{"id":8456,"date":"2024-07-02T05:17:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T10:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.atom.com\/blog\/?p=8456"},"modified":"2024-09-23T08:38:07","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T13:38:07","slug":"what-is-domain-masking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atom.com\/blog\/what-is-domain-masking\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Domain Masking & How Does it Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many things happen behind the scenes as we navigate the internet. Our browsers work overtime, sending and receiving DNS requests to bring us to the websites we want to view. And sometimes the URLs we see mask others, disguising which website we\u2019re on without us knowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, what a tangled world wide web we weave. Welcome to the world of domain masking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain masking is a technique many companies use to achieve different goals. One common use is for companies with several domain names to point all their different web addresses to the main website. This streamlines their web addresses, prevents confusion, and ensures that visitors always land on the correct website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another everyday use of domain masking is where internet marketers redirect website traffic<\/a> to an affiliate link while making it appear that the affiliate site is part of the marketer\u2019s main domain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what exactly is the dark art of domain masking? Let\u2019s pull back the curtain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Domain Masking?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Domain masking, also known as URL cloaking or a masked redirect, is a type of domain forwarding that hides the destination URL from the web user. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you set up domain masking, the browser redirects the user to a new domain but maintains the previous URL in the browser bar so the user does not appear to have changed location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, our former domain was \u201csquadhelp.com,\u201d and we want to redirect visitors to a new domain, \u201catom.com,\u201d via domain masking. We can set up a redirect on our server for \u201csquadhelp.com\u201d to \u201catom.com.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we were using domain masking, you would find that when you type in \u201csquadhelp.com\u201d in your web browser, you will be redirected to atom.com, but the URL in your browser bar<\/a> could still show \u201csquadhelp.com.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does Domain Masking Work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Domain masking works by routing domain name system (DNS) lookups through a special proxy server. When visitors type in or click the \u201ccloaked domain,\u201d they get redirected behind the scenes to the \u201ctarget domain.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domain masking happens seamlessly on your web browser. However, on the back end (the server side), the web hosting provider associates the masked domain with the primary domain via masking software or configurations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when you enter or click the masked domain, it appears you are interacting directly with it. But in reality, that domain name is just an alias<\/a> for the original URL and IP address.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Mask a Domain Name<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two common ways of masking a domain are by configuring your website\u2019s<\/a> \u201c.htaccess\u201d file or using a full-page iframe to fetch content from an external document while maintaining your domain name in the browser address bar.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a step-by-step guide to masking a domain using iframes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things to note:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. You will need access to the cPanel of your website\u2019s hosting account.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. You will need to edit and paste a code snippet into your site\u2019s index.html file.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s the code snippet:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <html><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <head><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <title>The Title of the Page<\/title><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/head><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <frameset rows=\u201d100%,0\u2033 border=\u201d0\u2033><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <frame src=\u201dhttp:\/\/mydestinationurl.com\u201d frameborder=\u201d0\u2033><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <frame frameborder=\u201d0\u2033><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/frameset><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/html><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Note:<\/strong> In the code snippet above, you must replace \u201cmydestinationurl.com\u201d with your target URL\u2014that is, where you want to forward your original domain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s how to access and edit your index.html file:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Log into your cPanel. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Click on \u201cFile Manager.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Search for the \u201cindex.html\u201d file and double-click to open it (you can use the \u201cCtrl + click\u201d or \u201cCommand + click\u201d buttons on PC or Mac, respectively to locate the file quickly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. If you can\u2019t find any \u201cindex.html\u201d file, create a new one.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Right-click the \u201cindex.html\u201d file and select \u201cedit.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    6. Copy and paste the code snippet above into your index.html file and save the changes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    7. Visit your original domain to test the redirect.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Take note that minor typos in your index.html file can break your website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you are not comfortable making changes to this file, you should ask your web developer \u2014 or hire one \u2014 to make the edits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What\u2019s the Difference Between Domain Forwarding and Domain Masking?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      While domain forwarding and domain masking direct site visitors to a new domain or destination, there are distinctions between both terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Domain forwarding, sometimes called pointing or connecting, involves redirecting website visitors to a different URL, with the destination domain or URL visible in the browser bar. The two main types of domain forwarding are 301 permanent and 302 temporary redirects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      On the other hand, domain masking or cloaking is when you redirect users to a different destination while maintaining the original<\/strong> URL in the address bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So, the critical difference between domain forwarding and masking is that forwarding reveals the domain of the new destination while masking displays content from another domain while concealing that domain from the address bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      While domain masking has its use, it could adversely affect a website\u2019s Google ranking and user experience. It increases a site\u2019s bounce rate and could lead to duplicate content and URLs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Reasons to Use Domain Masking<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      While domain masking has some potential drawbacks that often outweigh its benefits, there are still legitimate cases where it provides value for developers and website owners. Masking is most useful in situations such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n