Crystal CMS supports external domains but don't worry if you don't have one because we will create a sub-domain under ours for you automatically. Here is how it works:
Crystal CMS Websites without an external domain
Initially when a new empty Crystal CMS website is created, it is assumed that you do not have and are not using an external domain. The external domain text box in the website configuration page for your website will be empty. At this point your website will be accessible using the sub-domain inside the crystalcms.co.uk domain e.g. To access the Crystal CMS website JJSSoftware using the sub-domain, the sub-domain URL is http://www.crystalcms.co.uk/jjssoftware and all subsequent requests to pages to this website will be served from the sub-domain.
It is fine to continue using the sub-domain if that is how you want your website to work and you are happy to publish this URL as the address for your website to your website visitors / customers. However many website owners and webmasters prefer to use their own domain name as this is considered more professional and better reflects the subject and content of the web site in question. It is also worth noting that some search engines will rank your web site higher in their natural search results, when the target domain includes words/terms that are relevant to the content of the website. For these reasons Crystal CMS also transparently supports external domains:
Crystal CMS Websites with an external domain
Once you have decided you want to use your own domain with Crystal CMS, there are a few simple steps to perform:
- You find a registrar you want to use to register your domain with. We at Crystal CMS do not recommend any specific registrar for domain registration because there are literally hundreds to choose from, however keep in mind that in order for your domain to work with Crystal CMS, you need to be able to manage the DNS settings for your domain. Therefore this is an important point to consider when choosing a registrar; specifically you need to be able to perform a DNS A record redirect for your domain (see point 3 below).
- Once you have chosen your registrar register your chosen domain e.g. mySuperDomain.co.uk
- When you have successfully registered your domain, go to the control panel that your domain registrar provides for managing the DNS settings for your domain and change the A record pointers for both the root and www records to point to the IP address of the Crystal CMS web server. The IP address of the Crystal CMS web server is 89.187.102.137
- A DNS update can typically take between 24-72hrs to complete propagate across the internet and during this time your website is still accessible using the Crystal CMS sub-domain method.
- The final step is to login to the Crystal CMS control panel for your website and enter the name of your domain into the External Domain text box in the Website Configuration page e.g. enter mySuperDomain.co.uk into the external domain text box and save the changes.
After step 4 above has completed (the DNS update has completely propagated the web) your website will be accessible using both the Crystal CMS sub-domain and also your chosen configured external domain.
To continue our example from above, the JJS Software Crystal CMS website is now accessible using both the sub-domain method:
http://www.crystalcms.co.uk/jjssoftware
And also the configured external domain:
http://www.jjssoftware.co.uk
Go back to the configuration overview