Domains & Hosting
Overview
Every UltraCart account starts with two StoreFront hosts:
MERCHANTID.ultracartstore.comfor public useMERCHANTID.ultracartdev.comfor your own development and testing
MERCHANTID is your UltraCart merchant ID. Most merchants eventually replace the public one
with their own domain, which means buying or supplying an SSL certificate, pointing DNS at
UltraCart, and then activating the new address. This section covers all three.
To add more StoreFronts than the two you start with, rename a host or apply a custom SSL certificate using your own domain name. The number of hosts you can have is tied to certificates, not to a setting.
Change your StoreFront's web address
Use Change Storefront Location to switch between the default hosts or move to a custom domain.
- Go to Main Menu → StoreFronts → (select your StoreFront host).
- Click Change Storefront Location.
In the Edit Storefront URL dialog you can either rename the current host with the pencil icon beside it, or add your own domain.
Choose how much of your site UltraCart hosts
Clicking I own a domain name I would like to add to UltraCart asks which of three arrangements you want:
| Choice | What UltraCart hosts | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Whole Website (recommended) | Your site, store, and checkout. Every page lives in the StoreFronts CMS | UltraCart is your whole web presence |
| Only Your Store | Product pages and shopping cart. Non-product pages stay on your server | You already have a site you want to keep |
| Only Your Cart | Checkout only. Your site and products are hosted elsewhere | You want UltraCart for the cart alone |
Enter your domain into Add Your Domain Name and click Next.
Before you start, make sure one of these mailboxes exists at your domain and can receive mail:
admin@, administrator@, hostmaster@, postmaster@, or webmaster@. Validation email can
only go to one of those five, and without one the certificate cannot be issued.
Issuing a certificate also requires a validation email to someone who controls the domain. Pick one of the five constructed addresses offered. Addresses drawn from your domain's WHOIS record are no longer accepted by any certificate authority. See Domain control validation.
If you do not own a domain yet
Click I need to buy a new domain name to see a list of domain vendors. Buy the domain at any registrar, then come back and add it with the steps above.
If you already have an SSL certificate
Certificates you bought elsewhere are handled on the SSL Certificates screen rather than in this wizard. See SSL certificates.
After the wizard: point your DNS
Buying the certificate is only the first half. The domain does not resolve to your StoreFront until you add DNS records at whoever manages DNS for the domain, using the IP address and CNAME target UltraCart emails you.
See DNS at your registrar for the records to create and walkthroughs for several registrars.
UltraCart does not support Cloudflare's DNS proxy. If your domain sits behind Cloudflare, turn the proxy off for these records (the orange cloud) and point the DNS directly at UltraCart. With the proxy on, UltraCart reports the DNS as pointing incorrectly even when Cloudflare's own interface looks right.
If you cannot see your website
A site that will not load after a domain change is almost always a DNS problem, and the StoreFront tells you so.
- Go to Main Menu → StoreFronts → (select your StoreFront host) → General.
- Look at the Store Location field near the top. A red dot at the end of the field means your DNS record is wrong.
- Click the red dot. UltraCart shows what it sees in your DNS record, along with the values it expects.
If the records look right and the dot is still red, the change may not have propagated yet, or the domain may be proxied through Cloudflare. See the warning above.
Frequently asked questions
I want several StoreFronts for different product lines, but I only see two hosts. How do I add more?
An account can hold many StoreFront hosts, but beyond the two defaults each one needs its own custom SSL certificate. Buy or import a certificate for each domain, then configure it as an additional host.
Does UltraCart host my email?
No. UltraCart does not host email with StoreFronts, so keep your email with your current provider. See Hosts and aliases.
Next steps
- DNS at your registrar for the records to create.
- SSL certificates for buying, importing, renewing, and removing one.
- Hosts and aliases for running a second domain against one StoreFront.