<!DOCTYPE html>
<html><head><title>How do I set up a custom domain with cPanel?</title></head><body>
<strong>How do I set up a custom domain with cPanel? </strong><br />
<br />
First of all, before you try to set up a custom domain with cPanel, make sure that you understand the details of setting up a CNAME DNS record by reading this FAQ first:<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; max-width: 100%; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
<tbody style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<tr style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<td style="box-sizing: border-box; width: 20px;"><a href="/user/faqs.cgi?answer=140"><img height="20" src="//cdn.clickmagick.com/images/user/faqpage.gif" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="17" /></a></td>
<td style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </td>
<td style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b><a href="/user/faqs.cgi?answer=140"> What is the recommended way to set up a custom domain? </a></b></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
You should also watch our Setup Video even though it shows the setup process using the NameCheap registrar. The video explains many important details that are common to setting up a custom domain no matter what registrar or control panel you are using:<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="/misc/video.cgi?name=cnamedns" id="video-link-new"><img border="0" height="24" src="//cdn.clickmagick.com/images/user/play.png" width="24" /></a></td>
<td><img height="1" src="//cdn.clickmagick.com/images/spacer.gif" width="10" /></td>
<td><b><a href="/misc/video.cgi?name=cnamedns" id="video-link-new">How To Set Up A Custom Domain Using a CNAME DNS Record</a></b></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<br />
<strong>Setting up your custom domain with cPanel ...</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Step 1:</strong> <strong>Create a CNAME record in the Advanced Zone Editor</strong><br />
<br />
From cPanel, go to the Domains section and click on the “Advanced Zone Editor” tool. cPanel looks a bit different with every hosting company, but the Domains section should look something like this:<br />
<br />
<img src="//cdn.clickmagick.com/images/user/faqs/cpdomains.png" /><br />
<br />
The Advanced Zone Editor will show you all of your existing DNS records and give you the option to add new DNS records.<br />
<br />
To add a new CNAME record, simply select your domain from the drop-down list.<br />
<br />
Next, where it says “Add a Record”, select CNAME from the drop-down labeled “Type” then fill in the settings.<br />
<br />
For example, if you want your custom tracking domain to be <code>www.yourdomain.com</code>, you’d enter <strong>www</strong> in the “Name” section of the DNS entry (cPanel will fill in the rest), set the TTL value to <strong>3600</strong> (1 hour), and point the CNAME to one of ClickMagick’s domains. Use <code>www.clkmg.com</code> for tracking links and split tests or <code>www.clkmr.com</code> for rotators.<br />
<br />
Your entry should look like this:<br />
<br />
<img src="//cdn.clickmagick.com/images/user/faqs/cpwww.png" /><br />
<br />
Click the “Add Record” button and you should see this CNAME entry:<br />
<br />
<img src="//cdn.clickmagick.com/images/user/faqs/cpznwww.png" /><br />
<br />
You can’t have two entries with the same hostname value. If you find another CNAME record with the same “www” hostname value, delete the entry that does not have the ClickMagick domain.<br />
<br />
If you don’t want to use “<strong>www</strong>.yourdomain.com” for your tracking domain because it already points to another website, you’ll want to set the Domain Name to something other than “www”. The word “track” is a good choice, giving you “track.yourdomain.com” as your tracking domain:<br />
<br />
<img src="//cdn.clickmagick.com/images/user/faqs/cptrkent.png" /><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Step 2: Add your custom domain to ClickMagick</b><br />
<br />
Once you complete Step 1 above, the only other thing you need to do is add your custom domain to your ClickMagick account using the <strong><a href="/user/domains.cgi" target="_blank">Domain Manager</a></strong>.<br />
<br />
Be sure to add your custom domain exactly as you’ve set it up in Step 1 above e.g. either <code>www.yourdomain.com</code> or <code>track.yourdomain.com</code> in the examples above.<br />
<br />
ClickMagick’s Domain Manager will thoroughly test your domain when you try to add it. If the Domain Manager accepts the domain, then you’ve set it up correctly and it’s working perfectly! Otherwise, read and follow any error messages you get.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Step 3: Create your custom domain without “www.” <em>(optional)</em></b><br />
<br />
If you’re using your custom domain <em>only</em> for tracking purposes, you’ll probably want to also set up the non-”www.” version of your domain (i.e., “yourdomain.com”). This would typically be the case if you’ve just bought your domain specifically for tracking purposes.<br />
<br />
For example, if you just set up a CNAME record with a hostname of “www” as in Step 1 above, your tracking links will look like this:<br />
<br />
<code>http://www.yourdomain.com/linkID</code><br />
<br />
However, if you leave off the “www.” like this…<br />
<br />
<code>http://yourdomain.com/linkID</code><br />
<br />
… the tracking domain will NOT work.<br />
<br />
You have to set the non-”www.” version up as well, and because the non-”www.” domain does not have a hostname, you cannot use a CNAME record to properly set it up. Instead, you need to use an “A” record.<br />
<br />
<em><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 224);">Caution: you cannot make this change if you have any existing content at “yourdomain.com”. The second you add the “A” record, your domain will point to ClickMagick and not to your original website. This will break your existing website if you have one, and that includes a WordPress blog.</span></em><br />
<br />
If you’re unsure whether you have existing content, just enter your domain without the “www.” and see what pulls up. If it’s a website you want to keep, then you can’t add the “A” record or you will lose that website…<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">To get started, if there’s an existing “A” record that has just your domain with nothing in front of it, then you’ll need to delete it. You will almost certainly have to do this step. An existing entry will look like this, but with a different IP address:<br />
<br />
<img src="//cdn.clickmagick.com/images/user/faqs/cpaent.png" /></span><br />
<br />
Next, add a new “A” record with just your domain in the Name field that points to one of our IP addresses. Use IP <strong>50.97.212.250</strong> for tracking domains and IP <strong>50.97.212.251</strong> for rotator domains.<br />
<br />
Here’s what this looks like in cPanel for a custom tracking domain:<br />
<br />
<img src="//cdn.clickmagick.com/images/user/faqs/cparec.png" /><br />
<br />
Click “Add Record” and your “A” record is all set up! Your final complete setup—without duplicates—should look like this:<br />
<br />
<img alt="" src="//cdn.clickmagick.com/images/user/faqs/cpfinalsetup.png" style="width: 600px; height: 108px;" /><br />
<br />
You will see other entries in your DNS records, but as long as you have only one entry for <code>www.yourdomain.com</code> and only one “A” record entry for <code>yourdomain.com</code>, then you’ve set it up correctly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Step 4: </strong><b>Add your custom domain (without “www.”) to ClickMagick</b><br />
<br />
Finally, you have to also add the non-www version of your domain to your <strong><a href="/user/domains.cgi" target="_blank">Domain Manager</a></strong><br />
and you’ll be all set.
</body></html>