Setting Up a Custom Domain

Magento Go allows you to launch a store very quickly – without even having to register a domain. Your store can be accessed by going to yourstorename.magentogo.com. However, if you prefer, you can also use your own, “dot com” address. This article explains how to set up a custom domain for your Magento Go store.

If you already have a registered domain name that you’d like to use as your Magento Go store’s default address, the process involves two major steps. First, you must Add URL in your Magento Go Account settings. Second, you must point your domain name (its DNS servers) to the Magento Go. Once this is initialized, it will take between 24-48 hours for your new domain name to be fully integrated into your Magento Go store.

Step 1: Add your domain to Magento Go

1. Log in to My Account at magentocommerce.com.
2. Go to My Magento Go Store panel under Products and Services. This page allows you to configure your Magento Go stores.
3. Click add next to Custom URL (if you have multiple stores, be sure this is for the correct one).
4. Next, enter the domain name that will be directed to your Magento Go store and click OK.

Step 2: Point your domain to Magento Go

Next, you must configure your DNS settings to point to Magento Go. To do this, simply create an A Record in your DNS configuration that points to 192.69.184.33. This is normally done in the Domain Management settings in the control panel of your registrar (the company where your domain is registered).

Note: The last numbers in the IP address of your Magento Go store correspond to the location where your store is hosted.  For merchants with stores hosted at gostorego.com, the IP address ends with 33.  For merchants with stores hosted at mygostorego.co.uk, the IP address ends with 36.

Most registrars by default, point to a domain that begins with “www.” If you prefer not to use the “www” in your custom domain, make sure that your registrar uses the correct URL to point to the host. It may be necessary to edit the entry from “www.mystore.com” to “mystore.com.” If you are not sure how to do this, check your registrar’s support section for information about “DNS management” or “zone file configuration.” If you need more help, contact their technical support.

Note:  If your DNS is managed outside of your registrar, you will have to configure these settings with your DNS service provider.

How to configure your domain with GoDaddy:

1. Login to your account at GoDaddy.com.
2. From the Domains menu (first item in the top navigation), select Domain Management under My Account.  You can see this in the image below.

   

3. From the Domain Manager page, select your domain name and click Manage Domain from the expanded panel. This will take you to the Domain Details page.
4. From Domain Details, click the Launch link just below the DNS Manager section
5. From the Zone File Editor page, click Add Record at the top of the zone file table.
6. A new window will pop up to Add DNS Record. For Record type select A (Host). Click OK.
7. Next, input the following values:

   a. Enter an Host Name: @

   b. Points to IP Address: 192.69.184.33

   c. TTL: 1 Hour

8. Click these values are entered, click OK.
9. Click Save Zone File at the top right, and then click OK in the confirmation box, to save these changes.

Note: Due to the nature of the technology, changes made to DNS can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate. We recommend that you wait a while before moving on to step three.

Once you are sure that accessing your domain will direct the customer to your Magento Go store, move on to step three.

Step 3: Activate Your New Domain (External Domain)

Once you have configured your domain to point to the Magento Go server, you can switch your Magento Go store over to your custom domain (external domain).

1. In the Admin Panel, select System > Configuration.
2. Click the Web tab from the left side panel in the General section.
3. Click Active Domain from the Web configuration page to expand it.
4. In the Active domain field, select your custom domain from the drop-down menu.
5. Click Save Config to save changes.

See also:

Adding a Custom SSL Certificate