Adding a Domain | Yext Hitchhikers Platform

What You’ll Learn

In this section, you will learn:

• Key terminology related to Domains
• Overview of process
• How to add a domain and connect it to your website

Overview

Now that you have reviewed the important concepts involved in connecting your Pages with your website, we are going to go into the process of actually setting this up and completing this process.

As a refresher, below is the list of key terms that we have been using, and will continue to use throughout this training:

• DNS Provider: A company or service that manages domain name servers. This is the service you use to manage your main website e.g., GoDaddy or Namecheap.

• Subdomain: A domain off of your main domain name. Subdomains are created to help organize and navigate to different sections of your website.

• CNAME (Canonical Name): A CNAME record is typically used to map or point one domain or subdomain to another domain name.

  • For example, in this instance, you are connecting your subdomain (e.g., yoursubdomain.yourdomain) to the Yext-powered page (e.g., yoursubdomain.yourdomain.pagescdn.com.) so your DNS provider knows where to find the Yext-powered pages.
    

Process Overview

Again, as a reminder, below is the overview of this process and a breakdown, and in this module we are going to walk through each step of this process in detail.

Add your Domain

1. Click Pages in the navigation bar.
2. Click Domains.
3. Click + Add New Domain.
4. Enter your domain name.
5. Click Continue.
6. Copy the Bridge Domain.
   • The Bridge Domain will have the following structure: yoursubdomain.yourdomain.com.pagescdn.com.
   • Note: Be sure to include the actual subdomain you’ve chosen and your domain in place of the example above, followed by the .pagescdn.com. (including the period after .com.).

Create a CNAME Recording in your DNS Provider

Once you have the Bridge Domain, you will need to create a record of that CNAME in your DNS provider. Instructions to do this will vary slightly based on your DNS provider. Below is the general set up for various registrars.

To create a CNAME Record:

1. Log into your domain registrar and locate the DNS or advanced DNS settings for the domain that you want to create a subdomain for.
2. Create a new CNAME record.
3. Enter your subdomain prefix in the Host field.
4. In the Points to field, enter the address of your Yext-owned pages. This is what you copied from the Yext platform.

By adding this, you are allowing Yext to publish landing pages to that specific Domain.

It can take up to 48 hours for your DNS provider to set up your subdomain, so make sure you check back on the domains page for an indication that the record is fully propagated.

Once the CNAME record is propagated, you can proceed to publishing.

Your domain’s Status will remain Pending until your domain is set up correctly with your DNS Provider. Once your CNAME record has fully propagated, your domain’s Status will be marked as Live in the Domains screen.

If you’ve waited 24-48 hours after setting up your subdomain with your DNS provider, and the Domain isn’t Active in Yext, reach out to Yext Support.