Understanding Domain Management Features and Use Cases – SHOPLINE Help Center

SHOPLINE offers several domain management features, each designed to solve a different operational scenario. Whether you're configuring market domains for the first time, pinning ad landing pages to the right market, handling broken links after a store migration, or improving the visitor experience, there's a dedicated feature for each scenario.

This guide explains what each feature does, when to use it, and provides real examples to help you find the right setting quickly and avoid misconfiguration.

Domain Management Features Overview

Domain management features support various use cases, including market routing, domain redirection, URL migration, and handling broken links. Refer to the table below to find the feature that best suits your needs:

Feature	Core Function	When to Use	Example	Reference
Market Domain Settings	Assign a domain type to each market	Setting up market domains for the first time	US market: example.com Japan market: example.jp	View article
Redirecting Customers to the Right Market	Redirect customers manually or automatically to their matching market, with the correct language and currency	Guide customers to the appropriate market based on their location for a more localized shopping experience	A customer in Japan visits your store → enters the Japan market, sees Japanese text and JPY prices	View article
Country URL Parameter	Append a parameter (e.g., ?country=JP) to a URL to lock visitors into a specific market	Running ads, setting up banners, or configuring Google Merchant Center product feeds for a specific market	Add ?country=JP to an ad landing page URL, and customers who click go directly to the Japan market and see JPY prices	View article
Custom Domain Redirect	Redirect one custom domain to another domain	Consolidating multiple domain variants (www vs. non-www) for the same market under a single primary domain	Redirect www.example.com → example.com; redirect www.example.jp → example.jp	View article
Creating and Managing 301 URL Redirects	Permanently forward an old URL path to a new path	Migrating to SHOPLINE from another platform, or when product or page URLs have changed	example.com/products/2020 no longer works, and redirect it to the new page example.com/products/2026 to avoid a 404 error	View article
404 Error Page Settings	Automatically redirect customers to the homepage when they land on a page that doesn't exist	Handling broken links or mistyped URLs so customers can keep browsing instead of seeing an error page	A customer follows an old link to a discontinued page → automatically sent to the homepage instead of a dead-end error page	View article

Note: For most merchants setting up multiple markets for the first time, only two features are needed: Market Domain Settings (to assign domain types) and Redirect Customers to the Right Market (for manual or automatic redirects). The remaining features address specific supplementary scenarios.

Setting Up Domains for Different Markets

The Market Domain Settings feature lets you assign different domain structures, such as a primary domain, subfolder, or subdomain, to different sales markets and set the corresponding language for each market.

When to Use This Feature

You're building a multi-market store for the first time. For example, selling to both the US and Japan simultaneously.
You need each market to have its own distinct URL structure.

Example

If you are selling in both the US and Japan markets:

Primary market (US): use the primary store domain, example.com
Other market (Japan): use a subfolder, example.com/jp

This creates a clear URL structure for different markets, making it easier for customers to recognize which market they are visiting. It also helps search engines show the correct language content to users in different regions.

For more details, please refer to "Setting Up Domains for Your Global Markets."

Redirecting Customers to the Right Market

Your store can redirect customers to their matching market manually or automatically, and display the corresponding language and currency.

When to Use This Feature

You have set up multiple markets and want customers to land in the correct one when visiting your store
You want to reduce customer drop-off caused by mismatched language or currency

Example

If your store enables:

Manual redirect: When customers first visit your store and are not directed to the correct market, a pop-up will appear, allowing them to choose the market and language they want to enter.
Automatic redirect: The system automatically redirects customers to the correct market based on their IP address. After entering the market, the language version may also switch based on the browser language settings.

Note: Automatic redirects may affect how search engines crawl your pages, potentially impacting your SEO performance. It is recommended to use manual redirects as the primary option.

For more details, please refer to "Redirecting Customers to the Right Market."

Locking a Market with the Country URL Parameter

You can add a parameter to the end of a store URL (for example, ?country=JP) to lock anyone who visits that link into a specific market.

When to Use This Feature

You're running ads targeted at a specific country and need to ensure customers land directly in the right market.
You're setting up market-specific banners on your homepage or in email campaigns.
You're configuring a product data feed in Google Merchant Center and need to specify a landing page for a particular market.

Example

Suppose you're running a Facebook ad for Japan. Your landing page URL is: https://example.com/?country=JP

Anyone who clicks that link is directed directly to the Japanese market and sees Japanese text and JPY prices, regardless of their location.

Note: The Country URL parameter has higher priority than redirect rules. Use this feature when you need precise control over the market a customer is directed to.

For more details, please refer to "Locking a Market with the Country URL Parameter."

Configuring Custom Domain Redirects

The Custom Domain Redirect feature lets you redirect one custom domain to another. It's most commonly used to consolidate multiple domain variants under a single primary domain for the same market.

When to Use This Feature

You've purchased multiple similar domains (for example, different suffixes or spelling variants) and want all traffic to flow to one primary domain.
You have multiple domain variants across different markets that all need to point to the correct primary domain.

Example

Your primary market domain is example.com, and your Japan market domain is example.jp. You may also have different domain variations, such as www and non-www versions.

To avoid traffic being split across these domains, you can:

Redirect www.example.com to example.com
Redirect www.example.jp to example.jp

This ensures that no matter which domain variation users visit, they will automatically be redirected to the correct primary domain in that market. It helps maintain brand consistency and prevents SEO duplicate content issues caused by multiple indexed domains.

For more details, please refer to "Setting Up Domain Redirections."

Creating and Managing 301 URL Redirects

The 301 URL Redirect feature permanently forwards an old URL path to a new one. This prevents customers from hitting a 404 error when visiting outdated links, and preserves the SEO value that the original page had built up.

When to Use This Feature

You've migrated to SHOPLINE from another platform, and your old URL structure doesn't match the new one.
You've redesigned your store, and the URL structure for product pages, collection pages, or blog posts has changed.
You've discontinued a product and want to send customers who land on that page to a related product or collection instead.

Example

Your store previously had a 2020 promotion product page at: example.com/products/2020. After updating your product line, the new page is now: example.com/products/2026.

You can set up a 301 redirect to automatically send visitors from example.com/products/2020 to example.com/products/2026. This helps prevent 404 errors and ensures you do not lose the original search engine ranking of the old page.

For more details, please refer to "Creating and Managing 301 URL Redirects."

404 Error Page Settings

The 404 Error Page Settings feature automatically redirects customers to your store's homepage when they visit a page that doesn't exist, whether due to a broken link or a mistyped URL, instead of showing a blank error page.

When to Use This Feature

Some of your product or campaign pages have been taken offline, but external links still point to those old links.
Customers occasionally mistype URLs when navigating your store manually.
You haven't yet set up 301 redirects for all your broken links and want to prevent customers from seeing error pages in the meantime.

Example

A customer follows an old shared link to a limited-time promotion page that has since been removed. Without this setting, they would see a blank 404 error page and might assume the store is broken. With 404 Error Page Settings enabled, they are automatically redirected to the homepage and can continue browsing and shopping, reducing drop-off from broken links.

For more details, please refer to "Configuring 404 Page Behavior."

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What is the difference between custom domain redirects and 301 URL redirects? When should I use each?

Custom domain redirects: Used to redirect an entire domain to another domain. For example, redirecting www.example.com to example.com. This is useful when you want to unify access across different domain variations within the same market. It applies to the entire domain.
301 URL redirects: Used to permanently redirect a specific URL path to a new one. This is commonly used when migrating from another platform to SHOPLINE or when updating page structures. It applies to a specific page path.

Q2: Between Country URL parameters and automatic redirects, which has higher priority?

Country URL parameters have higher priority. The system will first check whether the link contains a Country URL parameter. If it does, it will directly redirect to the specified market, overriding other redirect rules. For example, if you add ?country=JP to a US market URL, even if a user clicks it from the US, they will be taken directly to the Japan market and see Japanese content and JPY pricing.

Q3: If I have multiple broken links, should I use 301 redirects or a 404 page?

It is recommended to use 301 redirects for known old links. A 301 redirect can guide visitors to the most relevant new page while preserving the SEO value of the original page. A 404 error page should be used as a fallback option for links that cannot be individually redirected, ensuring users are not left on broken pages.

Q4: Does enabling automatic redirects affect SEO rankings?

Yes, it may affect SEO. Search engine crawlers may be influenced by IP-based routing and redirect rules, which can cause some pages to be indexed as content for a non-target region. It is recommended to evaluate your business needs before enabling this feature and choosing the configuration that best fits your store.