Every PhotoShelter subscriber receives a personalized PhotoShelter website address as part of his/her account. That address takes the form of http://YOURNAME.photoshelter.com. You can find and edit your PhotoShelter website address at the top of your Website Settings page. Some photographers prefer to use their own domain instead of the default PhotoShelter URL. To do this, you must:

1. Set up a CNAME with your domain registrar (i.e. GoDaddy, Network Solutions, etc.) that points to "custom.photoshelter.com".
2. Within your GoDaddy (or other registrar) account, set up forwarding of your domain to your new CNAME. (Note: when forwarding, do not enable masking or frames. Also, only take this step if you do not plan to use your custom domain for anything but your PhotoShelter site .)
3. Enter your CNAME into PhotoShelter's Custom Domain (CNAME) field.

Note: You may need to wait several hours before you can successfully enter your new CNAME into PhotoShelter. This is because changes to your DNS can take several hours to update fully.

Need more info? Watch the introductory video or read on for detailed instructions.

How to use your own domain in PhotoShelter via a CNAME from PhotoShelter.com on Vimeo.

What is a CNAME?

Technically speaking, a CNAME is a record that can be added to your domain for the purpose of creating an alias. By using a CNAME, you're allowing content hosted at another domain (in your case, photoshelter.com) look like it's sitting on your custom domain (i.e. http://joephotographer.com). For the purposes of this tutorial, we will use the example "YourDomain.com" to represent your domain, which we will alias to photoshelter.com.

Where do I set up my CNAME?

Most likely, you will create your CNAME within the account you used to buy your domain in the first place (i.e. godaddy.com, register.com, networksolutions.com, dotster.com). More specifically: The ability to create a CNAME for a domain is controlled by what's called a DNS server, and in most cases DNS control and domain name registry are managed through a single provider (i.e. GoDaddy). If your DNS is not controlled by your domain registrar, then it's likely controlled by your internet service provider (i.e. Verizon, Comcast - whoever you pay your internet connectivity fees to). If you are a very technically savvy user, your DNS control may be managed through software on your own servers or free DNS services (zonedit, everydns, afraid.org, xname, dyndns, etc).

How do I set up a CNAME?

This varies across providers, but generally speaking, you should take the following steps:

1. Log into the account you have with your domain registrar (or wherever your DNS is managed).
2. Locate the section for creating your CNAME. The option you should look for will generally be called a "DNS Alias," a "Host Alias," or a "DNS CNAME".
3. Create a new entry of your choice. The choice of name/alias for your entry is up to you, but it must not already be in use. Many members prefer an alias of "www" which results in a CNAME of www.YourDomain.com, but any arbitrary name is acceptable. For example, an alias of "archive" would result in a CNAME of "archive.YourDomain.com", an alias of "galleries" would result in a CNAME of "galleries.YourDomain.com", etc.
4. Your new DNS alias/CNAME should be set to point to custom.photoshelter.com. This associates your new entry with PhotoShelter's servers.
5. Now that your CNAME is properly set up, you'll want to forward your domain to your new CNAME. This will ensure that your clients will reach your PhotoShelter homepage whether they visit www.Your Domain.com or "YourDomain.com" without the "www". (Note: If there is already content at yourdomain.com, and you want to blend PhotoShelter into the existing site, do not take this step. Please see the next FAQ for details.)
6. You should allow several hours for your DNS changes to propagate through the internet
7. Enter that new CNAME in your Custom Website Domain field on your Website Settings page.
8. You're done!

If your DNS is managed by your internet service provider instead of your domain registrar, contact support thre to request the following:

"A new CNAME DNS record with an alias of _____ that points to custom.photoshelter.com. Please then forward my domain to my new CNAME". You would fill in the blank with whatever name you like (i.e. www, archive, etc. -- see above for examples). And again, you only want to forward your domain if your PhotoShelter site will be the only content at that domain.

I'm already using my domain with another site. Can I still set up a CNAME?

Yes! Many photographers customize their PhotoShelter sites to blend into existing "front end" websites, such as photo blogs or Flash portfolios. In these cases, it's common to create a CNAME record in yourdomain.com for the purpose of masking the PhotoShelter URLs. In order to accomplish this, the process is slightly different:

1. Log into the account you have with your domain registrar (or wherever your DNS is managed).
2. Locate the section for creating your CNAME. The option you should look for will generally be called a "DNS Alias," a "Host Alias," or a "DNS CNAME".
3. Create a new entry of your choice. If your domain is YourDomain.com, your CNAME could be archive.YourDomain.com, galleries.YourDomain.com, imagesYourDomain.com. or ANYTHING.YourDomain.com -- the specific alias you use is up to you.
4. Your new DNS alias/CNAME should be set to point to custom.photoshelter.com. This associates your new entry with PhotoShelter's servers.
5. You should allow several hours for your DNS changes to propagate through the internet
6. Enter that new CNAME in your Custom Website Domain field on your Website Settings page.

Can I use frames and/or "frame forwarding" instead of a CNAME?

No. Frames can cause any number of problems on your PhotoShelter website. For this reason, we recommend using a CNAME instead. If you really prefer to forward (aka redirect), you can, just make sure masking/frames are not enabled in the forward.

What's your IP address? Can I use an ANAME?

Technically, this is possible, but an ANAME relies on IP addresses, and our IP address is subject to change at any time without notification. For this reason, we recommend using a CNAME instead.

I have a free Starter or Basic subscription. May I use my own domain?

Using a CNAME with your PhotoShelter website is only possible if you have a Standard or Pro subscription. However, if you have a Basic or Starter plan, you are welcome to forward (also known as "redirect") your domain to your PhotoShelter website address. If you are going to forward, however, please make sure you do not enable masking or frames, because that can cause various problems on your site.

The difference between a forward and a CNAME is that a CNAME will mask your PhotoShelter URL in your browser's address bar, and a forward will not. For an example of a forward, type "www.thenewyorktimes.com" into your address bar. You'll notice that you are immediately forwarded to the New York Times website, which is actually located at "www.nytimes.com". The URL changes to reflect that because it is not being masked. If it were masked, the URL would still read "www.thenewyorktimes.com", rather than "nytimes.com"