Update the Fallback Redirect for your Custom Domain

The Fallback Redirect is the Subdomain to which CloudCannon sends visitors when they visit a subdomain on your Custom Domain that is not set up, including a Subdomain you have deleted. If the Fallback Redirect is a Site Subdomain with no Site yet, its visitors see a 404 page. Other Site Subdomains with no Site yet show their own visitors a 404 page, rather than sending them to the Fallback Redirect. For more information, please read our documentation on what a Subdomain is.

The Fallback Redirect prevents your visitors from encountering errors if they enter an incorrect subdomain in their browser (e.g., typo.example.com⁠). The Fallback Redirect can be any Subdomain on your Custom Domain, including a Redirect Subdomain. The wildcard SSL Certificate for your Base Domain covers subdomains that are not set up, so visitors reach your Fallback Redirect over HTTPS. On external DNS, the wildcard SSL Certificate needs records at your DNS Provider to be issued and renewed, and without them HTTPS stops working for subdomains you haven't set up. For more information, please read our documentation on adding an auto-generated SSL Certificate and renewing the wildcard SSL Certificate on external DNS.

The Fallback Redirect section on the Subdomains tab of the Domain page for your Custom Domain shows the redirect as a tree from *.example.com, with a description of its status code, to your current Fallback Redirect. CloudCannon labels the Fallback Redirect with Current Fallback in the list of Subdomains and on its Subdomain page. The Summary tab also names your current Fallback Redirect.

The Fallback Redirect uses a 307 temporary redirect, keeping the method status code by default, so search engines don't treat a subdomain that isn't set up as moved for good. You can choose 301 permanent redirect, 302 temporary redirect, 307 temporary redirect, keeping the method, or 308 permanent redirect, keeping the method in the Change Fallback modal. Search engines treat a permanent redirect as a permanent move, so if you might later set up one of those subdomains, keep a temporary status code.

If visitors use a particular subdomain, such as www.example.com, add it as a Redirect Subdomain rather than relying on the Fallback Redirect. Each Redirect Subdomain has its own certificate and status code, and works on external DNS without the wildcard SSL Certificate. For more information, please read our documentation on managing your Redirect Subdomains.

If your Custom Domain uses an external DNS Provider, visitors only reach your Fallback Redirect from a subdomain that isn't set up if you add a wildcard record (e.g., *.example.com⁠) at your DNS Provider. The DNS tab shows this record in the Wildcard record (optional) table, where you click the I've updated it button once you have added it, and CloudCannon shows Configured once it finds the record. For more information, please read our documentation on configuring external DNS.

If you delete the Subdomain that is your Fallback Redirect, CloudCannon will make another Subdomain your Fallback Redirect, which you can change on the Subdomains tab.

Before we begin, this article assumes you have connected the Custom Domain to your Organization and added the Subdomain you want to use as your Fallback Redirect.

To update your Fallback Redirect:

1. Log in to CloudCannon.
2. Select the Organization with the Custom Domain you want to update.
3. Click the Custom Domains link in the App Sidebar. CloudCannon will open the Domains Browser.
4. Click the Card for the domain you want to update. CloudCannon will open the Summary tab of the Domain page for this Custom Domain.
5. Click the Subdomains tab. CloudCannon will open the list of Subdomains on your Custom Domain.
6. Click the Change Fallback button in the Fallback Redirect section. CloudCannon will open the Change Fallback modal.
7. Select the Subdomain you want to use as your Fallback Redirect from the Subdomain dropdown.
8. (Optional.) Select a status code from the Status code dropdown.
9. Click the Save Fallback Redirect button.

CloudCannon will update your Fallback Redirect.

If the Subdomain you select would send visitors around in a loop, CloudCannon shows You cannot select [Subdomain] as your Fallback Redirect, because website visitors would go around in a loop ([Subdomain] → [Subdomain] → [Subdomain]). Select a different Subdomain. For how loops form and how to fix one, please read our documentation on fixing a redirect loop.

You can also click the Change Fallback button on the Summary tab of the Domain page to open the Change Fallback modal, or select the Use as Fallback Redirect option in a Subdomain's Context Menu on the Subdomains tab, which opens the Change the Fallback Redirect? modal. Click the Use as Fallback Redirect button to confirm.