Using a Custom URL

Every IndieMade site comes with an IndieMade URL, such as yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com. But if you own your own URL, such as yourcustomurl.com, and if you are at the standard plan or higher, you can use that domain instead. These instructions explain how to configure your domain so that people will see only your URL in their browsers when visiting your site.

What if I don't own my custom domain yet?

You'll need to purchase your domain, from one of the many domain registrars, before you start. Many of our customers use GoDaddy, because it's cheap and because we have good instructions on how to follow these steps, but nearly any registrar will do.

What do I do?

  1. Make sure your custom url (yourcustomurl.com) is correct by visiting your account page. If it is not correct, change it using the "Edit site details" link.
  2. Add a CNAME with your DNS host (this is usually your domain registrar), using that host's control panel. The CNAME record is for www to yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com.
  3. Set up a "domain forward" or "domain redirect" from your base domain (yourcustomurl.com) to the web domain (www. yourcustomurl.com).
  4. Wait patiently. It normally takes no more than an hour, but it can take a few days for the new domain mapping to propagate out. In the meantime you can continue to use your normal site URL, yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com.

How Do I Know if it Worked?

First, wait a few minutes for your changes to take effect. Then visit your account page on IndieMade and look for a problem notification under your site name. If you've made a mistake in setting up your custom URL, you will see a link that looks like this:

Custom URL Warning

Click on Get help for specific instructions on how to fix it.

If your account pages don't have the warning message This custom URL is not configured properly but it's still not working for you, close out all your browsers and open them again, to make sure you're starting from scratch. Type yourcustomurl.com into the browser's location bar and push enter. The text should be replaced with www. yourcustomurl.com, and as you click around your site, the name of the page you're looking at should appear in the location bar. 

If you see yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com in the location bar, or if it always reads only www. yourcustomurl.com no matter what page you're looking at, then you didn't do it correctly. 

Help I'm Stuck!

Contact support and ask for help. We have helped hundreds of people get their domains set up for IndieMade. We can help you too.

A Final Step

Once your changes have taken effect, and your custom URL is pointing at your IndieMade site, you'll want to take one more step: change your default base URL in your dashboard. Log in, navigate to Website > Promote, and type in your custom URL. When your IndieMade site notifies Google and Bing of changes in your site, it'll use your custom URL.

Popular DNS Hosts' CNAME Instructions

Although the four basic steps are the same, each DNS host is different. We have collected instructions for many popular hosts below. If your host isn't listed here, you may have to contact their customer support for help.

Using a Custom URL on IndieMade with DreamHost

This short tutorial explains how to use DreamHost's control panel to set up your custom URL with IndieMade.

  1. Log into your DreamHost control panel at https://panel.dreamhost.com/
  2. Click on Manage Domains
  3. If the screen says that the domain is fully hosted, click on the X to deactivate this. (You want your site to be hosted at IndieMade, not DreamHost.)
  4. Under the name of your domain, click on DNS. (If you don't see this, click on Add Hosting, scroll down, and click on the Add DNS Hosting! button. Then go back to your Manage Domains listing and you should see it.)
  5. Enter www in the Name field, choose CNAME from the type field, and enter your IndieMade name yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com, so the edit box looks like the following picture:
  6. Click the Add Record Now button

Now, just wait. It can take some time for your changes to take effect.

Forward the Base Domain

All traffic for www.yourcustomurl.com will now go to your IndieMade site. But if someone types in just yourcustomurl.com -- that is, without the www -- we'd like her to be directed to your site as well. To do this, we'll set up what DreamHost calls a redirect domain.

  1. Log into your DreamHost control panel at https://panel.dreamhost.com/
  2. Click on Manage Domains
  3. Click the Add New Domain/Sub Domain button 
  4. Scroll down to the Redirect block
  5. In the box labeled Domain to Redirect, put your base domain (yourcustomurl.com), and in the Redirect to URL box, put the full www URL (www.yourcustomurl.com), like this:
  6. Click the Redirect this domain now button

Wait a bit for the changes to take effect, and you're done.

Using a Custom URL on IndieMade with Enom

Log into your account at enom.com, and then follow these instructions to set up your CNAME.

  1. From the drop-down menu at the domains tab, click on My Domain.
  2. If not already selected, select the domain you want to point to your IndieMade site (yourcustomurl.com).
  3. Click on Host Settings.
  4. Look for a CNAME row with www. If there is none, add a new one with www.
  5. For the host name, use your IndieMade domain (yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com)
  6. Click Save

Using a Custom URL on IndieMade with EveryDNS

  1. Log in to your account at EveryDNS.net.
  2. On the left side, click the domain you’d like to use with your site, yourcustomurl.com.
  3. Since EveryDNS.net is your hosting service, and not your domain registrar, be sure that your domain points to EveryDNS.net’s nameservers. This will allow your CNAME record configuration to take effect.
  4. Below Add a Record, you can create your CNAME record.
  5. Next to Fully Qualified Domain Name, enter www as the entry next to Fully Qualified Domain Name.
  6. Select CNAME as the Record Type.
  7. Enter yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com as the Record Value.
  8. Click Add Record.

Using a Custom URL on IndieMade with GoDaddy

Adding a CNAME Record

First, log into your Account Manager. Then, next to Domains, click on Manage. 

 GoDaddy Manage Domains 

Next to your domain, click on and select "Manage Connection".

GoDaddy Manage Connection

Select the DNS Zone File tab.

GoDaddy DNS Zone File

Then select Add Record.

  GoDaddy Add Record  

 

Select the CNAME record type.

   GoDaddy Add CNAME    

 

The host name is "www". Change the "Points to" field to your IndieMade URL (yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com). There is no "www." in front of your IndieMade URL. Click Finish when you're done.

    GoDaddy CNAME details    

 

Be sure to click Save Changes!

          

Adding Domain Forwarding

Select Settings from your domain management page. Click on "Manage" by the Forwarding region.

            

Select Add Forwarding.

              

Forward the Domain to your "www." URL (www.yourcustomurl.com). This should be a 301 redirect, forward only. Click Add when you're done with the entries.

Hit Save, and that's it!

Correcting the Error - "Specified Record Already Exists in the Zone..."

If you get this error after trying to save your CNAME record:

Godaddy Error 

It means that you already have a CNAME record for host name "www" and you need to delete the existing CNAME record before saving the new CNAME record that points to your IndieMade website. You're only allowed to have one CNAME record with the host name "www".

You may also edit the existing CNAME record, so it points to yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com.

Using a Custom URL on IndieMade with Network Solutions

This short tutorial explains how to use Network Solution's control panel to set up your custom URL with IndieMade.

Log in to your Network Solutions control panel at http://www.networksolutions.com

  1. Select Edit Advanced DNS Records
     
    Edit Advanced DNS Records
  2. Scroll down to the section reading IP Address (A Records). If there is an A record for www (as there is below), click on Edit A Records and delete the A record.
     
    How to edit IP address records
  3. Scroll down to the CNAME record portion of the screen and push on Edit CNAME Records.
     
    How to locate the CNAME button
  4. Create a www record so that www traffic will go to your IndieMade site. Select the Other Host option and put your IndieMade site name (yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com) in the box.
     
    how to create a www record
  5. Push Continue

Now when someone visits www.customurl.com, they'll see your IndieMade site. 

Remember it can take up to 24 hours for your changes to take effect.

Using a Custom URL on IndieMade with Yahoo! Small Business

Add your CNAME like this:

  1. Log in to your account at https://smallbusiness.yahoo.com
  2. Click Domain Control Panel below the domain you’d like to use with your site.
  3. Click Manage Advanced DNS Settings.
  4. Click Add Record.
  5. In the Source field, enter www in the Source field.
  6. Enter yourwebsitenamegoeshere.indiemade.com in the Destination field.
  7. Click Submit.

Unfortunately, Yahoo does not permit redirects from the base domain to the www subdomain. Instead, contact support to set up a javascript redirect on your site. 

Using a Custom URL on IndieMade with ix Web Hosting

  1. Log in to your account at ix web hosting.
  2. Click Manage below the Hosting Account section.
  3. On the left side, click the domain you’d like to use with your site.
  4. Next to DNS Configuration, click EDIT.
  5. Click Add DNS CNAME Record.
  6. Under Name, enter www
  7. Enter yourname.indiemade.com under Data.
  8. Click Submit.