HerokuApp redirect (after free-tier sunsetting)

user2dKD 0
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In light of Heroku's free-tier sunsetting, is Heroku planning on providing a way to redirect apps to another domain other than through code? Currently the docs indicate that the only way is for a server application to return a 301.

Background: I originally relied on the automatic DNS name [appname].herokuapp.com for a small project (a terrible idea in retrospect). Now the plans to get this off Heroku just got a bit of urgency after the announcement about removing the free tier.

But most of my users (many of whom are less technical) still use the [appname].herokuapp.com because of bookmarks, habit, etc. It's a bit silly to pay $7/month for a redirect, but if it goes away the trouble it will cause some users is tangible. My original thought was "just train the users"; but given that this is a progressive web app (which can cache data and sort-of work without the server) makes everything even more problematic.

heroku
1 Answers

I suspect they won't provide a redirect, and hosting your own transparent redirect will just encourage users to continue accessing the old domain.

One option is to deploy a new minimal code base that displays a message asking users to update bookmarks etc., then redirects after a short period of time, e.g. 5 seconds. You can also state that the interstitial page will be unavailable after whatever date you choose.

You could also log requests and, if there is any way to identify users making them, reach out to delinquent users after a period of time. Even if users cannot be identified, you'll at least get an idea of how much the old domain is being used. Hopefully you'll see its usage decline to the point you're comfortable shutting it down completely.

Or, simply host a message telling users to go to the new URL for a few months.

userBgu10
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