What Is Web Forwarding?

Date First Published: 26th November 2022

Topic: Web Design & Development

Subtopic: Web Technologies

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 5/10

Learn more about what web forwarding is in this article.

Web forwarding, also known as domain forwarding, is a feature provided by a web host or domain registrar that allows the owner to automatically forward a domain name to another URL so that visitors are redirected to a different web address. Web forwarding is often used to redirect misspellings, typos, and previously used domain names to the correct URL.

Web forwarding may also be used to boost online presence. In the early days of the World Wide Web when lots of short and memorable domain names were available and will very likely be taken now, it was easy for companies to register domain names to direct traffic to their website from people who manually type the URL. For example, an online store that sells running shoes and is called 'Running Shoe Company' may simply register the domain name 'runningshoes.com' and redirect it to 'runningshoecompany.com' in the hope of website traffic from people who type that memorable domain name into their web browser.

Note:

Web forwarding is not limited to redirecting a domain name to a new domain name that is used by the website. It can also refer to redirecting a domain name to another one not owned by the website owner, such as their social media page URL.

Types Of Web Forwarding

301 Web Forwarding

This is a permanent type of web forwarding where a 301 redirect is created to redirect the old domain name to the new location. It tells search engines that the domain name is permanently pointing at the new URL and ensures that it is indexed properly. This type of web forwarding should be used unless the owner plans to point their domain to another location in the near future. Even though it is known as a permanent redirect, it is still possible to change the permanent web forwarding settings if necessary.

302 Web Forwarding

This is a temporary type of web forwarding where a 302 redirect is created to temporarily redirect the domain name to a new location. It tells search engines that a page has moved, but not permanently. Search engines will continue checking the old domain name and the destination page may not be properly indexed. Temporary web forwarding should only be used if the owner is sure that the forwarding settings will be changed again soon.