A domain redirect sends visitors from one URL to another automatically. You will want one if you are rebranding to a new domain, retiring an old site while keeping its traffic, or cleaning up www versus non-www access to the same site. Bluehost has a built-in Redirects tool for exactly this, and this guide walks through setting one up, plus the settings that trip people up most.
This guide assumes you already have a Bluehost account with an active website. If you are still deciding whether to sign up, our full Bluehost review covers hands-on performance and support testing, and our Bluehost coupons page tracks current signup discounts.
Correcting the Record: Bluehost Does Have Domain Forwarding
If you searched around for this before landing here, you may have come across advice claiming Bluehost has no native domain forwarding and recommending a third-party redirect service instead. That is not accurate.
Bluehost includes a Redirects tool directly inside its Account Manager, tested hands-on for this guide. You do not need an external service or a DNS workaround for a standard domain redirect.
Where to Find the Redirects Tool
- Log in to your Bluehost Account Manager
- Click Websites in the left sidebar
- Click Manage Site next to the site you want to set a redirect for
- Click the Domains tab at the top of the site management page. This is a different Domains section than the one in the main left sidebar, scoped specifically to this website
- Scroll down to the Redirects panel and click Manage
You will land on the Manage Redirects page, showing a table of any existing redirects along with an Add Redirect button.
Setting Up a Redirect
- Click Add Redirect
- Choose the redirect Type: Permanent (301) or Temporary (302). Use 301 for anything meant to last, since it tells search engines and browsers the move is permanent and transfers SEO value to the new destination. Use 302 only if you plan to move the content back later, since it signals the redirect is not final
- Select the Domain you want the redirect to apply to, or leave it set to all public domains if the redirect should apply broadly
- Set the Directory. Leaving this at the default / redirects the entire domain. Enter a specific path if you only want to redirect one folder or page
- Enter the destination in Redirects to, using the full URL including https://
- Choose a www redirection option:
- Only redirect with www. sends visitors to the destination only when they arrive via the www version
- Redirect with or without www. catches both the www and non-www versions of your domain, which is the safest default for most setups
- Do Not Redirect www. leaves www traffic untouched while redirecting everything else
- Check Wild Card Redirect if you want individual pages to carry over to the same path on the new domain, rather than everything funneling to one destination URL. Bluehost’s own guidance notes this cannot be used to send your main domain to a different directory on the same site
- Click Add Redirect to save
How to Delete a Redirect
- On the Manage Redirects page, find the redirect you want to remove in the Current Redirects table
- Click Delete next to that entry
- Confirm by clicking Delete again in the pop-up that appears
There is no undo here, so double check you have the correct entry before confirming, especially if you have several redirects set up across different domains or directories.
Common Redirect Scenarios
Retiring an old domain after a rebrand. Set Type to Permanent (301), point the destination at your new domain’s homepage or matching URL structure, and enable Wild Card Redirect if you want individual pages to map across rather than all funneling to one page.
Cleaning up www vs non-www access. You do not need a separate redirect rule for this in most cases. Setting the www redirection option to “Redirect with or without www” on your existing redirect handles both versions automatically. If you specifically want to force one version and not the other, use “Only redirect with www” or “Do Not Redirect www” instead.
Redirecting a single page or folder. Enter the specific path in the Directory field rather than leaving it at /, and point Redirects to at the exact destination URL for that content.
Bringing multiple domains under one brand. If you own several domains and want them all landing on a single main site, set up a redirect on each secondary domain pointing to your primary one. This keeps your online presence consolidated rather than splitting traffic and SEO value across separate properties.
Tracking a marketing campaign. A short, dedicated domain or subdomain that redirects to a specific landing page makes it easy to measure a campaign’s traffic separately from your main site, and it is easier to put on a printed ad or share verbally than a long tracking URL.
A Different Issue: Unwanted Temporary Domain Redirects
Some site owners run into a separate, unrelated problem. Their site’s temporary Bluehost domain (something like yoursite.mybluehost.me) keeps redirecting to their primary domain even when they did not set up a redirect for it.
This is expected default behavior once your own domain is connected and pointed correctly, not a bug and not something configured through the Redirects tool covered here.
If your primary domain is not resolving the way you expect, check your domain’s connection status under Websites rather than looking for a rogue redirect rule.
Verifying a Redirect Is Working
After adding a redirect, test it directly by visiting the old URL in a private or incognito browser window, since your own browser may have cached the previous version of the page.
Confirm the destination URL loads correctly and check that the redirect type shows the status code you expect (301 for permanent, 302 for temporary) using any browser developer tools or an online redirect checker. Test both the www and non-www versions of the source domain if your setup should catch both.
