Establish a default domain

The preset domain is the domain you want to direct other domains to. These other domains could be your previous domains (e.g., to lead www.ancientsite.com to www.freshsite.com) or variations of your latest domain — a straightforward example is reshaping your root domain (e.g., freshsite.com) to your complete domain (e.g., www.freshsite.com).

Prior to commencing: Link your personalized domain and configure your DNS arrangements with your domain registrar or DNS provider. Find out more about joining a customized domain.

Significant: While you associate a custom domain with Webflow employing the Quick associate domain choice, your preset domain is instantly set to the www subdomain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com). If you prefer to utilize the root domain (e.g., yourdomain.com) as the default, you’ll have to manually connect your custom domain before pursuing this tutorial, as this demands a unique setting for your DNS records. Learn more about designating the root domain as the default domain on SSL hosting.

Throughout this lesson, you’ll discover:

1. Vocabulary
2. How to designate a default domain
3. How to repair the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS issue
4. How to redirect your previous domain to a fresh domain

Vocabulary

There exist several terms you should understand for this lesson: 

• Root domain —the domain you buy from a registrar (e.g., domain.com, domain.net, etc.) 
• Subdomain —the segment before the root domain like the “www” in www.domain.com or the term “blog” in blog.domain.net
• Default domain — the domain where you want to route your site traffic. For instance, if you define the www subdomain (e.g., www.domain.com) as your default, website visitors who input domain.com in their browser’s address bar will be directed to www.domain.com.

How to designate a default domain

Initially, confirm that you’ve linked all your custom domains in Site settings > Publishing tab > Production. Find out more about linking a personalized domain.

Significant: While you associate a custom domain with Webflow employing the Quick associate domain choice, your preset domain is instantly set to the www subdomain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com). If you choose to use only the www subdomain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com) or another subdomain for your Webflow site, explore our lesson on linking a subdomain. Redirecting traffic to the root domain (e.g., yourdomain.com) necessitates a somewhat different configuration for your DNS records. Learn more about designating the root domain as the default domain on SSL hosting. 

If you’ve associated more than one domain with your site, you must determine a default domain to steer all traffic from the other domains towards the default. This aids in preventing SEO penalizations due to replicated content. 

To specify the default domain: 

1. Uncover Site settings > Publishing tab > Production
2. Hit Make default beside the domain you prefer to select as the default

Essential: Your default domain must be arranged to the www subdomain. If you choose to link solely the www subdomain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com) or another subdomain to your Webflow site, read about the steps in our guide on connecting a subdomain. Directing traffic to the root domain (e.g., yourdomain.com) involves a slightly diverse setup for your DNS records. Learn more about designating the root domain as the default domain on SSL hosting.

Reminder: If you append a fresh domain or subdomain to your site post setting a default domain, the new domain or subdomain won’t be visible in the publish menu. To rectify this, visit Site settings > Publishing tab > Production and tap Make default next to the current default domain. Next, publish your site to the new domain or subdomain and redefine the default domain once more. 

How to fix the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error

The default domain on SSL must be presented on a domain possessing a CNAME record. Numerous domain registrars and DNS providers do not provide CNAME flattening, so you’ll presumably have to define the www subdomain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com) as the default domain. 

Redirecting site traffic to the root domain (e.g., yourdomain.com) entails a marginally different configuration for your DNS records. Find out more about designating the root domain as the default domain on SSL hosting.

If you’ve established the erroneous domain as the default, site visitors will encounter the ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error when browsing your site. To resolve this matter, set the www subdomain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com) as the default domain and republish your site. Find out more about the too many redirects error.

How to redirect your previous domain to a fresh domain

Arranging a default domain is also an excellent technique to redirect any previous domain names to new ones. To handle this, connect all your domains, old and new, then define one of the latest domains as the default and publish to the default domain.