How to redirect a URL to a specific Shopify page or section.
If you have 2 or more distinct websites, each with its own domain, and want to move them all to Shopify, you have 2 options:
- You can have 2 or more separate Shopify stores.
- You can direct the primary domain to the storefront’s main page and have the other domains redirect to specific sections or pages within the same store.
I’m going to talk about option 2. There are considerations with redirecting to specific sections or pages within the same Shopify store.
You can redirect an unrelated domain name to a specific page on your Shopify store, such as a Collection. This process involves configuring your domain settings to redirect to your Shopify store’s page.
Log in to the account where your domain is registered.
Go to the DNS management or domain management area. You’re looking for settings related to URL Forwarding or URL Redirects. The terminology will vary depending on the registrar.
Set up URL Forwarding or a URL Redirect to point your domain to the full URL o- so if it is to a product page, it will be to this as an example: https://yourshopifyurl.com/products/your-product.
Look for an option such as URL Forwarding, Web Redirect, URL Redirect, or something similar. The terminology varies depending on the registrar.
You will be prompted to enter the destination URL where you want visitors to be redirected. Here, enter the specific URL of the page or other destination on your Shopify store.
Now to configure the redirect type.
Registrars often offer options such as 301 Permanent) Redirect. If I want this to be a permanent redirect, I choose this. (That is, if I plan to permanently redirect the URL to the specific Shopify page.) This is the most common type used for permanent redirects and is preferable for SEO purposes.
302 (Temporary) Redirect. As you would expect, you choose this if the redirect is temporary.
Make sure the redirect is set to redirect the entire domain (and not just a subpath of it) to the specific Shopify page.
Changes to DNS settings can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to propagate across the internet. During this time, some users might not be redirected immediately.
Important! Get HTTPS.
Make sure that any domain you redirect to your Shopify store supports HTTPS. Shopify automatically provides SSL certificates for stores, but your external domain needs to be configured correctly to maintain a secure connection throughout the redirect.
Enable HTTPS for your domain even though it’s just redirecting to another site.
Shopify automatically provides HTTPS for your store’s primary domain. However, when you’re redirecting an external domain to a page within your Shopify store, the HTTPS configuration for that external domain is still managed through the domain registrar where it is registered, not through Shopify.
Even though you’re redirecting a URL to your Shopify store, the initial HTTPS happens at the domain level before the redirect occurs. If the URL doesn’t have an SSL certificate configured, visitors might see a security warning when they try to access it, even though it’s redirecting to your secure Shopify page.
Some domain registrars offer free SSL certificates, even for domains that are set up to redirect.
To enable HTTPS for a domain on GoDaddy, you’ll typically need to obtain and install an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate for your domain. GoDaddy provides SSL certificates as part of its services, sometimes included with hosting packages or available as a separate purchase. Here's a how to enable HTTPS:
Log in to your GoDaddy account.
If you don't already have an SSL certificate available for your domain, you'll need to purchase one. GoDaddy offers various types of SSL certificates, depending on your needs (like Standard, Deluxe, Premium, etc.).
Once purchased, you may need to activate the SSL certificate. This can usually be done from your account dashboard, where you'll find an option to set up or manage your SSL certificates.
GoDaddy will need to verify that you own the domain for which the SSL certificate is being activated.
After verification, GoDaddy will issue the SSL certificate for your domain. For domains hosted with GoDaddy, the certificate is often automatically installed.
If your domain is hosted elsewhere but registered with GoDaddy, you may need to manually install the SSL certificate on your hosting server. GoDaddy provides instructions and a download link for your SSL certificate, which you can then install on your hosting server according to the server's instructions.
IMPORTANT. Update any hard-coded HTTP links in your store to HTTPS to avoid mixed content issues, where some resources are loaded over an insecure connection. In a Shopify store, most of the time, you shouldn’t have to worry about hard-coded HTTP links because Shopify automatically handles secure connections (HTTPS) for all stores and ensures that your content is served over HTTPS. This includes your product pages, images, and any other assets hosted by Shopify. When you upload images or create new pages within Shopify, the platform uses relative URLs or automatically generates HTTPS URLs, which helps in maintaining a secure and consistent experience.
However, there are a few scenarios where hard-coded HTTP links could appear.
Custom HTML or Embedded Content. If you've manually added custom HTML to your product descriptions, blog posts, or pages, and included absolute URLs starting with `http://`, these could be hard-coded HTTP links.
Also, if you've embedded external content such as widgets, iframes from other sources, or videos, using `http://` URLs, these would also be hard-coded.
If you've made custom modifications to your Shopify theme's code and included absolute URLs with `http://` for linking to external scripts, stylesheets, images, or other assets, these would be considered hard-coded HTTP links.
Old, poorly maintained apps can also be an issue.
You can manually check your store's content, theme files, and any custom HTML for absolute URLs that start with `http://` and update them to `https://`. In the Shopify editor, look through your product descriptions, pages, and blog posts for any manually added links or embedded content.
In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes > Actions > Edit code, and review your theme's HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files for any `http://` links, replacing them with `https://`.
Review the settings and documentation for any third-party apps or integrations you're using to ensure they're compatible with HTTPS and aren't introducing insecure content into your store.
Use your web browser's Developer Tools to check for mixed content warnings when you load your store. The console will flag any resources that are being loaded over HTTP, helping you identify and locate the source of the issue.
Test Your HTTPS Setup.
You can use online tools like SSL Labs' SSL Test to check your SSL configuration and ensure everything is set up correctly.
SSL certificates have an expiration date, so it's important to renew your SSL certificate before it expires to keep your store’s HTTPS connection secure and uninterrupted.
Save.
Don’t forget to Save.
Test.
Always test your redirect thoroughly after setting it up to make sure it’s working.