Mapping a Subdomain to your Placester Site [Classic]

Katherine Ramirez Updated by Katherine Ramirez

This article will show you how to Point a custom subdomain to your Placester site.

 It is important to note that this is an advanced option.  Accomplishing this on your own does require a strong understanding of how domain settings work.  If you need assistance it is best to reach out to Placester support directly, as your domain provider may not be familiar with this process

What is a Subdomain?

A subdomain is a domain that is part of a larger domain. For example, if you own the domain example.com, that is the root domain. Examples of subdomains would be realestate.example.com and blog.example.com. In this article, we'll show you how to map realestate.example.com to your Placester site.

This article shows the steps you can take in GoDaddy, but a similar approach can be taken within other domain registrars.

Please note that most customers use a standard domain on their Placester sites rather than subdomains. This article shows the best possible method for using a subdomain, but it is an advanced setup that requires more steps than setting up a regular domain. 

Log in to your GoDaddy Account

First, go to GoDaddy and log in to your account. The username is typically your Customer Number unless you've changed it to something custom. 

If you're having trouble logging in and think you might need to reset your password, click Forgot your password? or contact GoDaddy at (480) 505-8877.

Manage Domains

Once logged in, you'll be redirected to your GoDaddy dashboard. Next to Domains, click Manage.

This will bring you to a list of your domains. Click on the domain that you're going to use for your Placester site.

My Domains

Here, you'll see boxes with all of your individual domains and their statuses. 

Domain Details

Hover over the settings icon for the domain you'd like to use, then click Domain Details.

Domain Settings

This will bring you to the domain settings page. The nameserver settings highlighted below are important to note: 

Nameservers

The nameservers must be set to the GoDaddy default settings. This will look similar to:

NSx.DOMAINCONTROL.COM

NSy.DOMAINCONTROL.COM

(the NS number may vary, but they always end in domaincontrol.com)

If you see something different, follow the instructions below for changing the nameservers. If the nameservers are correct, skip to the DNS Zone File step.

Resetting Your Nameservers

If you were previously using a different website provider with the same domain, they might have mapped your domain to that website using nameservers. If you didn't set up an email address through that website provider, click "Manage" under the Nameservers section.

Within this screen, select the Standard option to reset the nameservers to the GoDaddy defaults.

If you had an email set up through your previous website provider, resetting the nameservers might interrupt your email service. If that is the case, please get in touch with your email provider to determine how to move forward with the GoDaddy default nameservers and mapping your email through MX records rather than nameservers. They should be able to help you with this. 

Once your nameservers are reset to the GoDaddy defaults, click the DNS Zone File tab. You may have to wait about 10 minutes until the nameserver changes have been processed.

DNS Zone File

Click the DNS Zone File tab to change the two necessary DNS settings to point the domain to your Placester site. 

Step 1: Change the A-Record

By default, the A-Record is usually pointing to a different IP address than Placester's with the host @

Click the pen button to edit the A-Record. You might be prompted to fill out a CAPTCHA form for security. 

Make sure the following settings are entered:

  • Host: @
  • Points To: 184.169.141.142
  • TTL: 1 Hour

Click Finish when you're done.

Step 2: Change the CNAME 

By default, the CName with the host www is usually pointing to @. This is the CName that you'll need to change. There might be a few other CNames with different hosts that you can leave alone.

Click the pen button to edit the CName with the host www. You might be prompted to fill out a CAPTCHA form for security.

Make sure the following settings are entered:

  • Host: realestate (or the beginning of your subdomain that you plan to use)
  • Points To: domains.myrealestateplatform.com
  • TTL: 1 Hour

Click Finish when you're done.

Save your Changes

If you scroll to the top of the DNS editing page, you'll see a red banner that asks you to save the changes. Click Save Changes here.

DNS settings propagate almost immediately within GoDaddy, so there won't be much wait time.

Forwarding

After these changes are made, there's one more step within GoDaddy to tie it all together. Go back to the Settings tab to manage the subdomain forwarding. Domain forwarding should be set to Off.

 

Within the Subdomain forwarding screen, click Add subdomain forwarding.

Placester works seamlessly with main domains, but subdomains require an extra step to make sure the subdomain will work with or without the www. This is why it's necessary to set up domain forwarding.

Add a subdomain "www.realestate" (or www. + whatever your subdomain beginning is). For the Forward to settings, forward to realestate.example.com (or whatever your new subdomain is, WITHOUT the www).

It should be set to 301 (Permanent) and Forward Only. Click Add, then Save.

Once you’ve completed these settings, log in at placester.com to access the back end of your site and complete the final step for domain mapping. 

On your Customizer Dashboard click the three dots next to Edit Site.

This will bring you to the Custom Domain slide out.

Custom Domain Slide Out

When you first click on the Custom Domain slide out you will see that the default domain that was provided when you site was created is selected. You’ll want to select Custom Domain to add your Custom Domain.

Within the custom domain section, add the custom domain that you're looking to use. Use only lowercase letters, and be sure to include “www” when adding in your URL. Example: www.placester.com

Then click Save.

GoDaddy Support

GoDaddy offers 24/7 support at (480) 505-8877. We recommend getting in touch with them if you're encountering issues with changing the DNS settings on their platform.

Troubleshooting

If you've made all of these changes and are finding that your site still isn't loading, here are some potential causes: 

1. Caching: You have a cached copy of the site on your browser. Try clearing your cache, using a new browser or testing the site on a mobile device.

2. Propagation: DNS adjustments take longer to propagate with certain domain registrars. We like to test and make sure everything has propagated using www.WhatsMyDNS.com.

3. Errors in Site Settings > Custom Domain: make sure that you've entered just the subdomain without the www under Site Settings > Custom Domains. Otherwise, the site will not load.

Pro Tip: DNS Tools

Here are some DNS tools that we recommend: 

- Use WhoIs.com to find out where a domain is registered and the status of a domain

- Use WhatsMyDNS.net to check the current DNS records of a domain

Need More Help?

For questions, concerns, or feedback, please chat with our team: https://app.placester.com/chat

 

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Mapping your Namecheap domain to Placester [Classic]
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