Do I have to use a PromoteMyPlace.com domain name?

No. If you can use your own purchase domain name and then simply point the name servers to the PromoteMyPlace name servers. 

If you haven't yet purchased your own domain name but would like to, we'd advise doing so before publishing your website. Search engines will index new websites within the first few weeks of going live, so in order to start building a history of your website online, it's advised not to change domain names at a later stage as you risk losing any search engine ranking that you've already built up.

For a list of the top domain name providers and instructions on changing the name servers with them, please see our support on that topic here: https://promotemyplace.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/216229403

To change the name servers, simply log into your domain name provider account and change them to point to the PromoteMyPlace ones:

ns0.ukfast.net
ns1.ukfast.net 

The final step is to make sure you have entered your domain name into your PromoteMyPlace account. To do this simply follow the instructions below:

1. Click into Section 5 once logged into your account 'Use Your Own Domain Name'
2. Enter your purchased domain name in the field provided
3. Select if you have changed the Name servers with your domain name provider, or changed the A Record (information on changing the A Record can be found here: https://promotemyplace.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/216229603) 
4. Then finally, use the dropdown to select your domain name provider. If your provider is not listed, select 'Other'.
5. Click 'Save'.

Secondary Domains

If you have a secondary domain that you'd like to point to the primary domain, please enter each one into the 'Secondary Domain Name Setup' section. Note: You must ensure the name servers have been changed for each of these secondary domains as per the step requirements for the primary domain. 

NB: It can take up to 72 hours for name servers to be changed over.

WARNING: If you have an email address associated that with domain name provider i.e. [e-mail] you must provide us with an alternative contact address for you since your email will be inactive until we've set the MX Records correctly. We will need to have a form of communication with you in order to discuss the next steps. 

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NB: Whilst you can of course use the PromoteMyPlace domain name long-term we would recommend purchasing your own domain name for the following reasons:

• Your website will look more professional.
• Your website name would be more memorable.
• If you ever decide to move your website to a new provider (and obviously we hope you don’t!) you wouldn’t be able to take the PromoteMyPlace website domain with you, and you’d therefore lose any traffic that’s coming to your website via that domain through links on the internet.