WARNING: THESE STEPS MUST BE FOLLOWED EXACTLY IN ORDER FOR YOUR CUSTOM DOMAIN TO WORK PROPERLY. IF YOU DEVIATE FROM THESE STEPS YOUR DOMAIN WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY EVEN THOUGH IT MAY APPEAR TO BE WORKING PROPERLY AND IT CAN CAUSE ISSUES WITH CUSTOMERS WHO ARE ATTEMPTING TO PURCHASE ART FROM YOUR WEBSITE.
Is your custom domain registered with BlueHost? Below you will find easy to follow step-by-step instructions detailing how to set up a custom domain with BlueHost to point to the Art Storefronts platform. This guide will create the required CNAME record and corresponding 301 redirect that allows your custom domain name to work with Art Storefronts.
Please note that this process is not optional but MANDATORY to complete.
Navigate to Bluehost.com and click Login.
Enter your Username.
Enter your Password.
Click Login.
You’ll then be taken to a new page where you will see your list of domains. Under manager, click on the DNS option.
The next page lists the DNS Records on your site.
Scroll down to the CNAME section and click on Add Record
A pop-up will show asking for several options. In the Host Record Name put an *. Leave TTL as is. Under Type select CNAME and then in Points To add your custom domain then click on Save.
Scroll down and find the section labeled CNAME (Alias) and find the Host Record that begins with www.
In the Points To box, you will need to enter www.artstorefronts.com. DO NOT, under any circumstances, type in your Art Storefronts subdomain here. Every customer is to enter in "www.artstorefronts.com" in this field then click on Save.
Scroll back to the top of the page and click on the button labeled My Domains.
On the domain list, chose your preferred domain again and in the Manage options, click on Redirects
Make sure you have the Permanent (301) option is selected.
Select your Domain in the box next to http://(www.)?
Then in the box labeled Redirects To, enter your custom domain name starting with http:// but without the leading www.
Make sure Redirect With or Without www is selected.
After you have completed this, click Add This Redirect.
From here, navigate to your Art Storefronts Control Panel and click on Site Address.
Under Custom Domains, click the button labeled Add New.
Enter your Custom Domain in the box.
Click Create.
WARNING: DO NOT USE ANY OTHER SETTINGS SUCH AS DOMAIN MASKING. CHECK IMMEDIATELY TO SEE IF YOU ARE USING THIS SETTING. IF YOU ARE TURN IT OFF.
YOUR SHOPPING CART AND SEO WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY IF DOMAIN MASKING IS TURNED ON.
If you don't already own one, please consider getting a Custom Email Address. A custom email address is essentially a unique email address associated with your brand or website's domain. It serves as a means of crafting personalized email identities for your organization, rather than relying on generic addresses offered by email service providers. For example, a custom email address can be used to create email addresses in the format user@yourdomain.com. Please read more about it here: Using your Custom Email Address from Your Custom Domain