the primary domain. If enabled, when visitors of the addon domain come to your site they will be forwarded to the proper content of your primary domain. This can be done either with or without altering the URL being displayed in the user’s browser.

2. Types of Addon Domain Redirection:

a) A 301 or permanent redirect transfers around 90- 99% of the old URL’s ranking power to the new one.

b) 302 Redirect: This is temporarily helpful but is not at all SEO friendly but can be helpful in the short run.

c) Frame Redirect: Loads the target page within a frame, keeping the original URL visible.

d) Meta Refresh: Uses HTML meta tags to redirect after a specified time delay.

3. Enabling Addon Domain Redirection:

3.1 Using cPanel:

a) Open your cPanel account and log in.

b) Go to the "Domains" menu and choose "Addon Domains."

c) Find the addon domain that needs to be redirected.

d) Select the domain by clicking the "Manage Redirection" link.

e) Select the redirect type (frame, 302, or 301).

f) Type the redirect's target URL here.

g) To save the modifications, click "Save."

3.2 Using .htaccess:

a) Access your website's root directory via FTP or File Manager.

b) Locate or create the .htaccess file.

c) Add the following code, replacing "example.com" with your addon domain and "target-url.com" with your desired destination:

   ```

   RewriteEngine On

   RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?example\.com$ [NC]

   RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.target-url.com/$1 [R=301,L]

   ```

d) Save the changes to the .htaccess file.

3.3 Using PHP:

a) Create a new PHP file (e.g., index.php) in the addon domain's root directory.

b) Add the following code, replacing "https://www.target-url.com" with your desired destination:

   ```php

   header("HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently");

   header("Location: https://www.target-url.com");

   exit();

   ?>

   ```

c) Save the file and upload it to your server.

4. Disabling Addon Domain Redirection:

4.1 Using cPanel:

a) Log in to your cPanel.

b) Click on "Addon Domains."

c) Locate the addon domain with active redirection.

d) Click on the "Manage Redirection" link next to the domain.

e) Select "No Redirection" from the options.

f) Click "Save" to apply the changes.

4.2 Using .htaccess:

a) Access your website's root directory via FTP or File Manager.

b) Locate the .htaccess file.

c) Remove or comment out the redirection code by adding a "#" at the beginning of each line:

   ```

   # RewriteEngine On

   # RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www\.)?example\.com$ [NC]

   # RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.target-url.com/$1 [R=301,L]

   ```

d) Save the changes.

4.3 Using PHP:

a) Locate the PHP file responsible for the redirection (e.g., index.php).

b) Either delete the file or replace its contents with your desired non-redirecting code.

5. Best Practices for Addon Domain Redirection:

a) Use 301 redirects for permanent changes to benefit from SEO value transfer.

b) Avoid redirect chains by pointing directly to the final destination URL.

c) Update internal links and sitemaps to reflect the new URL structure.

d) Monitor redirects regularly to ensure they're functioning correctly.

e) Inform users about the redirection, especially for frequently visited pages.

f) Consider setting up redirects at the server level for better performance.

6. Troubleshooting Common Issues:

a) Redirect loops: Make sure the intended URL isn't going back to the source domain.

b) Caching problems: Clear your browser cache and server cache after making changes.

c) SSL certificate errors: Verify that SSL certificates are properly installed for both domains.

d) Broken relative links: Update internal links to use absolute URLs when redirecting to a different domain.

7. Monitoring and Analyzing Redirects:

a) Use web analytics tools to track traffic and user behavior after implementing redirects.

b) Set up custom reports to monitor the performance of redirected pages.

c) Regularly check for 404 errors and set up appropriate redirects for frequently accessed missing pages.

Conclusion:

The redirection of addon domain can, therefore, be enabled or disabled in different ways varying from cPanel, to . htaccess, and PHP. Here are the guidelines about how to manage your domain redirections as a tool that will improve the user experience and, at the same time, retain the SEO value that has been highlighted in this guide. It is critical to always review your redirects periodically to maximize your website’s effectiveness and to make modifications whenever necessary.