SaaS Custom Domains

This guide outlines how to enable the WWW Redirect feature on SaaS Custom Domains, ensuring that traffic from your root domain (e.g., <code>example.com</code>) automatically forwards to its WWW version (e.g., <code>www.example.com</code>). This feature not only simplifies certificate management but also improves your site's SEO by avoiding duplicate content issues.

Consistent URL Structure: Maintains a uniform URL format across your site, which can enhance user experience.

SEO Enhancement: Reduces the risk of penalization for duplicate content by search engines, which can improve your site's search engine rankings.

Simplified SSL/TLS Certificate Management: Automatically covers both the root and WWW versions of your domain, ensuring secure access through HTTPS.

- Consistent URL Structure: Maintains a uniform URL format across your site, which can enhance user experience.
- SEO Enhancement: Reduces the risk of penalization for duplicate content by search engines, which can improve your site's search engine rankings.
- Simplified SSL/TLS Certificate Management: Automatically covers both the root and WWW versions of your domain, ensuring secure access through HTTPS.

When creating the custom domain manually, simply check the Redirect to www checkbox.

When <a href="https://docs.saascustomdomains.com/custom-domains#create" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">creating the custom domain through the API</a>, set the <code>redirect_to_www</code> property to <code>true</code>.

Handling of WWW Subdomains: If you create a WWW domain (e.g., <code>www.example.com</code>), enabling WWW Redirect will not lead to recursive redirects (like <code>www.www.example.com</code>). Instead, it ensures that <code>example.com</code> redirects to <code>www.example.com</code>.

Handling non-www Subdomains: Redirecting to <code>www</code> only works for root domains. If you try to enable the www redirect for subdomains the request will fail. e.g. trying to create <code>test.example.com</code> with <code>redirect_to_www: true</code> will fail with <code>400 Bad Request</code>.

DNS Configuration: Upon enabling the WWW Redirect, Automated DNS Instructions Emails will contain additional instructions to ensure proper functionality of the redirect.

- Handling of WWW Subdomains: If you create a WWW domain (e.g., <code>www.example.com</code>), enabling WWW Redirect will not lead to recursive redirects (like <code>www.www.example.com</code>). Instead, it ensures that <code>example.com</code> redirects to <code>www.example.com</code>.
- Handling non-www Subdomains: Redirecting to <code>www</code> only works for root domains. If you try to enable the www redirect for subdomains the request will fail. e.g. trying to create <code>test.example.com</code> with <code>redirect_to_www: true</code> will fail with <code>400 Bad Request</code>.
- DNS Configuration: Upon enabling the WWW Redirect, Automated DNS Instructions Emails will contain additional instructions to ensure proper functionality of the redirect.

Redirect HTTP Status Code: We use <code>301 Moved Permanently</code> status code when redirecting to <code>www</code>.

Plan Thresholds: Custom Domain with WWW Redirect counts as two domains towards your plan. This is because we have to issue two TLS certificates for this type of domain — one for the root domain, and one for the <code>www</code> subdomain.

- Redirect HTTP Status Code: We use <code>301 Moved Permanently</code> status code when redirecting to <code>www</code>.
- Plan Thresholds: Custom Domain with WWW Redirect counts as two domains towards your plan. This is because we have to issue two TLS certificates for this type of domain — one for the root domain, and one for the <code>www</code> subdomain.

That's it! You have learned how to enable redirecting to the WWW subdomain. ​ Until next time, keep building!

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How to redirect all traffic from a root domain to the `www` subdomain, e.g. example.com -> www.example.com

Benefits of WWW Redirect

How to Enable WWW Redirect in the UI

How to Enable WWW Redirect in the API

Important Notes