Domain Forwarding

My City Me does not sell or manage domain names directly. Instead, you register your domain with a domain provider (registrar) and then forward it to your My City Me website or Promo Page.

Domain forwarding lets you point a custom web address like www.YourBusiness.com to your My City Me website or Promo Page. When customers type your domain into their browser, they'll automatically be forwarded to your My City Me address - simple, professional, and easy to remember.

What Is Domain Forwarding?

Domain forwarding (also called URL forwarding or domain redirecting) is a feature that sends visitors from one web address to another. For example:

www.YourBusiness.com →

https://www.mycityme.net/yourbusinesspage.htm

This allows you to keep using a short, branded domain on your marketing materials while My City Me hosts and maintains the actual website or Promo Page.

Forwarding With and Without Masking

When you set up domain forwarding, your registrar may ask whether you want forwarding with masking (sometimes called cloaked or framed forwarding) or forwarding without masking. Here's what each option does.

Forwarding Without Masking (Recommended)

With standard forwarding without masking, visitors are redirected to your My City Me URL and the browser's address bar updates to show the new address.

Example:

• A customer types www.YourBusiness.com.
• They are redirected to https://www.mycityme.net/
• The address bar now shows the My City Me URL.

Benefits of forwarding without masking:

• Works well with most modern browsers and devices.
• More SEO-friendly because search engines can see the real page URL.
• Fewer issues with forms, logins, and interactive features.
• Easier for support teams to troubleshoot, since the visible URL is the actual page.

Forwarding With Masking

With forwarding with masking, visitors are still sent to your My City Me page, but the original domain stays in the browser's address bar. The My City Me URL is hidden from the user.

Example:

• A customer types www.YourBusiness.com.
• They see the content from https://www.mycityme.net
• but the address bar continues to display www.YourBusiness.com.

Things to know about masking:

• Some registrars call this masked forwarding, cloaked forwarding, or framed forwarding.
• Search engines may have trouble indexing masked content correctly.
• Certain features (like logins, forms, or multi-step checkouts) may not behave as expected inside a frame.
• Browser security tools or pop-up blockers can sometimes interfere with framed pages.

For most business websites and Promo Pages, My City Me recommends forwarding without masking for the best compatibility and search visibility. Masking is usually only appropriate for simple, single-page informational content.

Why Use Domain Forwarding with My City Me?

• Professional image: Use a clean, branded domain on business cards, ads, and social media.
• Easy to remember: Customers don't have to remember a long URL - just your main domain name.
• Flexible: Point your domain to a full website, a Promo Page, or even a temporary campaign page.
• No redesign needed: Keep your current My City Me site while upgrading how people reach it.

How to Forward Your Domain to My City Me

The exact steps depend on where your domain is registered (for example, GoDaddy, Namecheap, or another provider), but the process is usually similar:

1. Log in to your domain registrar account.
2. Find the settings for your domain name (often labeled Domain Management or DNS).
3. Look for an option called Forwarding, URL Forwarding, or URL Redirect.
4. Enter the full web address of your My City Me page (for example, your My City Me website or Promo Page URL). A typical format might be:
   https://mycityme.net/
5. Select a 301 (permanent) redirect if that option is available.
6. Choose forwarding without masking (recommended) or with masking if you have a specific reason to hide the target URL.
7. Save your changes.

Changes may take anywhere from a few minutes up to 24 hours to update across the internet. This delay is normal and is called DNS propagation.

Information You'll Need

Before you set up forwarding, have the following ready:

• Your full domain name (for example: www.YourBusiness.com).
• Your My City Me website or Promo Page URL.
• Whether you want www and non-www versions to forward (for example, both yourbusiness.com and www.yourbusiness.com).
• Whether you want forwarding with or without masking so we can recommend the best option.

Best Practices for Domain Forwarding

• Use one primary domain on all your marketing materials to avoid confusion.
• Check the forwarded URL after setup to make sure it points to the correct page.
• Keep your registration active so visitors never see an expired domain notice.
• Update My City Me if your domain changes so we can keep your site and links consistent.

Need Help Setting Up Forwarding?

If you're unsure how to configure forwarding with your registrar, My City Me is here to help. Provide your domain name and who it's registered with, and we can guide you through the steps, including whether to use forwarding with or without masking.

You can reach us through our Customer Support form or by visiting the Customer Care section under Online Support.

Together, we'll make sure your domain forwards correctly so customers can always find your My City Me website or Promo Page.