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Custom URL subdomain set up process

Updated

This article explains the steps and processes involved in redirecting a custom domain to the Grip networking application URL link.  

It will cover:

 

What is a URL subdomain?

A subdomain is an additional part of your main domain name.

For example:

matchmaking.grip.events

In this example, ‘matchmaking’ is the subdomain, ‘grip.events’ is the primary domain. 

Screenshot_2020-11-01_at_18.59.32.png

 

Custom Domain Format

The current format of the Grip networking platform URL is  
 
You can decide to use any domain name that you would like instead of "matchmaking.grip.events ". The <container name> which corresponds to the event name in the Grip dashboard is a fixed value and can not be changed. For ease of configuration and DNS management, we recommend using a third-level subdomain name for this purpose. E.g. "matchmaking.yourdomain.com" or "event.yourdomain.com".
 
 

How to set up your custom domain

To set up your custom domain, there are a series of steps that you need to take before we can activate this feature for you. These are as follows:   

Step 1. CNAME record set up

Create a DNS CNAME record for the domain with the value matchmaking02.grip.events and TTL 300.

Step 2. Inform Grip of your custom domain's primary event

Tell us which is your primary event to redirect users to for this domain. 

Grip will then generate an SSL certificate for the custom domain using Let's Encrypt . Grip will automatically renew the certificate (within 30 days of the certificate expiry) as long as the domain points to our Webnetworking host (matchmaking02.grip.events). 
Use SSL Checker to check quickly diagnose problems with your SSL certificate.

FAQs

  • I want to use a different domain per event inside one app. What do I need to do?
Not a recommended solution as that will block notifications for some of the events within the app. If you still wish to use a different domain per event inside one app; repeat the steps 1-2.

Example:

eventA.networking-forums.com/eventA
eventB.festival.com.com/eventB

  • I want to use the same domain per events inside one app. What do I need to do?
If you wish to use the same domain per events inside one app; repeat step 2 if you wish to change your primary event. Please note, we cannot have concurrent events running with the same custom url subdomain.

Example:

h2h.networking-forum.com/eventA -> h2h.networking-forum.com/eventB

  • Can I have multiple custom domains within one app?

Yes, but there are some limitations around notifications. Please ask your Account or Project Manager for further information about this. 

  • Can I use a .cn (Chinese) custom domain?

At this time it is not possible to use a .cn (Chinese) custom domain due to certification constraints. Other custom domains can still be accessed in China, albeit with degraded performance levels. 

  • Can I use the same custom subdomain for email and URL?

No, we currently use a 3rd party provider to manage email subdomains and our own server to set up custom urls. Think of domains as actual postal addresses, so if we have the same domain for web and email, then emails will be sent to our server, which we wouldn't know how to process.

  • Can I provide SSL certificate instead of Grip managed one ?

Yes, but we do not recommend this option as there is manual work involved and less secure (having to share secret keys). If you still prefer to do this:

Please send Grip the SSL private key, certificates and intermediate certificates to install on the Grip webservers. The private key must be an RSA key in the size of 2048 bits or lower. The private key needs to be in PEM format (Base64 encoded ASCII). If you are given the option, send us the SSL certificate in the format compatible with Apache servers. The private key must also be unencrypted. We cannot import a private key that is protected by a password or passphrase.

 

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