• Donnerstag, Oktober 2, 2025

There are several effective methods for redirecting visitors from one domain or page to another. Among these, 301 redirects are a particularly user and search engine-friendly style of HTTP redirect. A 301 redirect signals to search engines that a specific website or page has permanently relocated to a new URL. For instance, if you are rebranding an existing business from "oldbusiness.com" to "newbusiness.com," you would use a 301 redirect to forward the old domain to the new one, preserving search engine rankings and user experience.

For most of the redirect types discussed in this article to function correctly (with the exception of manual redirects), it is essential to ensure that your domain name is configured to use DNS hosting. This is typically included with many hosting plans. Otherwise, you will need to manually create a DNS record within the control panel provided by your DNS hosting company.

Implementing a 301 redirect can be achieved through various means, such as using an .htaccess file, PHP code, JavaScript code, or Perl code. It is important to note that 301 redirects can be applied to individual pages, not just entire websites. However, some methods outlined below are designed primarily for domain-wide redirection. Here are the available options for setting up a domain forward or redirect:

  1. Plesk Domain Aliasing: This method exclusively forwards one domain to another and can optionally be applied to DNS, Web, and Mail services.
  2. Plesk Domain Forwarding: This allows you to forward a domain to any specified URL and applies only to web traffic.
  3. Plesk Subdomain Forwarding: Similar to domain forwarding, this enables redirection of a subdomain to any URL, solely for web traffic.
  4. Redirecting any URL to any URL via custom web server directives or code: This approach applies specifically to web content.
  5. Registrar Domain Forwarding: While this can forward a domain to any URL, some registrars may not use proper HTTP status codes, such as 301 or 307. For this reason, registrar-level domain forwarding is generally not recommended unless you are certain of its proper implementation. It applies only to web traffic.

Redirect with a Domain Alias

If your goal is to forward an entire domain to another, such as "mydomain.com" to "mynewdomain.com," Plesk offers a straightforward solution by adding it as a domain alias. Plesk will automatically configure a 301 redirect for you, ensuring a permanent and SEO-friendly redirection.

  1. Log in to Plesk and locate the Add Domain Alias button.
  2. Enter the domain you wish to forward (the source domain) and then select the domain you wish to forward it to (the destination domain).
  3. Leave all checkboxes at their default settings. If you prefer not to forward mail for this alias, uncheck the "Mail Service" box.
  4. Click the OK button to save your configurations.

Your domain-to-domain redirect will now be active.

Advanced Usage Note:

For scenarios where you wish to alias the DNS and Mail services but redirect the domain to a specific page on the main site, you can disable the "Redirect with the HTTP 301 code" function. Subsequently, add the following code to your site’s .htaccess file:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?youraliasdomain.tld [NC]    
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://yourmaindomain.tld/location [L,R=301]

This directive instructs the server that if a user visits "youraliasdomain.tld," they should be redirected specifically to the new location on "yourmaindomain.tld," rather than simply aliasing the entire site. This technique is particularly useful for routing custom domains to dedicated landing pages on your primary website.

Redirect with Domain Forwarding

This method allows for more flexible domain forwarding, where you can specify any destination URL.

  1. If the domain has not yet been added in Plesk, log in and select the Add Domain button. Choose "Blank Website," enter the domain name, and then, if the option appears, select "Forwarding" as the "Hosting Type." If this option is not visible, confirm the domain addition and proceed to the next step.
  2. If the domain already exists in Plesk, or if the "Hosting Type" option was not available in step 1, find your domain in the Plesk list. Click on "Hosting and DNS," then "Hosting." Below the domain name, you will see "Hosting Type" with a dropdown menu. Click this dropdown and select "Forwarding."
  3. Enter the complete destination URL to which the domain should forward.
  4. Select the forwarding type or response code carefully. If there is a possibility you might remove this forward in the future, "Moved Temporarily" is recommended. For permanent moves, choose "Moved Permanently." Frame forwarding is generally not advised due to potential SEO and usability issues.
  5. Click OK to save your settings.

Your domain-to-URL redirect is now successfully implemented.

Redirect with Subdomain Forwarding

To forward a subdomain to an alternative URL, follow these steps, applicable for Plesk 11.5 and newer versions:

  1. Log in to Plesk and click the Add Subdomain button.
  2. Enter your desired subdomain name and keep the default settings as they are.
  3. Press OK to create the subdomain.
  4. Under the newly created Subdomain’s settings, select Hosting Settings.
  5. Locate "Hosting type" and click the Change link next to "Website."
  6. In the dropdown menu beside "Hosting Type," choose Forwarding.
  7. Input the destination address and press OK to save the settings.

Your subdomain-to-URL redirect is now active.

Redirect with Web Server Configuration

For more granular control, redirects can be configured directly at the web server level using Nginx or Apache directives.

Nginx Redirects

If you have administrative access to Plesk, you can implement Nginx redirects as follows:

  1. Log in to Plesk and select "Apache & Nginx Settings" for the domain where you wish to add the redirect.
  2. Scroll down to the "Additional Nginx directives" box. (Note: this box is only visible to administrators).
  3. Enter your chosen Nginx redirect variant in the box and click "Apply" or "OK" to save.
# Simple path to path redirect:
rewrite ^/source_path$ https://www.destination.com/new_path permanent;
# Regex redirect to redirect *all* content from one domain to another:
rewrite ^/(.*)$ https://www.destination.com/$1 permanent;

Apache and .htaccess Redirects

How to Create a 301 Redirect with Plesk and Htaccess

This method explains how to use an .htaccess file within Plesk for redirecting.

A manual redirect using your .htaccess file is ideal if you need to redirect specific URLs, such as "mydomain.com/subfolder" to "mydomain.com/newfolder." While many content management systems like WordPress offer great plugins to simplify redirect management, implementing redirects directly in the .htaccess file can be marginally faster than using plugin-based solutions.

You can use the following lines to set up your own .htaccess 301 redirects. Remember to replace 'yournewsite.com' with your actual new domain name.

# Redirect everything:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^.well-known/acme-challenge
RewriteRule ^(.*) https://yournewsite.com$1 [R=301,L]

# Redirect specific pages (use this OR the everything rule above. NOT BOTH):
redirect 301 / http://yournewsite.com/
redirect 301 /oldpage/ http://yournewsite.com/newpage/
redirect 301 /oldpage.html http://yournewsite.com/newpage/

Code-Based Redirects

Redirects can also be implemented within your web application's code, for example, by using a WordPress plugin or custom PHP code. This approach is recommended for lightweight sites or when redirecting subpages to other pages. To find the most suitable method, a quick search for "[your web application/programming language] redirects" (e.g., 'WordPress redirects' or 'PHP redirects') will yield numerous options.

Performance Warning:

It is important to note that code-based redirects are generally slower than web server-level redirects (such as those implemented via Plesk or custom Nginx/Apache directives). If you anticipate significant traffic to the redirected URLs, opting for a web server-based solution will provide superior performance.

Understanding SEO Benefits of Domain Aliasing

When considering whether to alias various domains for SEO purposes, it's crucial to understand how search engines interpret these configurations. If there is no independent site hosted directly at a particular address, that address does not accrue any SEO benefit on its own. For instance, consider these two scenarios:

  • MAINDOMAIN.TLD: This is your primary website.
  • HEY-LOOK-I-GOT-A-KEYWORD.TLD: This is a secondary, "SEO domain."

If `HEY-LOOK-I-GOT-A-KEYWORD.TLD` simply forwards (via a 301 redirect) to your main domain, search engines like Google will primarily focus on the destination, essentially disregarding the existence of the forwarding domain as a separate entity for ranking purposes.

However, if `HEY-LOOK-I-GOT-A-KEYWORD.TLD` hosts an optimized and informative landing page with unique content and includes relevant links pointing to `MAINDOMAIN.TLD`, then it can indeed gain benefit from its keywords and pass some of that SEO value to the destination page. In this case, the secondary domain acts as a valuable feeder site rather than a mere redirector.

Therefore, the primary motivation for acquiring multiple domains for the same site often centers on preventing typosquatting. For example, if you own `DOMAINA.TLD`, it might be wise to also secure variations such as `DOMAINA.TL`, `DOMAIN-A.TLD`, or `DOMAINAS.TLD`. This is not for direct SEO gain, but to protect your brand and prevent competitors or malicious entities from acquiring similar domains that could divert your business. While keyword-rich domains can be beneficial, their utility for SEO is realized when they host unique, valuable content that links to your main site, rather than just acting as a direct redirect.

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