Using Maker to create a Custom Domain

Here's how to create a custom domain with Maker on your site:

1. Send us your custom domain name 

Once your team has decided on a custom domain name for your stories, contact your Maker representative with the domain name or send it to us at [email protected].

Maker takes security seriously and we currently only offer custom domain names with https only. To make this happen, we will place an order for a SSL/TLS certificate on your behalf.

2. Add your custom domain name to your DNS 

Once we get your custom domain address, we will give you a TXT record to add to your domain registrar so our Certificate Authority (CA) can verify that you own this domain.

Once our CA confirms your domain's identity, you can add Maker to your DNS settings by one of two ways (CNAME or Anycast):

Note: Your Maker Representative will email you the specific CNAME and A records.

CNAME Record

If you'd like to use a CNAME (or alias) please point your domain (e.g. coolstoreys.com) or subdomain (stories.coolstore.com) - please point it to the one we will send in your email. It will look something like this:

XX.shared.global.fastly.net

Anycast (A Records)

When it is not possible to use our CNAME record (such as at the apex of your domain’s DNS zone), you can instead use the four global Anycast A Records we will send you in the same email. It will 

151.101.2.49

151.101.66.49

151.101.130.49

151.101.194.49

Once you add these records to your DNS, you can use Google's Dig utility to confirm these records were added to your DNS. If you used the A records, check the A records response to make sure these IP Addresses were added.

Here's an example:

Once you add these records, please let your Maker representative know and we will finish the setup on our end and test the integration points.

3. Verify the set-up with Maker

Let us know once you've set up your custom domain and added the records to your DNS. We'll run one last verification from our end.

4. Choose the homepage and collection for your domain

Sign into your account on Maker and click on your profile avatar on the top right of the page and select Edit Settings.

With the Settings window open, select the Custom Domain tab. You will see four separate fields for customization:

First, select a story from the Homepage Story dropdown menu as your future custom domain's homepage. If you don't have a story ready for the homepage, you can create one in your team's Maker account.

Next, select a collection from the Homepage Collection dropdown menu. The stories from this collection will populate your homepage's navigation. 

Note: To not show a collection at the end of your homepage, create an empty collection in your account and select it from your Custom Domain tab.

For a refresher on how to create and organize collections, visit this page. 

Lastly, to change the content of your homepage's header, enter your custom HTML into the Header HTML field. To do the same for the footer, enter the desired custom HTML into the Footer HTML field.

Once you're finished with the customizations, click Save. 

5. Add your custom domain to the Referral Exclusion List in GA

When setting up cross domain tracking with Maker, you will have already added app.maker.co as a referral exclusion in Google Analytics. Following the same steps, make sure to add your new custom domain name to the referral exclusion list. 

For a review on how to add a domain to the referral exclusion list, visit this page.

Note: You may need to wait up to 72 hours for the domain changes to take effect.