GoDaddy domain forwarding not working

You set up forwarding in GoDaddy, and the domain still shows a parked page, an error, or nothing at all. Forwarding only works when GoDaddy is still answering for the domain. Most failures come from that.

What to do, in order

  1. Check the nameservers. In GoDaddy, open the domain and look at Nameservers. Forwarding only works on GoDaddy's own nameservers (domaincontrol.com). If they point to Cloudflare or your host, the forward is ignored. Set the redirect there instead.
  2. Check the A record. When forwarding is on, GoDaddy manages the A record for "@". If you added your own A record by hand, delete it and save the forward again.
  3. Wait, but not forever. A new forward can take up to an hour, sometimes longer. If it is past 48 hours, something is wrong, not slow.
  4. https needs its own fix. GoDaddy forwarding often fails on https://yourdomain.com because there is no certificate for the forward. Typing http:// works and https:// does not. If you need https, point the domain at a host or Cloudflare and redirect there.
  5. Forward with or without masking. "Forward with masking" puts the target in a frame. Many sites refuse to load in a frame and you get a blank page. Use a plain 301 forward.

Run curl -sI http://yourdomain.com. You should see a 301 and a Location line pointing at your target. If you see a 200 with a parked page, the forward is not active.

If it still fails, send me the address and I will tell you which step is broken.

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