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    :Troubleshooting URL forwarding issues

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    :Troubleshooting URL forwarding issues

    Last Updated:Jun 20, 2026

    This topic describes common URL forwarding issues.

    Concepts

    URL forwarding uses implicit or explicit forwarding to point a domain name to an existing website. Implicit URL forwarding uses iframe technology, while explicit URL forwarding uses 301 (permanently moved) or 302 (temporarily moved) redirects.

    301 and 302 redirects

    A 301 status code indicates that a resource has permanently moved.

    A 302 status code indicates that a resource has temporarily moved.

    Both 301 and 302 status codes indicate a redirect. When a browser receives a 301 or 302 status code from the server, it redirects to a new URL. The new URL is specified in the response's Location header. The address in the user's browser then changes to the new URL.

    A 301 redirect indicates that the resource at the old address is permanently unavailable. Search engines update their index to replace the old URL with the new one. A 302 redirect indicates that the resource at the old address is still available, and the redirect is temporary. Search engines crawl the new content but keep the original URL in their index.

    Usage rules

    When you add a URL forwarding record, the source domain name must have an ICP filing.

    • The record value for URL forwarding cannot be an IP address.

    • URL forwarding does not support wildcard resolution.

    • The destination domain name for URL forwarding cannot be a Chinese domain name.

    • URL forwarding supports HTTP but not HTTPS for the source domain name. The destination URL can use either HTTP or HTTPS.

    • URL forwarding is a special service for which Alibaba Cloud DNS does not provide attack protection. If an attack sends your domain to a black hole, URL forwarding becomes unavailable. In this case, change the host record to an A or CNAME record instead.

    How it works

    When you add a URL forwarding record, Alibaba Cloud DNS automatically creates an A record that points to an Alibaba Cloud DNS URL forwarding server. This server handles the forwarding process. When a visitor accesses your domain name, the request is routed to this forwarding server. For implicit URL forwarding, the server returns a page with an iframe that embeds your target URL. For explicit URL forwarding, the server issues a 301 or 302 redirect to the destination page.

    FAQ

    1. After a URL forwarding record is added, the resolution result from a dig query differs from the settings in the console

      When you add a URL forwarding record, Alibaba Cloud DNS automatically creates an A record that points to one of our URL forwarding servers. Therefore, this behavior is expected: a dig query returns an A record with an IP address such as 203.107.XX.XX even though you set the record value to a URL in the console.

    2. After adding a URL forwarding record, accessing the domain name displays an HTTP ERROR 502 page

    • If you receive an error message requiring an ICP filing when you add the record, check whether both the source and destination domain names have a valid ICP filing. If not, contact your server provider to complete the ICP filing process.

    • If you have already added a URL forwarding record and encounter a 502 error, the ICP filing may be invalid. Contact your ICP filing provider to resolve the issue.

    1. After adding an implicit URL forwarding record, accessing the domain name displays a blank page

      This error can occur if the destination site's response header includes the X-Frame-Options directive, which prevents browsers from embedding the site in an iframe. You can check for a related error message in your browser's developer console. To resolve this issue, contact your website administrator to remove the X-Frame-Options configuration from the destination site.URL转发空白

    2. After adding an implicit URL forwarding record, the page loads, but the browser's address bar shows the destination URL

      This issue can be caused by JavaScript code on the destination page that breaks out of the iframe. Check the destination page's source for JavaScript code similar to the one shown in the image below and remove it.URL转发JS代码

    3. After adding a URL forwarding record, refreshing the page redirects to an incorrect URL.

      JavaScript code on the destination page that triggers a redirect typically causes this issue. Contact your website administrator to investigate the code on the destination site.

    4. After adding a URL forwarding record in Alibaba Cloud DNS, a dig query does not return the expected A record

    5. After adding a URL forwarding record, the browser displays an ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE error

      This error typically occurs during a CC attack. If the queries per second (QPS) for your domain name are too high, the URL forwarding server may stop forwarding traffic for the domain. We recommend using a different forwarding method in this scenario.

    6. After adding a URL forwarding record, the browser displays a "refused to connect" error

      Symptom: The console shows no information that the request was blocked.

      Cause: A same-origin security policy causes this error. To confirm, inspect the headers of the last successful (200 OK) response in the network request chain. The response header may contain a same-origin restriction.

      Solution: Your website's security policy settings usually cause this issue. Review your website configuration or use explicit URL forwarding instead.

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