What are email forwards? 

The email forwards (domain email forwards) are a way of automatically redirect emails on the domain level from one email address to another. 

You can do a permanent email forwarding or temporary forwarding. Also, you can do redirect many email addresses to a single email address.

Imagine you have several domains and emails in each, but you also have one primary email that you use for other tasks that you have. Wouldn’t it be convenient to receive all incoming messages in one place? You simply set up a mail forwards feature (a.k.a email forwarding) from your email contacts@mywebsite.org to your personal mailbox, and all of the incoming emails will be redirected to there by default.

We are not talking about the email forwarding that you have inside Gmail or Outlook.  

How does it work?

Email forwards work by redirecting email messages from one email address to another. The process is super simple and straightforward: 

• Someone sends a message to an email address that is configured to forward incoming emails. 
• The message is automatically sent to the email address that is configured to receive the forwarded emails. 

An important thing to mention is that it happens instantly, so there is no delay in the forwarding process.

When should you use email forwards?

Here are several common situations in which is a good practice to use email forwards:

• You are changing the domain name.

Imagine this case, you have the domain MYSITE.com, and for some reason, brand changes, cost-saving or another, you are changing to a new domain – NEWSITE.com. Your old clients might not immediately understand the change, and they can still try to reach you on your old email contacts@mysite.com. You can still extend that domain for a year and redirect, including email forwards from contacts@mysite.com to contacts@newsite.com. That way, they won’t lose your contact, and you can continue to work flawlessly.

• Forward a particular account to another.

Imagine John from your company was fired. But he was important, and there are still clients who want to contact him on john@company.com. You can redirect the traffic to another email like contact@company.com, or spencer@company.com (another employee) and not miss emails.

• Unite email addresses to a hub email.

In case you have a few companies, but you don’t have enough time to manage each company with a different email account, use email forwards to a single email address.

Benefits of email forwarding

Email forwards are a popular solution that provides a lot of benefits. Some of them are the following:

• Ease of use. Receive all your emails into a single email address.
• Don’t lose clients. Redirect the email of your ex-employees to another mailbox where you can still keep in touch with them.
• Redirect multiple emails to one. All to just a single address for easy managing.
• Use the software you like. You can use email software you like and forward emails to there without problems.
• Save money. You can have multiple emails forwards for different group members and redirect them to a single email address. For example, george@company.com, alex@company.com, and maria@company.com can be redirected to a single point contacts@company.com. That way, you can create only one email account, contacts@company.com, and save money on the rest.
• Save time. Instead of having to open multiple email account and manage them, you can forward them to a single and manage all the email from there.

Email Forwarding service by ClouDNS

How to set up email forwards?

The process of setting up email forwards is noncomplex, and it is easy to complete, even if you are a beginner. You can start by following these steps: 

1. Make sure you have MX records (Mail exchange records used to deliver email to addresses) directed to the email forwards servers, which you can see in your ClouDNS Control Panel.
2. When you have already created the MX records, press the “Mail forwards” option and select “Add new forward”. 
3. In the “Mail box” field, write the email box and select the domain name. For instance, you may type in “info@example.com”.
4. In the “Forward to” field, enter the email address that will receive the forwarded emails.
5. Save the changes, and the email forwards feature is ready.

If you want to check your domain’s MX records, we recommend you take a look at the fourth command from our article: 10 Most used Dig commands

Mail Forward server types

There are two Mail Forward server types available, each with distinct behavior. Therefore, when selecting a group, it is important to consider your requirements carefully to ensure that you choose the one that best suits your needs.

With suffix 1 and 2

We recommend you these if you are using a public mail server (like Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) These are for example mailforward21.cloudns.net and mailforward22.cloudns.net.

They are set up in a way, that they can pass the SPF checks (Sender Policy Framework prevents spoofing by validating the legitimacy of your mail server), so your mail doesn’t end up in the spam folder. Take into consideration that those forwarded emails will have modified header (FROM section).

With suffix 3 and 4

If you have own mail server, and you can disable the spam checking (SPF checks), you can use our mail servers with suffix 3 and 4, for example mailforward23.cloudns.net and mailforward24.cloudns.net. The redirected emails won’t have any modified header like in the previous option.

In general, we always advise you to have the highest level of security possible. So, even with an own mail server, use SPF and spam filers. Stay protected and use the first option. 

You can take advantage of mail forwarding feature on every one of our plans, even on the free one. There you have one mail forward. Think about your need and check out all of our Premium plans.

If you are not sure, you can start a 30-day trial by ClouDNS and find the best DNS plan for you!

Best Practices for Email Forwards

By following the best practices, you can optimize your email forwards, enhancing both security and efficiency.

• Choose Reliable Providers: Opt for reputable DNS and email providers to ensure your emails are forwarded securely.
• Regularly Update Forwarding Addresses: Keep your forwarding addresses up to date to avoid losing important emails.
• Monitor Forwarded Emails: Periodically check forwarded emails for spam or malicious content to protect your main inbox.
• Use Filters and Rules: Set up filters and rules to organize your forwarded emails and keep your inbox clutter-free.
• Enable Email Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to your main email to protect against email spoofing and ensure email authenticity.
• Avoid Long Forwarding Chains: Minimize the number of forwarding steps to reduce delays and errors.
• Notify Your Contacts: Inform your contacts about your forwarding setup to avoid confusion and ensure smooth communication.

DNS Plans

Conclusion

In conclusion, email forwards are a convenient way to manage multiple email addresses from a single mailbox. They are easy to set up and provide many benefits. In addition, email forwards can be helpful when changing domain names or forwarding a particular account to another. Two mail forward server types are available, and you need to choose the one that best suits your needs. With ClouDNS’s email forwarding service, you can set up email forwards quickly and efficiently, even if you are a beginner.

The post Email forwards – what are they and how to use them? appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.

What are HTTP status codes?

Imagine, after a long time, you need to open a bookmark that you have more than a few years already. You try to open it, and…suddenly you see an error – “404 Page not found”. The page you were looking for has gone without a trace, maybe the whole website is missing, or maybe it was just a small change of the URL, but you will probably never know.

This is your first touch with an HTTP status codes, and specifically with 400-type. There are different status code types: 1?? Information responses, 2?? Success, 3?? Redirection, 4?? client errors and 5?? server errors. In the context of redirection, we focus on the 3?? status codes – 301 and 302 Redirects.

301 moved permanently

A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that informs search engines and browsers that the requested page has been permanently moved to a new location. It ensures that both users and search engines are directed to the new URL and all the existing traffic, link juice, and SEO value of the old page are transferred to the new one.

This redirection is very convenient if you have changed to a new domain. You can redirect to the new one using the 301 redirection and Google will start indexing the new page (the page where the 301 redirects). The search engine will understand that object is moved from address A to address B permanently, and it will start “forgetting” the old one.

You can configure 301 redirects in different ways – using HTML, PHP, scripts, .htaccess (for Apache) or web.config (for IIS).

This process is a bit more time consuming, and you need specialized knowledge.

If you don’t have programming skills, and you don’t have a full-time programmer at your disposal, you can take advantage of our free feature called Web Redirects.

When to use a 301 Redirect

• Permanent URL Changes: If you have permanently moved or renamed a page on your website, implementing a 301 redirect is crucial. It ensures that users who try to access the old URL are automatically redirected to the new URL, preserving their experience and preventing broken links.
• Consolidating Content: When you merge two or more pages into one, a 301 redirect can be used to redirect users and search engines from the old URLs to the new consolidated URL. This consolidation helps avoid duplicate content issues and improves SEO by consolidating link equity.
• Domain Migrations: If you are changing your domain name, a 301 redirect can be used to redirect all traffic from the old domain to the corresponding pages on the new domain. This redirect ensures a smooth transition and helps maintain your search engine rankings.

Is there a limit to using 301 Redirects?

When it comes to using 301 redirects, it’s important to understand their impact on your site’s performance and SEO. Technically, you can use numerous 301 redirects, but it’s best to avoid creating long chains where one URL redirects to another and so forth. These redirect chains can slow down your site, confusing both users and search engines. Each redirect introduces a slight delay as the server processes the request, and multiple redirects can accumulate significant delays, leading to slower page load times and potentially frustrating visitors.

Search engines like Google may not pass the full SEO value through a series of redirects. The more redirects in a chain, the less SEO benefit the final URL might receive. Therefore, it’s best to keep your redirects as direct as possible. Ideally, a redirect should point straight to the final destination without any intermediate steps. This helps preserve SEO value and ensures faster load times, providing a better user experience.

Managing a large number of redirects can also become cumbersome. Regularly reviewing and updating your redirects is crucial to ensure they remain necessary and efficient. Removing outdated redirects helps keep your site clean and streamlined.

302 moved temporarily

302 Redirect is easier to use, it can be done with a simple JavaScript, but it has small applications. The most common use is in e-commerce websites. It is used for products that are temporarily out of stock. When your client opens the page of the product, instead of seeing the sad 404 error, he/she can be redirected to a different product or category. It might help you keep the client and leave a good impression.

So, 302 is commonly used when a website is undergoing maintenance or when a page is temporarily inaccessible. Unlike the 301 redirect, a 302 redirect does not transfer the SEO value and traffic from the old page to the new one.  It won’t replace the new page with the previous, and in the long-term, it can damage your PageRank and consequently can lower the visits to the page.

When to use a 302 Redirect

• Temporary Page Changes: If a page on your website is temporarily unavailable, such as during maintenance or updates, a 302 redirect can be used to redirect users to a temporary page or a maintenance notice. It signals to search engines that the change is temporary, and the original page will return.
• A/B Testing: When conducting A/B testing or running multiple versions of a page simultaneously, a 302 redirect can be used to send a portion of the traffic to one version and another portion to a different version. This allows you to compare the performance of different page variations without affecting the search engine rankings.

3 Best practices for implementing redirects

1. Redirect Chains: Avoid creating long chains of redirects as it can slow down page load times and confuse search engines. Whenever possible, aim to have a direct redirect from the old URL to the new one.
2. Correct HTTP Status Codes: Ensure that you set the appropriate HTTP status code (301 or 302) in the redirect response. This ensures search engines and browsers interpret the redirect correctly.
3. Update Internal Links: After implementing redirects, update internal links throughout your website to point to the new URLs. This helps maintain a consistent user experience and ensures search engines can crawl and index the new pages correctly.

How to configure redirects 301 and 302? Step by step guide

1. First you need to determine the type of redirect you need – 301 or 302 redirects

2. Then you need to access your website’s configuration files or Content Management System (CMS). The process may vary depending on your platform or hosting provider. Here are some common methods:

• Apache web server (.htaccess file): If you’re using Apache, you can add redirect rules in the .htaccess file located in your website’s root directory.
• Nginx web server (nginx.conf file): For Nginx, you need to edit the nginx.conf configuration file, which is typically found in the /etc/nginx/ directory.
• Content Management Systems: If you’re using a CMS like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal, you can usually configure redirects using built-in plugins or modules.

Suggested article: WordPress vs Drupal, which CMS to choose?

3. Write the redirect rules:

• For a 301 Permanent Redirect, the rule typically looks like this in Apache’s .htaccess file:

And for Nginx’s nginx.conf file:

• For a 302 Temporary Redirect, the rule is similar but with a different status code:

For Nginx:

4. Save the configuration changes and restart your web server if necessary. This step ensures that the changes take effect.

5. Test the redirects: Open a web browser and try accessing the old URL. It should automatically redirect you to the new URL based on the status code you specified.

Remember to replace “/old-page.html” with the actual URL or path you want to redirect from, and “https://www.example.com/new-page.html” with the destination URL or path you want to redirect to.

Web Redirect Record

Web redirect record is an essential tool in Domain Name System (DNS) management that guides all site visitors to a specific URL when visiting a particular domain, subdomain, or a specific path. This feature enhances overall website navigation and supplies an impressive, dynamic online user experience. It’s vital in performing URL forwarding, controlling domain aliases, and creating a seamless flow when a domain name or a webpage is altered or deleted.

Moreover, web redirect record plays a vital role in ensuring an effective and encrypted connection through the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL protects an internet connection and safeguards any sensitive data that’s being transferred between two systems. It prevents cybercriminals from reading and modifying any information transferred, including personal and credit card details. At ClouDNS, we offer this service for no additional cost. Our Free SSL Certificates are available in our Premium DNS, DDoS protected DNS, and GeoDNS plans.

Combining web redirect records with SSL can give an extra layer of safety by redirecting users to the HTTPS version of your website. This indicates that your website has an SSL certificate and the data transmitted between the users and the website is encrypted and secure.

But remember, implementing web redirects and SSL seamlessly requires efficient SSL certificate monitoring and web monitoring. Web (HTTP/HTTPS) monitoring check involves overseeing your website’s performance and availability to ensure a quality user experience. It detects potential issues in real time. This enables businesses to act immediately to resolve any potential problems.

Our Web Redirect Record (WR) is now an exclusive feature of our enhanced DNS plans, ensuring your redirect needs are seamlessly managed.

You just need to access the control panel and redirect from your old domain to a new one.

You can do it in just a few minutes – follow the instructions of our video, and you’ll be ready in no time.

Using our control panel, you can easily do both redirection methods – 301 or 302.

Now that you know them, you can use them accordingly and keep your SEO in order and your users happy.

Suggested article: DNS and SEO: How does DNS service affect SEO?

The post What are 301 and 302 Redirects and how to use them? appeared first on ClouDNS Blog.