Demystifying GoHighLevel Domains
The role of domains in your business cannot be overstated.
Domains offer a convenient way for your customers to find your website, or sales funnel online by clicking a link or typing in the website address.
In this in-depth post, I will clear up all the confusion around domains, how to use them in GoHighLevel, and some tips to streamline your domain setup process.
GoHighLevel Domain Setup
You can connect your own domain name to your GHL account.
This means you can use GHL to create websites and landing pages, and then use a domain name registered with your chosen domain registrar, along with the appropriate DNS settings, to point that domain name at your GHL website or landing page.
This lets you present a professional and branded image to your site visitors.
Let’s break down all these terms and vocabulary.
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DOMAINS 101
Domains, like the address to your house, tell the internet where to send visitors.
There are 3 parts to a website address.
1. Root Domain: The root domain, also known as the base domain or domain name, is the core part of a website's address, generally consisting of the site's name and the top-level domain (like .com, .org, etc.).
For example, in the URL "www.example.com", the root domain is "example.com".
This is like the lot your house is built on.
2. Path/Slug: The path, often referred to as a slug in the context of web content management systems, is the part of the URL that comes after the root domain. It usually points to a specific page or resource on the website.
In "https://www.example.com/blog/post1", "/blog/post1" is the path or slug.
These are the different parts or things on your lot. For instance, the kitchen or the living room, or the basement.
3. URL: A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the full web address used to access a specific resource on the internet. It consists of several components, including the protocol (http:// or https://), the root domain, and often a path or slug.
For instance, "https://www.example.com/blog/post1" is a URL.
This gives them directions right to the basement for example.
All three components work together to precisely direct your web browser to the specific content you're seeking on the internet.
The URL is the complete address, the root domain helps your browser locate the right web server, and the path/slug tells the server which specific page or resource to serve to you.
SUB-DOMAINS: THE VERSATILE OPTION
A subdomain is a subdivision or a smaller part of a larger domain in the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy.
It allows you to separate different parts of your websites according to the functions, audience, or content.
For example, in the URL "blog.example.com", "blog" is a subdomain of the root domain "example.com".
The good news - Subdomains are free.
Subdomains are typically used to organize and navigate to different sections of a website.
They can be used for various purposes such as hosting a blog (blog.example.com), an e-commerce section (shop.example.com), a forum (forum.example.com), or a customer support portal (support.example.com).
They can also be used to serve different language versions of a website, like "fr.example.com" for a French version.
Each subdomain can be treated as a separate website with its own content, design, and user settings, and they can be managed independently, which can be helpful for larger organizations.
A subdomain is like the address to the “She Shed” out back.
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Getting Started - Setting Up Domains In Go High Level
Let's delve deeper into the interesting world of domains, DNS, and how they interact with online marketing platforms such as Go High Level.
First, we need to understand the role of a domain registrar and the function of the Domain Name System (DNS).
Domain Registrar: A domain registrar is a company that manages the reservation of Internet domain names. They are accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and they facilitate the process of registration. Examples include GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Google Domains.
These companies allow you to purchase and manage domain names, including setting up your chosen DNS settings.
DNS: The Domain Name System (DNS) is like the internet's phone book. It translates human-readable domain names into the numerical IP addresses that computers use to connect to each other.
This system allows us to browse the web using simple addresses, like "example.com", instead of trying to remember a complex string of numbers.
In relation to domains, a domain registrar will let you specify the DNS settings for your domain, determining which servers to point it at.
DNS settings play a crucial role in connecting your domain name to a website or an email hosting provider.
The best part - you can have unlimited domains/subdomains in Go High Level.
Adding A Domain/Subdomain To Your Go High Level Account
GoHighLevel facilitates an easy process to link your domain.
FIRST UP SETTING UP A ROOT DOMAIN IN GO HIGH LEVEL
It is important to understand that your root domain can only have one house on it. If you have a website on WordPress you can not add it to Go High Level.
You will need to add another root domain or add a subdomain of your root domain.
We need to point the domain to High Level.
Here are instructions for some of the most common domain registrars:
You will need the A Record for the root domain.
We will add the A record for your root domain in your domain registrar directing it to 34.68.234.4
Go to your domain registrar or move your name servers to Cloudflare which I highly recommend.
You need to add the a record and it will look something like this:
Once you have that you can then add the domain to High Level.
Head over to your Go High Level sub-account –> Settings → Domains and click Add New Domain.
Type in the root domain address and click “add”.
You then need to link the root domain to a funnel or website and step or page.
You can do this at a later time but remember you will get a 404 error when you type in the root domain if you don't do this step.
HOW DO I ADD A SUBDOMAIN TO GOHIGHLEVEL?
Now that you understand what sub-domains are, the next step involves their creation.
Adding a subdomain to GoHighLevel involves a similar process to setting up a primary domain.
For this, you need to go to your registrar (the website where you bought your domain, like GoDaddy or Namecheap).
You will create a CNAME record with the word you want to use before your root domain such as:
“go” is your subdomain.
You can add a CNAME record for your subdomains using the value flash.funnels.msgsndr.com
In Cloudflare it will look like this:
Here are some instructions for adding a CNAME record to various domain registrars:
Namecheap Instructions
Godaddy Instructions
https://mx.godaddy.com/help/agregar-un-registro-cname-19236
Cloudflare Instructions
https://www.cloudflare.com/en-gb/learning/dns/dns-records/dns-cname-record/
Wix Instructions
https://support.wix.com/en/article/adding-or-updating-cname-records-in-your-wix-account
Hostinger Instructions
https://support.hostinger.com/en/articles/4738777-how-to-manage-cname-records-on-hpanel
BlueHost Instructions
https://www.bluehost.com/help/article/dns-records-explained
You can add as many as you want to Go High Level and the best part - they are free.
Adding A Subdomain To Go High Level
Once you create a subdomain on your registrar's platform, you can add it to the GoHighLevel platform the same way you would a root domain.
You now have a domain and a subdomain in your High Level account!
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Troubleshooting Domain Errors On Go High Level
THE WWW
It is important to note that www.mywebsite.com and mywebsite.com are not the same URL.
In the old days, we used to type www.yourdomain.com. Today we no longer need to do this but we must tell the internet what to do when someone types in www.yourdomain.com.
www is a subdomain.
For example, if you add www.mywebsite.com as your domain in the GoHighLevel app, you should configure a redirect in your registrar account for mywebsite.com to send all traffic to www.mywebsite.com.
This way, you ensure both URLs direct to the same destination.
Here are some instructions to assist you.
GoDaddy
https://www.godaddy.com/help/forward-my-domain-12123
Cloudflare
Namecheap
This is what it would look like in Namecheap:
This is how you would do it in Cloudflare:
Go to Rules → Create A Page Rule.
Save and deploy.
Now your www will redirect to your root domain.
404 ERROR
A 404 error, also known as "404 Not Found," is a standard HTTP status code that indicates the requested web page or resource could not be found on the server.
This error typically occurs when a user tries to access a non-existent URL or when the requested page has been deleted or moved to a different location without proper redirection.
If your Domain without any path shows a 404 error, e.g., mydomain.com, you need to go to Settings > Domains > Edit Domain> Select a default page.
This tells the interwebs where to send people when they just type in the root domain.
THE SSL ERROR
Whenever there is a problem with the SSL certificate or SSL/TLS (Transport Layer Security) configuration on a website, an SSL error occurs.
Security protocols such as SSL/TLS provide encryption and secure communication between a web server and a user's browser.
The cause of SSL errors can be a variety of issues, such as an insecure connection between the user's browser and the web server.
There are several reasons why your domain may be showing a privacy/SSL error:
Multiple DNS (A or CNAME) records exist for the same domain/subdomain.
It's important to have only one DNS record set up for each domain or subdomain as they can only work with one platform/server at any given time.
There is no DNS record added for the Domain
The Domain has an AAAA added, other than the A/CNAME record
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Wrapping Things Up
The smart use of domains and subdomains in GoHighLevel can make a significant impact on your business's online presence.
Understanding the difference between the primary domain and subdomains, how to create and connect them, and how they work in GoHighlevel will allow you to move forward in your business and not have to deal with all these errors.
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