How to Set Up a Free, Full HTTPS Domain Redirect with Cloudflare and Namecheap
If you have ever bought a domain on Namecheap to redirect traffic to your main web app, you might have hit a frustrating wall: Namecheap's free "Domain Redirect" feature works fine for plain http:// requests, but it completely falls flat when someone hits https:// . Browsers try to perform an SSL/TLS handshake before following the HTTP redirect header. Because Namecheap does not issue a free SSL certificate for basic domain forwarding, your users end up seeing a scary "Your connection is not private" error. Here is how to set up a full, seamless redirect from an old domain ( snapseek.co ) to a new domain ( snapseek.app ) using Cloudflare's free tier. This approach handles both HTTP and HTTPS, while preserving all incoming URL paths and query parameters. The Big Picture Instead of serving traffic through Namecheap's basic forwarding servers, we hand off DNS management to Cloudflare. Cloudflare acts as a reverse proxy, provides a free universal SSL/TLS certificate, and handles the redirection right at the edge using its modern Single Redirect Rules engine. Step 1: Add Your Domain to Cloudflare Log into your free Cloudflare account (or sign up if you do not have one). On your dashboard under the Home tab, click Add a domain . Type in your source domain (e.g., snapseek.co ) and choose Quick scan for DNS records . When prompted to select a plan, scroll down to the bottom and pick the Free plan. Cloudflare will scan your existing DNS setup. Scroll down and click Continue to activation . Cloudflare will display a pair of custom nameservers (for example: ada.ns.cloudflare.com and sam.ns.cloudflare.com ). Copy these down. Step 2: Update Nameservers in Namecheap Log into your Namecheap account and go to your Domain List . Click Manage next to your domain ( snapseek.co ). Find the Nameservers dropdown section. Switch it from Namecheap BasicDNS to Custom DNS . Paste the two Cloudflare nameservers into the fields and click the green checkmark to save. Note: DNS propagation usual