Custom domains & email
I have my own domain and website, can I use my own domain instead of votaphoto.com?
Yes, if you already have your own domain, eg. abcstudio.com we can setup VotaPhoto services on your domain. Click here to learn how.
How can I setup VotaPhoto services on my own domain?
Setting up your own domain is easy and only takes the following two steps:
Step 1: Add a sudomain to your domain and point it to our servers
Let’s say your domain name is abcstudio.com, simply login to your domain registrar and add a subdomain. For example gallery.abcstudio.com, in this case, “gallery” is the subdomain. Here are some instructions for popular domain registrars:
-
GoDaddy
- Sign in to your GoDaddy account
- Choose the domain name you want to use and click on the “Launch” button
- Under the “DNS Manager” section, click on the “Launch” link
- Click on “Add record” and select “CNAME (Alias)” from the drop-down menu
- Enter your desired subdomain in the textbox labelled “Enter an Alias Name”. For example if you wish to use “gallery.abcstudio.com” then enter the word “gallery”
- In the “Points to Host Name” textbox please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com”
- Now click “OK” and save your settings
-
Yahoo
- Sign in to your Yahoo Business Control Panel
- Select the “Domain Control Panel” link for the domain you wish to use under the “Manage My Services” page
- Click the “Manage Advanced DNS Settings” link
- Click the “Add Record” button
- In the “Destination” textbox please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com”
- Click the “Submit” button
- Click “Submit” again to confirm
-
1and1
- Sign in to your 1and1 account
- Click on the “Domains” link
- Click on the “New” button and choose “Create Subdomain”
- Enter your desired subdomain in the first textbox. For example if you wish to use “gallery.abcstudio.com” then enter the word “gallery”
- Select the domain you wish to use if you have multiple domains in your account. Then click on “OK” button
- You will now return to your previous page. Now check off the subdomain you just created and click on the “DNS” drop-down from the menu above. Click “Edit DNS Settings”
- Select “CNAME” from the “General settings”
- In the “Alias” textbox please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com”
- Check off the “Confirmation” checkbox and save your settings
-
NetFirms
- Sign in your NetFirms account
- Access the “Domain Manager” by clicking the “Domains” menu tab
- Click the “Add” button on the top right of the Control Panel
- Click the “Sub Domain” tab
- Enter your desired subdomain in the first textbox. For example if you wish to use “gallery.abcstudio.com” then enter the word “gallery”
- Check off the CNAME section
- Please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com” in the next textbox
- Click the “Add” button
-
Hostgator
- Sign in your Hostgator account
- Click on “Simple DNS Zone Editor”
- Select the domain you wish to use
- On “Add a CNAME Record” section, Enter your desired subdomain in the first textbox. For example if you wish to use “gallery.abcstudio.com” then enter the word “gallery”
- Please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com” in the next textbox
- Click the “Add CNAME Record” button
-
FatCow
- Sign in your FatCow account
- Select the domain you wish to use
- Select the DNS tab in the domain settings dialog that appears
- From the Modify drop-down, select CNAME Alias
- In Host: enter your desired subdomain. For example if you wish to use “gallery.abcstudio.com” then enter the word “gallery”
- In Points To: please enter “customdomain.votaphoto.com”
- Click Add
- * If you have trouble setting anything up please send us a screenshot and we will be happy to assist you!
Step 2:
Once you have that setup please let us know what your custom domain is as well as the subdomain you created by logging into your admin area and going to the “Custom domain” section of your settings. Once we have verified that your subdomain has been setup correctly, that subdomain will correctly point to our system. Please allow for up to 24-48 hours for domain verification.
Can I use my own email to send out system messages?
Yes, you can. Votaphoto works behind the scenes and we can’t reply your client emails for you. We encourage you to setup VotaPhoto’s SMTP service in order to communicate with your clients more easily since your client can reply directly to your own email box.
Votaphoto currently supports gmail, hotmail and yahoo email accounts. If you are using another mail service provider please let us know, because we would love to help you out. To configure VotaPhoto’s SMTP service please go to system settings page in your admin control panel.
Can I still use my own email to send out system messages with Votaphoto, if my email account is not a Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo account?
Yes just drop us a line, tell us what email service provider you are currently using and we will try our best to assist you.