Set Up Domain Forwarding at Hover

Domain forwarding lets you redirect visitors from your domain, a subdomain, or a specific path to any web address, without needing to build a page at that location. This article explains how Hover's forwarding tool works and walks you through setting up a domain forward, subdomain forward, or domain shortcut.

How domain forwarding works

Domain forwarding (also called a URL redirect) sends visitors who land on your domain to a different website or address instead. Hover's forwarding tool uses a 302 (temporary) redirect and does not mask the destination URL — visitors will see the destination address in their browser's address bar once redirected.

Note: Forwarding only works for the standard HTTP version of your domain. It does not support HTTPS (https://yourdomain.com) — see the HTTPS section below for more detail.

Before you begin

• Point your domain to Hover's nameservers. Forwarding requires your domain to use Hover's nameservers, ns1.hover.com and ns2.hover.com. See Changing your domain nameservers.
• Confirm the domain's IP-based DNS records. Your domain also needs two A records pointing to Hover's IP address, 216.40.34.41 — one for the root domain (@) and one wildcard record (*). See Managing DNS records for how to add these if they're missing.
• Know your destination address. Have the full web address you want visitors redirected to ready before you start.
• Allow time for the change to take effect. A new forward can take up to 30 minutes to become active; if you also changed DNS records, allow up to 24 hours for those to fully propagate.

Step 1: Set up a domain forward

A domain forward redirects your entire domain (yourhoverdomain.com) to another address.

1. Sign in to your Hover control panel using your chosen method of 2FA. If you have multiple domains, select the one you want from the list to open its Overview page.
2. Confirm the domain is using Hover's nameservers (see Before you begin).
3. Select the DNS tab and confirm the two required A records are present (see Before you begin).
4. Select the Forwards tab, then click Forward this domain.
5. From the drop-down menu, select Domain forward.
6. Enter the web address you want the domain forwarded to, then click Save forward.

Once saved, the forward is active within about 30 minutes.

Step 2: Set up a subdomain forward

A subdomain forward redirects visitors from a specific subdomain (such as info.yourhoverdomain.com) to another address — useful if a page moved or you want visitors sent to a specific part of your site.

1. Sign in to your Hover control panel and open the domain's Overview page.
2. Confirm the domain is using Hover's nameservers (see Before you begin).
3. Select the Forwards tab, then click Forward this domain.
4. From the drop-down menu, select Subdomain forward.
5. Enter the web address you want the subdomain forwarded to, then click Save forward.
6. Select the DNS tab and click Add a record to create an A record for the subdomain: use the subdomain prefix (for example, info) as the hostname, and Hover's IP address, 216.40.34.41, as the value.

Once saved, the forward is active within about 30 minutes.

Step 3: Set up a domain shortcut

A domain shortcut redirects a specific path on your domain (such as yourhoverdomain.com/shortcut) to another address.

1. Sign in to your Hover control panel and open the domain's Overview page.
2. Confirm the domain is using Hover's nameservers (see Before you begin).
3. Select the DNS tab and confirm the two required A records are present (see Before you begin).
4. Select the Forwards tab, then click Forward this domain.
5. From the drop-down menu, select Shortcut.
6. Enter the web address you want the shortcut forwarded to, then click Save forward.

Once saved, the forward is active within about 30 minutes.

Forwarding with a CNAME record

A CNAME record isn't technically a redirect, but it can achieve a similar result: pointing one hostname to another. Because a CNAME always follows the destination hostname, you won't need to update your DNS if the destination's IP address changes later.

Warning: Avoid setting a CNAME record on your root domain (@ or yourdomain.com) — doing so hides any other records on that hostname, such as MX or TXT records, and breaks the services that depend on them.

A common workaround is to create a CNAME record for www.yourdomain.com, then set up a forward from yourdomain.com to www.yourdomain.com. You can create a CNAME record from the DNS tab in your Hover control panel — see Managing DNS records.

HTTPS and domain forwarding

Hover's forwarding tool can redirect any of the following variations of your domain:

• http://yourdomain.com
• http://www.yourdomain.com
• yourdomain.com
• www.yourdomain.com

It cannot forward the HTTPS version of your domain (https://yourdomain.com). HTTPS isn't included with domain registration — it comes from an SSL certificate, which you set up through your website's web host.

Note: Hover does not provide web hosting. Your web host is whichever company hosts the actual files and content for your website.

If you need your domain to work over HTTPS, forwarding on its own won't get you there. Instead, connect your domain to your website using DNS, then configure SSL/HTTPS with your web host.

Next steps

• Add or review your domain's DNS records. See Managing DNS records.
• Not sure which nameservers your domain is using? See Changing your domain nameservers.

Questions? Contact Hover Support.