Setting Up Your Custom Domain in Charge Automation
Follow these straightforward steps to link a custom domain to your Charge Automation profile, enhancing your branding and user experience.
Log In: Visit the Charge Automation website and log into your account using your credentials.
Navigate to Custom Domain Settings: Once logged in, go directly to your profile by selecting "Profile Image" from the menu. Then, click on "Custom Domain" to proceed to the domain settings.
Enter Your Domain: In the Custom Domain section, you will see a field labeled "Enter your Custom Domain." Here, type in the full domain name you wish to use (for example,
checkin.yourdomain.com).Add Your Domain: Click the "Add" button to register your domain with Charge Automation. This action notifies Charge Automation of your intent to use a custom domain but does not complete the setup process.
Required DNS Changes: You will need to add or update specific DNS records as directed by Charge Automation. Charge Automation will provide the exact values needed.
Create a custom CNAME record.
Go to your DNS provider’s website (e.g. GoDaddy or Cloudflare). If you’re choosing one for the first time, go with one that supports SSL.
Create a CNAME (‘canonical name’) record for your custom domain.
How to create a custom CNAME record with Cloudflare.
Each hosting service has a slightly different way to create CNAME records.
As an example, here’s how to set up a CNAME record with Cloudflare.
Step 1 - Open a browser tab or window and sign in to your Cloudflare Account.
Step 2 - Go to the ‘DNS’ section in Cloudflare and add a CNAME record for your "Custom domain".
Step 3 - Click the Add record Button to add a CNAME record for your custom domain.
Step 4 - Add the CNAME record to your domain’s DNS records.
Step 5 - Disable Proxy and make it DNS only by unchecking "Proxy Status" like below
Fields:
Fields | Input | Description |
Record type | CNAME | Selecting CNAME as the record type |
Name | Checkin | Name based on the first part of your custom domain for example if your custom domain is checkout.example.com, use checkout as a name |
Target/Destination | Target Must be app.chargeautomation.com | |
Proxy status | Disabled | Click on the Cloud icon under the Status so it turns Grey and indicates DNS Only |
Time To Live (TTL) | Auto | Selecting Auto as the TTL. |
Step 6 - Add domain verification data
Fields:
Fields | Input | Description |
Record type | TXT | Selecting CNAME as the record type |
Name | copy from Charge Automation | Name provided by Charge Automation |
Value | Copy from Charge Automation | Value provided by Charge Automation |
Time To Live (TTL) | Auto | Selecting Auto as the TTL. |
Choose to configure SSL (optional)
After you set up a custom domain, Your domain will now appear as ‘not secure’ on web browsers like Chrome Here’s how to secure it.
SSL (or TLS), is the most widely used way to secure the connection between your server and your browser. It ensures the connection between the server and browser is encrypted and safe, and appears as HTTPS.
Here’s what an SSL-configured website (with HTTPS) typically looks like on the Chrome browser:
This is what it looks like if you’ve visited a website not secured by SSL (without HTTPS):
There are two ways to set up SSL on your custom domain:
Use a flexible SSL (using a third party DNS provider like CloudFlare or AWS CloudFront)
Use your own SSL certificate (using a TLS Termination Proxy)
You can configure SSL for your custom domain to keep sensitive information encrypted. If you want to do this, make sure you’ve set up your CNAME with a DNS provider that supports SSL, like Cloudflare
How to configure SSL with Cloudflare
1- Add SSL support to your domain
Go to the ‘Crypto’ section and change SSL to ‘Flexible’ or ‘Full’.
2- Create a page rule enforcing HTTPS
Go to ‘Page Rules’ and create a new page rule with the following settings, replacing checkout.example.com with your own custom domain.
Completing Your Custom Domain Setup in Charge Automation.
Congratulations on adding your custom domain! Follow these next steps to finalize the setup and start benefiting from a personalized domain for your Charge Automation platform.
Verify Your Domain
After you've updated your DNS settings with your provider, it’s crucial to verify the domain in Charge Automation:
Retry Verification: In the Charge Automation Custom Domain section, click on the "Try Again" button to initiate the verification process. This checks if the DNS changes have propagated and are pointing to Charge Automation as expected.
Confirmation of Verification: If the verification succeeds, you will see a confirmation indicating that your records are verified. Now, you're ready to finalize the process by clicking "Add Custom Domain."
Final Steps and Testing
Once your domain is verified and added:
Domain Stability Check: Charge Automation will perform a final check to ensure that the domain is stable and properly configured for use.
Note on Domain Propagation: Remember, it's crucial that your new domain or sub-domains are set up correctly and that DNS propagation is complete. This process can take up to 48 hours.
Testing Your Setup: To ensure everything is functioning as expected, create a new booking on your platform. This test helps verify that your new domain or subdomain is correctly directing guests through the Charge Automation guest experience flow.
Important Considerations
Ensure that your new domain or sub-domains are correctly set up and pointed to Charge Automation.
Domain or sub-domain attachment should only be attempted after DNS propagation is complete to avoid any connectivity issues.
Proper setup and verification are key. Once everything is configured correctly, your new domain or subdomain will enhance your Charge Automation platform, offering a seamless guest experience.
About Charge Automation
Charge Automation is a leading guest experience software designed for hotels and vacation rentals. Our platform is crafted to increase revenue, eliminate check-in queues, enhance guest satisfaction, and maximize profits, all through automation and intuitive design. With your custom domain now in place, your Charge Automation experience is more personalized and brand-centric than ever.
Thank you for choosing Charge Automation. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team.