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How-to

DNS at your registrar

Overview​

After UltraCart issues your certificate, it emails you the DNS values your domain needs. You enter those wherever your DNS is managed, which is usually your domain registrar. Until you do, the domain does not reach your StoreFront.

Two records matter for a full domain:

RecordSet it toNotes
Root, shown as @ or the bare domainThe numeric IP address from your DNS setup emailRoot records cannot be a CNAME, so this one is an A record
wwwThe MID.ultracartssl.com CNAME target from the same emailMID is your merchant ID

If you are pointing only a subdomain such as secure.yourdomain.com or shop.yourdomain.com, create just that one record rather than touching the root.

tip

Set the TTL to a custom value of 600 seconds before you make the change. A shorter TTL means DNS reacts faster if you need to correct something, which matters most on the day you cut over.

warning

Turn off Cloudflare's DNS proxy. UltraCart does not support proxying through Cloudflare. Point the CNAME directly at UltraCart, or UltraCart reports the DNS as misconfigured even though Cloudflare's interface shows it as correct.

Find out who manages your DNS​

If UltraCart has emailed you asking for a DNS record and you are not sure who to ask, the WHOIS record for your domain tells you. It lists the registrar and the name servers currently answering for the domain, which is who controls DNS.

DNS is usually managed in one of two places:

  • Your domain registrar, such as Network Solutions or GoDaddy
  • Your hosting company

Look up your domain at whois.icann.org and scroll past the registrant and administrative contacts to the name servers, or to the "Registration Service Provider" line. That is the company to log into.

If you are not comfortable editing DNS, call that provider's support line and read them the values from your UltraCart setup email. You can find them again under Main Menu → Configuration → Checkout → SSL Certificate (Custom) with Advanced View enabled.

GoDaddy​

  1. Sign in at GoDaddy.com.

  2. Click Manage on the Domains section.

    The Manage button on the GoDaddy Domains section

  3. Click the settings gear for your domain, then Domain Details.

    Domain Details in the GoDaddy domain settings menu

  4. Click DNS Zone File.

    The DNS Zone File tab in GoDaddy

  5. Locate the @ record and the www CNAME and click the pencil icon on each.

    The @ and www records in the GoDaddy zone file with their edit icons

  6. For the @ record, enter the numeric IP address from your UltraCart DNS setup email into Points to, set the TTL to a custom 600 seconds, and click Finished.

    Editing the root A record in GoDaddy

  7. For the www CNAME, enter the MID.ultracartssl.com value from the same email, again with a 600 second TTL.

    Editing the www CNAME record in GoDaddy

  8. Click Save Changes.

    The Save Changes link in the GoDaddy zone file editor

Then return to your StoreFront's General tab, click Change StoreFront Location, and complete the activation.

Completing activation from the StoreFront General tab

Network Solutions​

  1. Go to the Network Solutions website and click Manage Account.

    The Manage Account button on the Network Solutions site

  2. Enter your User ID and password and click Login.

    The Network Solutions login form

  3. Under My Domain Names, select your domain from the dropdown and click Go.

    Selecting a domain under My Domain Names

  4. Click Edit next to Advanced DNS settings.

    The Edit link beside Advanced DNS settings

  5. Click Edit A Records.

    The Edit A Records button

  6. Edit the www and @(none) records. Enter 600 for the TTL and the numeric IP from your UltraCart DNS setup email.

    Editing the A records at Network Solutions

    For a subdomain such as secure.yourdomain.com, enter the prefix into the input field provided, then set the TTL and IP.

  7. Save and apply the settings, then return to the StoreFront Change Location dialog and activate the certificate.

HostGator​

  1. Go to HostGator.com and click Login to Customer Portal.

    The Login to Customer Portal link on HostGator

  2. Enter your credentials and click Login.

  3. Click the Hosting tab, then Domains.

    The Domains button under the HostGator Hosting tab

  4. Scroll down and click Advanced DNS Zone Editor.

    The Advanced DNS Zone Editor link

  5. HostGator already points www at the root as a CNAME, so you only need to change the root entry. Click Edit on the root host name.

    The root host name entry with its Edit link

  6. Change the Address to the IP provided by UltraCart and click Edit Record.

    Entering the UltraCart IP address on the root record

  7. Return to your StoreFront's General tab, click Change StoreFront Location, and click the activate button.

    The activate button in the Change StoreFront Location dialog

  8. Check the box to redirect everything to the primary host name, then save.

    The redirect to primary host name checkbox

Dotster​

  1. Go to dotster.com and click Account Login.

  2. Enter your username and password and click Login.

  3. From the control panel, click DomainCentral.

    DomainCentral in the Dotster control panel

  4. Click the domain you want to configure DNS for.

  5. Click the DNS link in the toolbar.

    The DNS link in the Dotster toolbar

  6. Select A Record from the modify dropdown.

    Selecting A Record from the Dotster modify dropdown

Use an A record to point both the @ record, which shows as the bare domain in the list, and the www entry at UltraCart.

My registrar is not listed​

The records are the same wherever your DNS lives: a root A record pointing at the IP address UltraCart gave you, and a www CNAME pointing at MID.ultracartssl.com. Any registrar's DNS editor can set both.

If you have any questions, contact UltraCart support. UltraCart's DNS specialists can help with the configuration and the launch of your StoreFront.

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