How to Use Your Own Domain Name

Here is how to use your own domain name, purchased from the registrar of your choice, and integrate it with our hosting service for your custom website with Cascadia Branding Co.

First: Set up your new website

When you create a new account with Cascadia Branding Co., you will be automatically assigned a subdomain named something like:

yourcompanyname.cascadiabranding.co

You can edit, modify, and tweak that site to your heart’s content without worrying about the domain name.

Second: Add custom domain name to new site

From your new website’s Dashboard, select the “Account” menu item. On the Account page, find the module titled “Custom Domain.” Enter your amazing professional domain name in the text box, and click the big blue “Set Custom Domain Name” button.

Third: Create an “A Record” in your DNS zone files

Next, you’re going to create the “A record” that ties all the pieces together.

Each and every time a website visitor lands on your website, their web browser sends a query to the DNS registry to ask what server IP address they should look up to resolve your domain name.  You are going to edit your DNS so that your email service is handled by the provider of your choice, and your front-end website is hosted and served by Cascadia Branding Co.  To do that, you are going to create an “A Record” that points to our static IP address:

198.199.96.102

(You’ll also see this same IP address mentioned on the “Account > Custom Domain” panel that you visited in the second step, above.)

Fourth: Submit a Support Ticket for SSL

We don’t yet have a way to automate the creation of SSL certificates to secure your website.  While you are setting everything up, your setup subdomain (in the form yourcompanyname.cascadiabranding.co) is secured by our own SSL certificate.  Once your site goes live under your custom domain name, we need to get a new security certificate, just for you. Don’t worry! We have a simple workflow process that allows us to generate free SSL certificates for your domain, courtesy of the good people at Let’s Encrypt.  To repeat: the SSL certificate is free of charge and is included with your website hosting plan.  But we can’t set it up until that new “A Record” has been added to your DNS and the updated records have propagated throughout the name resolver network.  (That’s how Let’s Encrypts validates domain ownership and ensures it is issuing the new SSL certificate to a trusted host.)

From your Dashboard, find the “Support” menu item on the left hand side, and choose “Add New Ticket.”  Create a ticket telling us what the domain name is and when you added the “A Record” to your DNS.  Our technical support staff will use this information to obtain the new SSL certificate on your behalf; and we will respond to your ticket to let you know when it has been done.

All done!

That’s it! Your website now features your memorable new domain name, secured by an SSL certificate to increase your visitors’ trust in your company.