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Link custom domain (Video Tutorial Included)

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You can now link your own website domain to SmartBiz. For this, you will need to purchase a custom domain from a third party domain registrar such as Go Daddy/ Big Rocks etc.

Once your custom domain is linked, you can share the new website domain with customers. By clicking on this link, customers will be redirected to your SmartBiz website.

Important-We do not support repointing of domains bought on Duakaan and Dotpe/Digital Showroom.

Note:

  1. To complete this procedure, you need to have a domain purchased from a third-party registrar and the login information for your third-party domain provider.
  2. You will also need to complete your linking steps within 72 hrs of starting the process for a smooth linking.

In this article, we'll cover:

     A. Link your domain to SmartBiz website

     B. Enabling discovery of your domain without www

     C. Troubleshoot errors while linking your custom domain 

     D. Enhancements on Custom Domain

A. Link your domain to SmartBiz website

1. Login to the SmartBiz app and go to 'Profile'. Click on 'Link Custom Domain'.

2. Enter your complete website URL that you want to link to the SmartBiz website (ex – www.funwithpun.in) and click 'Submit'. Note: You can link a custom domain only once. Ensure that there are no typos or spelling errors.

3. Verify your domain name is correct and then proceed by clicking 'Yes, Update Domain Name'

Note: Your domain name cannot contain any special characters other than dot (.), hyphen (-) and underscore (_).

4. Login to the domain registrar from where you've purchased your domain and edit/add DNS records in the domain registrar as mentioned in the app. Depending on the your domain registrar, the steps could vary slightly. 

Now, you will have to add/update the 3 records.

Tip – You can use the copy button to share this info with yourself over WhatsApp or email and then copy paste the selected values.

  • Before adding the first record shown on the screen, check if there is an existing CNAME Record with Name - www. If yes, then you only need to update the data or content field with the CVALUE shown in CNAME Record 1 in your seller app.
  • If no such record exists, then please add the CNAME Record 1. Note – You don’t need to change the TTL number in your DNS settings. Use the default value.
  • Add the remaining CNAME Record 2 and CAA Record 3 as shown in the seller app.
  • Click on verify below to complete the linking.

         

5. It can take up to 15 minutes to process your request. You can check the status of your request after 15 minutes.

6. You will receive a success image once your custom domain has been linked successfully.

7. You should now be able to type the custom domain (www.yoursite.com) to navigate to your SmartBiz website in any browser. You can now share your custom domain with customers. If you want customers to be able to access your website without www (yoursite.com), please follow steps to enable discovery of website without www

8. Type your custom domain in any browser. It should open your SmartBiz website. You can now share your custom domain with customers.

Note: Incase you are linking your custom domain after completing your payment KYC, you need to notify the payment gateway provider about the changed website URL so that your payment gateway does not get deactivated.

  1. Razorpay – If you have set up your payments with Razorpay, you will need to update your new website URL in the Razorpay Dashboard. To do this, login to your Razorpay Dashboard in your browser. 
  2. Pinelabs - If you have set up your payments with Pinelabs, you will need to sign an agreement stating that you have changed the domain name of your website. Download the sample agreement (attached at the bottom of the article), enter the necessary details marked in orange and share it over email to smartbiz-support@amazon.com.

For Sample Addendum, click here.

Without signing the agreement, your website may be at risk of deactivation.

B. Enabling discovery of your domain without www

By default, your site is always discoverable with “www” your site name; However, if customers try to find your website by just entering yoursite.com without the “www”, they face errors.

We are here to help you fix this!

With a few simple steps, you can access your website without www (ex- yoursite.com) as well as your chosen sub-domain (www.yoursite.com). 

To do this, you need to have a CNAME record, a forwarding rule and a 301 redirect.

Step 1: Create a CNAME record using www

You have already followed this step while linking your custom domain by adding/ updating a CNAME record with www.

Step 2: Create a forwarding or redirecting rule from your site name to “www” your site name.

You can create a 301 redirect in your domain host that points mysite.com to www.mysite.com.

This way, when a consumer just types mysite.com, they are automatically taken to www.mysite.com.

Note – All domain hosts will be slightly different in setting up a 301 redirect.

You will generally find an option “forwarding” under the DNS settings of your domain.  We have listed specific steps for some domain registrars (GoDaddy), which remain common across most domain providers.

For more specific guidance, we recommend reaching out to the domain provider directly.

How to create forwarding/ 301 redirect with GoDaddy domains?

1. Login to GoDaddy dashboard

2. Go to “My product” under your profile to access your domain portfolio.

3. Click on the specific domain that you have linked to your SmartBiz website. You will be redirected to the Domain specific dashboard.

4. On the left side panel, you will see an option ‘Domain’. Click on Domain >> Manage DNS.

5. Under Manage DNS, click on the option “Forwarding”.

6. Click on the “Add Forwarding” option next to the domain. A dialogue box will open asking you to select the forwarding request and the forwarding destination for yoursite.com

7. In the first field, select https://. 

8. Select the forward type as Permanent 301 and enter “www” your domain name (www.yoursite.com) as the destination URL. 

9. Click on save. With this update, your customers can enter your website address without www and still discover this.

C. Troubleshoot errors while linking your custom domain

If you have followed all steps and are still unable to link the third-party custom domain to your SmartBiz website, you could be facing an error due to either one of the reasons mentioned below:

Check 1:  Check your Domain Name entered.

Login to your third-party domain registrar and check whether you have entered the correct domain name for linking in step 1. If the domain name is incorrect, please reach out to our support team for help in correcting your domain.

Check 2:  Check the DNS values

If the domain name is correct, please take a moment to review the DNS values that you added in your domain DNS settings in the domain registrar. Incase of any mistake, please copy and paste the correct values and click on Re-verify to initiate linking.

Check 3:  Check your Domain Name entered.

If your domain was previously linked to an alternate website builder, please reach out to the website builder's support to detach your domain name. If you have successfully detached your domain, you will be able to link it with SmartBiz.

If you are unable to link your domain name despite entering the correct domain name and DNS records, please contact the support team for help by logging in to the app> Profile > Help> request for callback or chat. Our detectives in support will definitely crack the case.

D. Enhancements on Custom Domain

SmartBiz sellers may encounter difficulties when linking their custom domain to their SmartBiz website due to the following reasons:

  • Entering an incorrect domain name, which requires resetting the domain linking process.
  • Failing to complete the domain linking within 72 hours of submitting the domain name.
  • Clicking on ‘Verify’ before entering the DNS records in the domain registrar.

We have implemented two solutions to address these common errors:

  1. Fixing the 72-hour Certificate Expiry Issue: Previously, if sellers attempted to complete the domain linking process after 72 hours, their website certificate would expire. Despite entering the correct DNS records, the domain would not link due to the expired certificate. Now, if sellers return after 72 hours to complete the domain linking, our system automatically checks the certificate status and issues a new certificate as needed. This process is fully automated, so sellers do not need to take any additional action.

  2. Self-Serve Troubleshooting: If sellers are unable to link their domain, they will now see an option to troubleshoot manually or contact support. Using the Troubleshoot option, sellers can debug their domain linking process in two steps:

    • Step 1 – Check Domain Name: Sellers will be asked to confirm and check their domain name. If the domain name entered is incorrect, sellers can click "No, start over." This will automatically reset the domain linking process. It will take 10 minutes to delink the existing older domain, after which sellers can restart from the beginning by entering the new or correct domain.

    • Step 2 – Check DNS Values: If the domain name is correct, sellers can click "Yes" and proceed to the next step, where they will be asked to copy and paste the correct DNS values and then click on "Reverify."

Sample Addendum: