Using your own domain
Revised 05/21/2012 MPK


Getting a domain you purchase and maintain separately to point to your XSite mainly comes down to you logging into the service from which you purchased it and telling it the names of our servers.

It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days for the rest of the web to recognize you've changed your domain settings. This is normal for any website and not under our control.

Important: Pointing your domain to your XSite won't result in a la mode taking over your domain's management. You'll still be responsible for renewing it separately with the company from whom you purchased it.

 

 

We've made it as easy and flexible as possible to use an external domain with an XSite, and this document will show you how to do it. But before getting started, you'll need to do a couple of things:

  • Obtain your account login info for domain control panel. For most people this is the login for their registrar (i.e. GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Register.com. etc) but if you got your domain from a previous website provider, you may need to contact them for this information.
  • Decide whether or not you want to move e-mail associated with your domain to our CertMail servers. Even though CertMail is really convenient, you may want to stick with your current e-mail provider so there's no downtime during the switch or learning curve. It is a little more complicated and technical if you want your e-mail to stay with a 3rd party, but we've done everything we can to make the instructions clear and concise.

Choose what you want switched over to our servers and your domain provider, and instructions specific to your choices will appear below.

1. What are you moving to your XSite?

2. Where did you purchase your domain? (GoDaddy, Network Solutions, etc.)
  
 

 

     
 

To get started with using a domain you purchased separately from your XSite, use the options above to choose what you want handled by a la mode and the service from which you purchased your domain, and this FAQ will be replaced by instructions specific to your provider.

  
     

What's a Registrar/Domain Provider/Domain Vendor?

A registrar is a company that sells and/or registers domain name (website address) purchases on the Internet. Typically they also adminstrate everything about that domain on your behalf as well - acting as the Technical Contact for your domain. You might think of a registrar as a domain name manufacturer. They manufacture and sell domains names. As a manufacturer, they often work with resellers who sell and aid in the administration of your domain name. As with any product, ultimately, the registrar is the source for all major service requests. The terms "domain provider" and "domain vendor" are often used interchangeably with the term "registrar," but they are one and the same thing.

I Don't Know Who my Domain Provider is. How Do I Find Out?

First, you'll need to know if your registrar is ENOM or one of ENOM's resellers. To determine if this is the case...

  1. Go to http://www.ENOMCentral.com/help/ and click Lookup Your Provider.

  2. Type your domain name into the first field and type the word verification into the second field. Then click Retrieve Provider.

    Retrieve provider

  3. If your registrar is ENOM or one of ENOM's resellers, the results will display the name of the originating reseller and their contact information.

  4. If your registrar is not ENOM or one of their resellers, a "Domain Does Not Exist in our System" message will be returned.

If your registrar is not ENOM or one of their resellers, you'll need to use a different tool to lookup your domain registrar. To determine your non-ENOM registrar...

  1. Go to http://www.internic.com/whois.html and type your domain name into the available text box.
  2. Click Submit to lookup your domain.
  3. When the lookup is complete, both your registrar and their contact information will appear.

The name of your Registrar and the Referral URL are the key pieces of information you need from these results. If you need more information about your registrar or how to contact them, visit their website by typing the Referral URL you see listed into your web browser's address bar.

What's with the Temporary Downtime when I Transfer my Domain?

In a nutshell, whenever you change your name servers, those settings take time to "propagate" to all the servers across the Internet. It's during this "propagation" time while your new settings are taking effect that you will experience a blackout on your existing website or e-mail. This is true regardless of whether you transfer your domain to an XSite or any other website.

Ultimately, this downtime depends on your domain provider. Some are faster at "propagating" the changes than others and, in some cases, you may find that the downtime has ended in certain parts of the country before it has ended for you.