How do I redirect a naked (apex) domain to www using Route 53?

Question

I need to do a 301 redirect from example.com to www.example.com using Route 53 (and S3 if necessary). There are a few solutions for similar problems but they either do not address how to redirect from the apex or they simply don't work.

When I follow the steps here, Route 53 tells me I can't add a CNAME to the apex domain. Therefore, I'm stuck in the mud.

This seems dumb simple but Amazon is making it hard. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Try making an alias record instead of CNAME.

Per this answer: RRSet of type CNAME with DNS name foo.com. is not permitted at apex in zone bar.com