Domain, Root Domain and Subdomain
Domain
A domain (name) is the internet address that people will use to access your website.
Root Domain
A root domain is the top level hierarchy domain, which you purchase from registrars. In the above example, the root domain is siteminder.com (without the prefix www).
A domain has only one root domain.
Subdomain
Subdomain is a level of domain name that is part of a top-level domain. For example, www.amazinghotel.com and help.amazinghotel.com are both subdomains of the root domain amazinghotel.com.
In general, subdomains are free to create under any root domain. You can set up a subdomain by specifying a CNAME resource record in the account of your 3rd-party domain provider.
Please note: The Website Builder does not support being set up under a subdomain. Make sure you are connecting the Website Builder under a root domain.
DNS Records
The DNS , or Domain Name Server maintains a directory of domains and subdomains.
DNS simply translates domain names into the numeric IP address because humans find IP addresses hard to remember.
A DNS record serves as a behind-the-scene pointer from one website to another. DNS record is termed differently depending on your domain registrar. Other popular terms include resource records or DNS zone files.
If you own a domain from a third party provider, you’ll need to update the domain’s DNS record to redirect traffic from that domain to your Website Builder domain.
Note: The DNS settings are for your web hosting only. Please ensure you do not make any changes to your email hosting settings. Making changes to your email host settings will prevent you from receiving any emails.
A Record
An A record maps a domain name to the IP address (IPv4) of the computer hosting the domain. Simply put, an A record is used to find the IP address of a computer connected to the internet from a name.
CNAME
CNAME, or Canonical Name record, is a type of record in the Domain Name System (DNS) used to alias one domain name to another.
You must create a CNAME pointing www.yourdomain.com to your UNIQUE published Website Builder domain i.e. qbvwfjdgwgnwknvs.wb-siteminder.com. When going through process of publishing your website, the Website Builder will display your unique Website Builder domain. This action will allow you to still use your nominated domain name i.e amazinghotel.com for your new website.
Summary
The table below shows the main DNS record types that you might need to update your new website:
Record Name | Function | Always points to.. |
A record (aka address record or host record) | points your root domain name to the Website Builder IP address | A specific IP address (numerical), never to a domain |
CNAME record | points one of your subdomains to the Website Builder domain (i.e.qbvwfjdgwgnwknvs.wb-siteminder.com) | Another domain name, never to an IP address |
HTTPS and SSL certificate
HTTP and HTTPS
HTTP or HyperText Transfer Protocol is a procedure that allows communication between computer networks.
HTTP is not safe as third party hijackers can steal data like passwords and credit card details.
This can be prevented by using a secure version called HTTPS, where the "S" stands for secure. This involves the use of SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates that create a secure encrypted connection between computers. Encryption is the process of concealing data by converting it to codes that are unreadable by outside parties.
The strongest argument to switch to HTTPS is to make your website secure, establishing all trust with your website visitors. Additionally, Secure websites get preference on search engines, such as Google, because website security is a factor in web search rankings.
HTTPS for your website
HTTPS is automatically enabled for your website when using our Website Builder, we offer this free to our Website Builder customers.
Please allow up to 2 hours for this to be live. Depending on your DNS provider, it may take an additional 24-48 hours, as the SSL certificate is only provided once your property has gone live with a properly configured URL, and both A and CNAME records are allocated correctly to our Website Builder.
Mixed content
Mixed content happens when you secure your website using HTTPS, but some content is retrieved externally through a regular HTTP connection. For example, when you add a third-party widget using HTTP for booking a table at your restaurant.
Most web browsers block mixed content and will display either a blank page, a warning that the page is not secure or an error message. Although your website visitors can change the settings of their browser to view mixed content, the extra steps may cause them to leave your website, affecting your booking conversion.
We highly recommend that you avoid mixed content by ensuring that all content of your website is secure and using HTTPS.