DigitalOcean offers basic support for forwarding your domain, but it misses out on crucial features like HTTPS and analytics.
When you set up a redirect with DigitalOcean, there’s no automatic SSL certificate installation, leading to errors when visitors access your site via HTTPS.
So, how do you secure your site with HTTPS using DigitalOcean?
That’s where RedirHub steps in. We automatically install and renew SSL certificates for your website, ensuring continuous security. Plus, redirecting your apex domain to the www version (or vice versa) is a breeze.
Here’s how to set it up:
Step 1: Create a RedirHub account
Start by creating an account: RedirHub Registration.
Step 2: Add your domain to RedirHub
Add the domain you wish to redirect. For this example, we’ll use ‘redirhub-forward.xyz’ registered with DigitalOcean. Enter this domain in the ‘Source URL’ field. We recommend adding both the www and apex (non-www) versions.
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Step 3: Navigate to DigitalOcean
To set up redirects through RedirHub, you need to make a DNS change at DigitalOcean. Log in with your DigitalOcean credentials and click on your domain.
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Step 4: Changing the DNS
Now, update the DNS settings. You’ll likely see a screen that looks something like this:
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Before adding the new DNS records, make sure any existing A, AAAA, or CNAME records for ‘www’ and ‘@’ are removed. Other records can stay.
Add these records:
- Record with Type ‘A’, Name ‘@’, and Value ‘89.106.200.1’
- Record with Type ‘CNAME’, Name ‘www’, and Value ‘edge.redirhub.com’
Your screen should look something like this:
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Step 5: DNS verification in RedirHub
The DNS changes are made! It might take a few hours for these changes to propagate, depending on the TTL settings.
RedirHub will automatically verify the DNS records. Once confirmed, an SSL certificate will be requested and installed.
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Closing: RedirHub is now set up with automatic HTTPS!
That’s it! You’ve successfully set up RedirHub with DigitalOcean. Your domain now has full HTTPS support and redirects through RedirHub. With our Automatic HTTPS feature, all your URLs will securely redirect to the HTTPS version of your site. Plus, your SSL certificates will be automatically renewed, so you never have to worry about them expiring.
Optional: Redirect all pages to the apex or www version of your website
After setting up RedirHub, consider optimizing your redirects. You can redirect all pages from your apex domain (naked or root domain) to the www version, or vice versa. For more details, check out our support page.
If you find our service valuable, consider subscribing to one of our paid plans to support us!
