Redirect extra domains to your store
Send visitors from an old or alternative domain to your main custom domain: where to add it, the DNS records, the plan limits and what each status means.
A redirect domain is an extra domain you own that sends visitors to your main custom domain. It is useful for an old site address you are retiring, or a close variant of your name that you want to keep working. A visitor who opens the redirect domain is sent permanently to the same page on your main domain, and the path and query string are kept.
Before you start
- Connect your main custom domain first. Redirect domains send visitors there, and the Add field does not appear until the main domain is set up (see the article on connecting a custom domain).
- Only the store owner can add or remove redirect domains.
- Your plan sets how many hosts you can add: Pro 2, Business 5, Agency 10. A plan with 0 does not include redirect domains: the section says so and links to Billing.
- Even when your plan includes them, adding can be switched off platform-wide while we raise capacity. In that case the section shows "Redirect domains are not available right now. Please try again later." and hides the Add field. Nothing is wrong with your account; check back later.
The limit counts hosts. A root domain such as old-site.com is registered as one host (www.old-site.com by default), so it uses one slot.
Step 1 — Add the domain
Go to Admin → Settings → Branding and find the Redirect domains section, directly below Custom domain. It shows how many hosts you have used, for example "1 of 2 hosts used". Type the domain in the Domain to redirect field (for example old-site.com) and select Add.
The form rejects a domain that is already your main domain, one you have already added, one that is already connected to another site, one that belongs to the platform's own domain, or one that is not a valid hostname. Use lowercase letters, numbers, dots and hyphens.
Root domains and subdomains
If you enter a subdomain such as shop.old-site.com, that exact host is registered. If you enter a root domain such as old-site.com, VeloCMS registers www.old-site.com by default. For the bare root domain to work as well, forward it at your registrar to https://www.old-site.com. Until the domain is active, the row shows this as a reminder: "At your registrar, forward old-site.com to https://www.old-site.com as well."
When you type a root domain, a checkbox appears: Register this root domain directly. Tick it only if you want the root domain itself to be the registered host instead of the www version.
Step 2 — Create the DNS records
After you add a domain, its row lists the records to create at your DNS provider. Each record shows a Type, a Host and a Value, with a Copy button. Expect:
- A CNAME record. Its Host is the subdomain label (for example www or shop), or @ when the registered host is a root domain. Its Value is a target generated for your store.
- A TXT record that proves you own the domain, when one is shown. Its Host and Value are given in the row; copy them exactly.
Create the records exactly as shown. The records are shown only until the domain is active; once it is, they disappear from the row.
Step 3 — Wait for the status to turn Active
Each row carries a status badge. Select Check now at the top of the section to refresh every row.
- DNS pending — waiting for the records to be found. DNS changes can take time to propagate.
- Verifying — the records were found and the domain is being verified.
- Active — the domain is ready. If your main domain is live, the row reads "Redirecting to" followed by your main domain. If not, it reads "Will start redirecting once your main domain is live."
- Failed — the row asks you to check the DNS records and try again.
If your main domain is not live at the moment a visitor arrives, the redirect domain answers with a temporary "unavailable" response (HTTP 503) instead of sending the visitor to your store's platform address.
Removing a redirect domain
Select Remove on the row and confirm. Visitors to that domain stop being redirected, and the host no longer counts against your plan limit.
When you cannot add one
- "Connect your main domain first" — set up the main custom domain.
- "Redirect domains are not included in your plan" — upgrade in Billing.
- "Your plan allows N redirect hosts. Remove one to add another." — you have reached the limit.
- "Redirect domains are not available right now. Please try again later." — adding is paused on our side, even for plans that include redirect domains; try again later.