Mapping your Google Domain to Placester [Classic]

Katherine Ramirez Updated by Katherine Ramirez

This article will show you how to Map your Google Domain to Placester.

Mapping is the process of replacing your existing Placester domain with a custom one you have purchased from a third party provider.  Placester always recommends that you map your domain rather than forward it.  To find out more about the difference between mapping and forwarding click here. 

In order to take care of mapping your Google Domain to your Placester site, you will need to change both your A-Record (IP address) and CNAME (hosting platform) to Placester specific settings.  The article on this page will walk you through this process.  If you run into any trouble, we recommend speaking with Google directly as it is their product.  You can reach them here.

Having Google map your Domain

If you are going to have Google take care of Domain Mapping for you, you will want to provide them with the following settings for pointing your site to Placester.

1. Forwarding: OFF

2. Nameservers: Set to DEFAULT

3. A-Record: 184.169.141.142

4. CNAME: domains.myrealestateplatform.com   

After this is done move down to the bottom of the document and follow the instructions for your Placester site.

Mapping your domain in Google Domains 

First, go to Google Domains and click Manage Domains to log in to your account. 

DNS

Once logged in, you'll see your Google Domains dashboard. Click DNS to access the DNS settings next to the domain you're looking to edit.

Name Servers

In order to change the DNS settings, first, the name servers must be set to the Google default name server settings. If you see something different, follow the instructions below for changing the name servers. If the name servers are already set to Google's name servers, skip to the Custom Resource Records step.

Resetting Your Name Servers

If you were previously using a different website provider with the same domain, they might have mapped your domain to that website using name servers. If you didn't set up an email address through that website provider, you can check off the "Use Google's name servers" option to switch back to the default settings.

If you had an email set up through your previous website provider, resetting the name servers 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 Google default name servers and mapping your email through MX records rather than name servers. They should be able to help you with this. 

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

Custom Resource Records

Once the name server settings are correct, scroll down to the Custom Resource Records section at the bottom of the screen. You'll need to add two records here.

Step 1: Add an A-Record

Add the following record: 

  • Host: @
  • Type: A
  • TTL: 1H
  • IP Address: 184.169.141.142

Click Add when you're done.

Step 2: Add a CNAME 

Add the following record:

  • Host: www
  • Type: CNAME
  • TTL: 1H
  • Points to: domains.myrealestateplatform.com

Click Add when you're done.

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.

Google Domains Support

Google Domains offers support via chat, email or phone directly through the domain manager. 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 included the www before the custom domain and you didn't use any capital letters. 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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