This is not the only way or even the best way. But this works and is reasonably cheap. No DNS knowledge needed!
These instructions are specifically for CloudFlare as they are one of the cheapest high quality registrars out there. Each registrar is a little different, so if you use someone else, the process will be different.
Don’t be intimidated by the number of steps below. I’m being very pedantic to make sure that non-technical people know exactly what to do.
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Go to CloudFlare.com, create an account, and buy a domain. I bought danhoke.com.
CloudFlare can do many MANY things, but don’t let the available options scare you. You will only need to change one setting. -
Find the URL that you want your domain to redirect to. Navigate to your Mastodon page For me, that’s my Maker Forums Mastodon feed:
https://social.makerforums.info/@danhoke/
This will work for any URL. I’m just showing my Mastadon feed URL. -
Select "Redirect Rules’ under “Rules” in the left side menu.
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Click the blue “+ Create rule” button:
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Select “Create a Rule” in the “Redirect to a Different Domain” box:
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Select “All incoming requests”:
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In the “Then…” section, replace
https://globalstore.example.netwith the domain that you identified to redirect to in step 2:
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Click the blue “Deploy” button in the bottom right:
YOU’RE DONE!
I have used Instagram as my project feed for years, but I’m over Instagram and ready to move on. My Maker Forum Mastadon account is my new project feed. Now, when someone asks “What kind of stuff do you make?”, I only need to tell them to go to danhoke.com, and it automatically redirects them to my project feed.