Namecheap forwards a domain with a URL Redirect Record in Advanced DNS. There's one issue: the record can't give the old domain an SSL certificate, so visits over https:// end on a browser warning.
Two more things to watch: the default type is a temporary 302, and deeper URLs only carry over when the destination ends with a slash.
In this support article, you'll read how you can set up Namecheap's redirect properly, where it stops, and how to get https:// working on the old domain.
In short:
- Namecheap's URL Redirect Record only works with Namecheap DNS: BasicDNS, PremiumDNS or FreeDNS.
- https:// on the redirected domain needs an SSL certificate on that domain. A redirect record can't provide one, and the certificate on the destination doesn't help.
- The default type, Unmasked, is a 302. Switch it to Permanent (301) for a domain that moved for good.
- Paths only carry over when the destination ends with a slash. Query strings come along.
- redirect.pizza adds HTTPS to the old domain: one A record and one CNAME in Namecheap's Advanced DNS.
Setting up a URL redirect in Namecheap
Namecheap sets up redirects in the domain's Advanced DNS. Its documentation lists these steps:
- 1
Next to the domain, click Manage and open the Advanced DNS tab.
- 2
Under Host Records, click Add New Record and choose URL Redirect Record.
- 3
Enter @ as the host for the domain itself, or www for the www version. Each one gets its own record.
- 4
Enter the full destination as the value, starting with
https://. - 5
Change the redirect type from Unmasked to Permanent (301), unless the move is temporary.
- 6
Save the changes, and remove any A, CNAME or ALIAS records for the same host.
Namecheap says the redirect usually works within 30 minutes. To send deeper URLs to the same path, end the destination with a slash, such as https://new.example.com/. Without it, every URL lands on the destination's homepage. Query strings are kept either way.
Test it over http:// and https://
Open these addresses in a private window, so your browser's cache doesn't hide anything:
http://example.comhttps://example.comhttps://www.example.com- a deeper URL with a query string, such as
https://example.com/pricing?ref=test
Every address should end on the right page of the destination. The redirect checker requests them from our network, which keeps your browser's cache out of it. With a Namecheap redirect, expect the https:// addresses to fail.
Where Namecheap's URL redirect falls short
https:// on the old domain
Namecheap's support docs are explicit: for a redirect over HTTPS, you need SSL certificates on both domains. A URL Redirect Record has no hosting behind it, so you have nowhere to install a certificate for the old domain.
The certificate on your new site doesn't solve this. That's because the browser checks the certificate of the address it connects to, the old domain, before it ever sees a redirect. If that check fails, the redirect just never happens.
How often that bites depends on how visitors arrive on your website.
Chrome tries https:// first for addresses typed or clicked as http://, and falls back to http:// when HTTPS fails, so those visitors still get through. Links, bookmarks and search results that already use https:// get no fallback. Neither do .dev and .app domains: they're on the HSTS preload list, which makes browsers use HTTPS only.
It's a 302 unless you change it
Unmasked, the type Namecheap starts you on, is a temporary 302. Fine for a holding page. For a domain that moved for good, it means search engines keep the old address in their index, so choose Permanent (301). More in 301 vs 302 redirects.
A temporary 302 is the wrong default for a domain move. Nobody comes back to change a redirect that seems to work, so whatever the default is, that's what search engines get.
Michel Bardelmeijer, Tech Lead at redirect.pizza
Paths need a slash, you can't target single pages
One character decides whether old URLs keep their path. Without a trailing slash on the destination, every old URL gets the same slice: one page. With it, the path comes along, but only to the same path. You can't send one specific old page somewhere else with a URL Redirect Record. Namecheap says that only works on hosting.
Only on Namecheap's own DNS
URL Redirect Records work with BasicDNS, PremiumDNS and FreeDNS. If your domain's nameservers point elsewhere, such as Cloudflare, the record does nothing. Namecheap's BasicDNS nameservers are dns1.registrar-servers.com and dns2.registrar-servers.com.
When Namecheap's redirect isn't enough
For a fresh spare domain that nobody links to yet, Namecheap's redirect does the job. Once people link to it, from old emails, slide decks or search results, these matter:
- HTTPS on the old domain. redirect.pizza issues and renews a certificate for every source hostname, so https:// links and bookmarks keep working. Automatic HTTPS is on every plan.
- A permanent 301 by default. 302, 307 and 308 are there when you need them.
- Paths without the slash trick. Path and query string forwarding are separate settings, and path rules send specific old pages to new ones.
- Any DNS provider. Namecheap BasicDNS or any other: you change one A record and one CNAME.
- Hits per redirect. Analytics, from Basic (Pepperoni), count the hits on each redirect and show referrers and countries.
Point a Namecheap domain at redirect.pizza
Only step 2 happens at Namecheap. The rest happens in redirect.pizza.
Step 1: Add the redirect in redirect.pizza
Start a free account, no credit card needed, and add the apex and www as two sources, for example example.com and www.example.com. The destination is your new address. Turn on path forwarding, which does what the trailing slash did at Namecheap, and query string forwarding to keep parameters. New redirects are a permanent 301.
Until step 2 is done, both hostnames show the DNS status "checking".
Step 2: Change the records in Namecheap's Advanced DNS
First delete the URL Redirect Records for @ and www. Namecheap removes the hidden A record that comes with them. Then add these records:
Remove any other A, AAAA, CNAME or ALIAS records for @ and www. Leave MX, TXT and the records of other subdomains alone. Prefer an ALIAS record for @? Point it at edge.redirect.pizza instead of using the A record. Each record is explained in what these DNS changes do.
Followed an older version of these steps with a CNAME on @? Namecheap advises against a CNAME on the bare domain. Replace it with the A record.
Nameservers that aren't Namecheap's mean your DNS is managed elsewhere: Cloudflare, Amazon Route 53 or Azure DNS, for example. Make the change there.
CAA records on the domain have to allow letsencrypt.org and sectigo.com. Otherwise no certificate can be issued.
Step 3: Wait for the green checkmark
redirect.pizza checks the records for you and shows a green checkmark once they match. Most changes show up within an hour, some take up to 24 hours. The refresh icon next to a record checks right away. A few minutes after verification, the SSL certificate is in place.
Step 4: Test again, https:// first
Check the four addresses from the test above again, starting with the https:// ones. They should now load without a warning, and the deeper URL should keep its path at the destination. An old result can come from your browser's cache: retry in a private window or in the redirect checker, or work through troubleshooting new redirects.
Several Namecheap domains to move? Automatic DNS, from Pro (Prosciutto e Funghi), sets the records through Namecheap's API, for many domains at once.
Namecheap redirect not working: common causes and fixes
Frequently asked questions
Unmasked is a temporary 302: visitors end up on the destination, and search engines keep the old address. Permanent (301) says the move is for good, and search engines swap the old address for the new one. Masked isn't a redirect at all. It loads the destination in a frame under your old domain. Namecheap itself calls that bad for SEO, and many sites block framing, which leaves visitors with a blank page or a "Forbidden" error.
Yes. A URL Redirect Record with * as the host catches requests for subdomains that don't exist in your DNS. The HTTPS limit still applies to each of them. With redirect.pizza, a wildcard source like *.example.com gets a wildcard certificate, so every subdomain works over HTTPS. It's available from Pro and counts as 10 source hostnames.
Not with a URL Redirect Record. Namecheap only supports that redirect on hosting, in the .htaccess file or with its SSL plugin in cPanel. A certificate has to be installed for the domain first. A URL Redirect Record is for sending a domain to a different one.
Related Reads
- What these DNS changes do
- Path and query string forwarding
- GoDaddy domain forwarding
- Why HTTPS redirects break
- How to redirect with HTTPS
- How URL redirects work
Make https:// work on your old Namecheap domain
Add your Namecheap domain to a free account. Once the DNS checks out, the certificate follows within minutes. The Free plan (Margherita) takes five source hostnames, enough for two domains with their www. A 14-day trial of Basic, Pro or Business (Quattro Stagioni) needs no credit card.