A custom domain refers to a domain you own that you can use for your own website, or to use with website creators such as Picfair. For example, Picfair’s domain name is picfair.com and an example of a Store with the Picfair domain can be https://picfairsupport.picfair.com.
As a Plus user, you can link any domain you own to your Store and this will replace the web address your Store is assigned upon signing up. You can use Picfair Plus without having a custom domain. When you publish your Picfair Store, the URL will be formatted like this: username.picfair.com. You only need your own domain if you want to change the URL to something more personal.
Getting started
Picfair does not sell domains directly. To use a custom domain with Picfair, you must purchase a domain from a Domain Registrar.
There are many Domain Registrars from which you can buy a custom domain - a simple google search will guide you, and you can choose whichever one you prefer. Our most recommended are GoDaddy or 123-Reg.
You must have access to edit the DNS records for your domain. These can usually be found in your domain registrar’s account. Every DNS Provider’s settings look slightly different and may use different terminology to what is used in this guide. Though some wording may be dissimilar, the settings you need to change are the same across all DNS Providers.
You must use a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) when setting up a custom domain for your store. A FQDN is the complete domain name for a specific computer, or host, on the internet. It consists of two parts: the hostname and the domain name. For example, Picfair’s fully qualified domain is the hostname www. plus the domain name picfair.com = www.picfair.com
Setting up your Custom Domain
- Go to this page and input your domain. This must be a fully qualified domain name. In most cases, your fully qualified domain name will be something like www.example.com but it could also be something like gallery.example.com. Then click 'Next'.
- You must now create two CNAME records in your DNS Provider settings. Your DNS Provider's FAQs will have instructions on how to create a CNAME record. Use the copy buttons on Picfair to copy and paste the corresponding values into the two new CNAME records in your DNS Provider settings.
For example, if your domain is www.example.com, this is what your Picfair settings will show: - Below is an example of where to input your CNAME and Hostname on 123-Reg. These settings can look different depending on your DNS provider, but should look something like this:
-
Save the settings. You can then check the status of your domain in Picfair by refreshing this page. It can take up to 48 hours to update, but will usually only take a couple of hours.
-
If all settings are correct, when the status shows a success message, your Picfair Store will now be using your custom domain.
Troubleshooting
I've set everything up correctly but my custom domain is still not working
Make sure you have no other CNAME entries set up in your DNS Provider settings because they can interfere. If you do have other CNAME entries set up, delete them and wait for 48 hours to see if it solves the problem.
A Records can also interfere - if you have any unnecessary A Records, try deleting them and waiting for 48 hours to see if it solves the problem.
My domain doesn't work without "www"
Picfair provides a working fully qualified domain name. This means you need the www. or something similar like photos. You can make it work without the www. by setting up a redirect in your DNS Provider settings which redirects the URL without the www. to the URL with the www. You will be able to find instructions on how to set up a redirect in your DNS Provider's FAQs or by contacting their support team.
Can I redirect my root domain to my Store?
If your Picfair store has the URL https://www.example.com and you would like visitors using example.com to be directed to your store, this kind of redirection can be done, but not currently within Picfair. Most Domain Registrars / DNS managers including GoDaddy and Namecheap.
Alternatively, you can use a redirect service. Redirect.name is a special service that allows you to set up redirects via their site.
Can I configure a root domain like "example.com" without the leading "www"?
Only if your DNS provider allows you to create CNAME records for root domains (most DNS providers do not allow this. To our knowledge, only the following DNS providers support this:
- Cloudflare
- Dnsimple
For other DNS providers, this is currently not possible.
We understand that setting up your own domain can be tricky, so if you have any issues do not hesitate to contact us for guidance. When contacting us, please include a screenshot of your DNS providers settings page for our technical team to review.