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How To: Use a non-recommended Domain Name Registrar
How To: Use a non-recommended Domain Name Registrar
Hazel Dulay avatar
Written by Hazel Dulay
Updated over 4 months ago

Content


Overview

If your domain registrar is not recommended in Art Storefronts, it is most likely that your registrar is missing an essential part of the recommended custom domain set-up in Art Storefronts. Below are a few workarounds that you might use to get your domain working as expected. This involves using another service.

We have added two free easy platforms and we hope this will be a quick easy workaround for you:


Using Redirect Pizza

Redirect Pizza is a service that improves your domain settings by adding the following features:

  • Automatic HTTPS

  • Easy DNS and domain forwarding setup

  • Analytics

To use Redirect Pizza, you will need:

Let’s get Started:

  1. Go to redirect.pizza and login using your login credentials

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  2. You will now be taken to a new screen with the list of your redirects. If you do not have any redirects yet, don’t worry. Creating your first redirect will be fun.

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  3. When you click on Create your first redirect or Create Redirect, you will be taken to a new screen where you can set-up a redirect. For the purposes of this tutorial, we’ll use the domain name artmarketsolution.com.

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  4. In the Source URL, we are going to type in our root domain (your domain without www). In our case, it’s artmarketsolution.com.

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  5. In the Destination URL, please add your full domain URL. Using our example, we are going to add http://www.artmaketsolution.com

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  6. Below the Destination URL, you will find a few parameters. Please set these parameters as follows:

    1. Redirect Type - Permanent (301)

    2. URl Forwarding - On

    3. Keep parameters - On

    4. Tracking - On

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  7. After that, click on Create Redirect.

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  8. This will take you to a new page showing your new redirect.

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  9. As shown above, redirect.pizza generates an IP Address for you. We need to copy this number and add in your registrar’s account. To copy, please click on the copy icon (

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    The platform will let you know that your IP Address has been copied.

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  10. Now we need to add this record in your domain registrar. For the purposes of this tutorial, we are going to use GoDaddy. Please navigate to your domain's DNS records

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  11. In the DNS section, please look for an A Record with the name "@" or your root domain (your domain name without www. For example artmarketsolution.com).

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  12. Click on Edit and replace the value with the IP Address provided by redirect.pizza and then save the record.

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  13. Scroll down to the DNS Records section of this page, and find the CNAME entry named www. Click on the Edit button to the right to edit this record.

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  14. Delete the address added on the Value field to www.artstorefronts.com and then click on Save.

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    Warning: Only enter www.artstorefronts.com into this field. DO NOT put your Art Storefronts subdomain or any other domain name into this field.

  15. After adding the A Record to your domain’s DNS Records, please click on the Force Check.

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  16. After redirect.pizza confirms that the DNS Record exists in your domain, then the last DNS column will change to reflect that the record has been verified.

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Using Cloudflare

Cloudflare is a global network designed to make everything you connect to the Internet secure, private, fast, and reliable.

To use Could-flare, you will need:

Important: This process will need you to change your domain nameservers. This will affect other services controlled by your domain settings. For example, emails registered using your domain, file transfer services, other subdomains and access to other platforms.

Let’s get Started:

  1. Go to https://www.cloudflare.com/ and click on Log In

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  2. This will take you to a new window where it’ll ask you to provide your email address and password so as to access your account

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  3. Please select your domain on the next page. For the purposes of this tutorial, we are going to use artmarketsolution.com as our domain.

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  4. From within your Cloudflare account, navigate to your DNS

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  5. You’ll be taken to a new page where you’ll see your DNS Records. Change the value of the www CNAME Record to www.artstorefronts.com

    1. Make sure that www is marked as the name

    2. Enter www.artstorefronts.com as the target

    3. Select Automatic TTL

    4. The cloud should be orange with a grey arrow through it

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  6. Add a Root Domain CName Record:

    1. Select CNAME from the dropdown menu

    2. Enter @ as the name

    3. Enter www.artstorefronts.com as the target

    4. Select Automatic TTL

    5. The cloud should be orange with a grey arrow through it.

    6. Click Save

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  7. In the next step, we are going to add your Page Redirect Rule. You can do this by going back at the side navigation, click Rules

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    ​​

  8. If you don’t already have one, create a new page rule

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  9. Enter your domain as yourdomain.com/*. In our case, we are going to enter artmarketsolution.com/*.

    Note: in place of yourdomain you see here you will enter your actual domain name

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  10. Right below that in the settings drop down menu, please select the Forwarding URL.

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  11. This will load some settings for you to adjust.

    1. Under Select Status Code click 301 - Permanent Redirect

    2. For the destination URL, enter in this exact format https://www.yourdomain.com/$1. In our case, we’ll add https://www.artmarketsolution.com/$1

      Note: in place of ‘yourdomain’ enter your actual domain name

    3. Click Save and Deploy

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  12. Since both Art Storefronts and Cloudflare automatically SSL Certificates to your domain, we need to ensure that both of these platforms can integrate with one another with no conflicts. We can do this by going back at the top navigation, click SSL/TLS

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  13. You’ll be taken to a new page where you’ll be provided some options on how to manage your SSL. Please change the setting from Full to Flexible.

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    Please Note: If you do not check this step, your domain will result in an error. Below is an example:

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  14. And that completes your domain set-up with Cloudflare


Adding Your Domain in Art Storefronts

  1. Now it’s time to switch to the Site Manager in Art Storefronts in order to perform the other part of this process. Once your site has loaded, click on Site Address.

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  2. Click on + Add New.

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  3. Enter your domain name into this field. If it’s not a subdomain, you should have a www at the start of it, then click on Create.

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  4. You should now have your domain name as shown below.

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Please note: Although your domain name may be up and running very quickly, in some cases it may take up to 24-48 hours for these settings to take effect properly. While these changes are propagating you may experience errors while trying to access your domain name, but these should disappear once this process has been completed.

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