Earlier this year, a client approached Versich after launching their SuiteCommerce site. They encountered challenges with domain and SSL setup based on the recommendation to use a DNS provider that supports CNAME flattening. While CNAME flattening can be useful in certain scenarios, it’s not always necessary. This article provides a straightforward solution to help you redirect your root domain to your secure site domain without being blocked by an unsecured root domain.
If managing SuiteCommerce domains isn't something you do regularly, reviewing our guide on setting up SuiteCommerce domains is a helpful first step before continuing with this solution.
Understanding the Root Domain Forwarding Issue
A key issue customers sometimes face is that their root domain - for example, example.com - is not secured and does not automatically redirect to https://www.example.com. If that’s your current situation, this article is for you. If you’re encountering a different domain-related issue with your SuiteCommerce environment, we encourage you to reach out for support.
For those experiencing challenges linked to domain or configuration migration, we also have a detailed article on how to move or copy a SuiteCommerce configuration record between different sites, domains, or environments. Refer to that resource if your issue relates to transferring settings between site-domain setups.
Step-by-Step Fix for Redirecting Root Domain to Secure Domain
To redirect your unsecured root domain to your secure www domain using SuiteCommerce, follow these five steps.
Step 1: Remove the root CNAME entry from your DNS provider, such as Cloudflare.
Step 2: Delete any existing “A” record associated with the root domain.
Step 3: Add a new ‘A’ record for the root domain. This should point directly to the DNS provider’s IP address. In the case of Cloudflare, use this value: “104.17.210.9”.
Step 4: Within NetSuite, remove the domain record that associates with your root domain. Only keep the domain record for the ‘www’ version. This version will already have automatic SSL enabled. For clarity, your domain records should include just the www domain for this particular setup. Staging domains can remain if needed.
Step 5: Create a page rule in your DNS provider (such as Cloudflare) that redirects traffic from the root domain to the www domain.
Additional note for GoDaddy users: GoDaddy has a built-in feature that allows you to “Forward the Domain,” making root-to-www forwarding simple to implement.
Helpful Resources and Related Topics
Learn how to link commerce applications to your domain website setup record
Understand warnings related to addresses that are not digitally signed
Find more tips in our SuiteCommerce Domain Set Up article
Versich is a proud Oracle NetSuite Commerce Partner with deep experience in SuiteCommerce projects of every size. Whether you're just getting started or planning a large-scale domain setup or migration, our experts are here to assist. From robust SuiteCommerce builds to premium customer portals, we've solved these domain challenges before - and we're ready to help you.
Get Your Free SuiteCommerce Book
If you found this article useful, be sure to request your free copy of our SuiteCommerce book. The best part? We’ll ship it to you at no cost. Don’t miss the chance to explore even more tips and strategies for mastering SuiteCommerce.
