How to Point Your Domain to PhotoBiz Using A Records

Overview

If your domain is managed through a third-party provider, you can point it to your PhotoBiz website while continuing to manage your DNS outside of PhotoBiz. This setup uses two A records and one CNAME record to connect your domain to PhotoBiz.

This is a completely valid way to connect your domain. However, because PhotoBiz does not manage the DNS in this type of setup, the PhotoBiz Support Team cannot access or make changes inside your third-party DNS account.

PhotoBiz generally recommends pointing your domain to PhotoBiz using name servers when possible because it allows PhotoBiz to manage the DNS records required for your website connection.

This guide walks you through preparing your domain with PhotoBiz, adding the required DNS records with your provider, and confirming that your domain is connected successfully.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure:

You have access to the account where your domain's DNS records are managed.
Your PhotoBiz website is ready to connect to your custom domain.
You know whether your domain is being used for branded email, custom subdomains, verification services, or other third-party tools.

Your DNS may be managed by your domain registrar or by another provider such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, or a similar service.

Important: Who Manages Your DNS

When you use A records, your DNS remains managed by your third-party provider.

PhotoBiz can provide the records required to connect your website and assist with the PhotoBiz side of the domain and SSL connection. However, PhotoBiz does not have access to your third-party DNS account and cannot add, remove, edit, or troubleshoot settings controlled by that provider.

If a problem is caused by DNS settings, forwarding, proxy settings, firewall rules, CDN settings, or another configuration inside your DNS provider, you will need to work with that provider's support team.

You do not need to transfer your domain registration to PhotoBiz to use this setup.

STEP ONE

Log in to your PhotoBiz account and submit a domain setup request for the domain you want to connect to your PhotoBiz website.

The PhotoBiz Support Team will prepare your account to use the custom domain. You will receive a confirmation when your PhotoBiz account is ready for the DNS records to be updated.

Do not update your DNS records before PhotoBiz confirms that the domain has been prepared on your account.

Access to the Website Builder may be temporarily paused during the domain connection process while the domain points to PhotoBiz and SSL is configured.

STEP TWO

After PhotoBiz confirms that your account is ready, log in to the provider where your DNS records are managed. Add or update the following three records.

Type	Host	Value	TTL
A	@	18.235.135.157	Lowest possible
A	*	18.235.135.157	Lowest possible
CNAME	www	@	Lowest possible

The @ host represents the root version of your domain, such as yourdomain.com. Some DNS providers may leave this field blank or display your full domain instead of using the @ symbol.

The * host is a wildcard record that sends undefined subdomains to PhotoBiz.

The www CNAME connects the www version of your domain to the root domain.

TTL stands for Time To Live. This controls how long DNS servers may store the record before checking for an update. When available, select the lowest TTL your provider offers, such as 300 seconds or 5 minutes.

Important: PhotoBiz does not use an AAAA record for this setup. Do not add an AAAA record for PhotoBiz.

STEP THREE

Review your existing DNS records before saving your changes. Make sure there are no older website records for @, *, or www that conflict with the PhotoBiz records.

If one of these hosts already points to a previous website provider, you may need to replace the existing record instead of adding another record for the same host.

Do not remove MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, or other records used for branded email or third-party services. You should also leave existing records for custom subdomains in place if those services are still being used.

If you are unsure whether an existing record should be changed or removed, contact your DNS provider before making the change.

FINAL STEP

Save your DNS changes and allow time for the domain connection to update.

DNS changes may take up to 24 to 48 hours to fully propagate. During this time, visitors in different locations may temporarily see different results while DNS servers update.

PhotoBiz will configure SSL after your domain begins pointing correctly to the PhotoBiz website server. Access to the Website Builder will be restored once the domain connection process is complete.

When the setup is finished, test both yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com. Both versions should load your PhotoBiz website securely using HTTPS.

Additional Options and Helpful Notes

Keep Your Email DNS Records

Pointing your website to PhotoBiz does not require you to move your email service.

If your domain is already being used for branded email, leave the DNS records required by your email provider in place. These may include:

MX records
SPF records
DKIM records
DMARC records
Email verification records

Changing or removing these records may interrupt your email service.

Existing Website Records

Check for older A records, CNAME records, or forwarding settings connected to the website you previously used.

If an existing record for @, *, or www points somewhere other than PhotoBiz, it may conflict with the records required for your PhotoBiz website.

Your DNS provider can help you identify and remove or replace conflicting website records.

Existing Subdomains

The * wildcard A record sends undefined subdomains to PhotoBiz.

If you already use a specific subdomain for another service, such as shop.yourdomain.com, mail.yourdomain.com, or portal.yourdomain.com, keep its existing DNS record in place if you still use that service.

A specifically configured DNS record normally takes precedence over the wildcard record.

Domain Forwarding

Some domain providers offer URL forwarding or domain forwarding separately from standard DNS records.

If your domain or the www version of your domain is forwarding to another website, review those settings with your DNS provider. Existing forwarding can affect how the domain loads even when the DNS records are correct.

Cloudflare and Other Proxy Services

Services such as Cloudflare may include proxy, CDN, firewall, forwarding, or SSL settings in addition to standard DNS management.

These settings can affect how your domain connects to PhotoBiz. Because PhotoBiz does not have access to your third-party provider, you will need to work with that provider if those settings need to be reviewed or adjusted.

Using PhotoBiz Name Servers Instead

If you do not need to keep DNS management with another provider, PhotoBiz recommends pointing your domain to PhotoBiz using name servers.

When you use PhotoBiz name servers, PhotoBiz manages the DNS records for your domain. This gives the PhotoBiz Support Team more direct access when troubleshooting domain, DNS, website routing, or SSL issues.

Troubleshooting & FAQs

My domain is not loading my PhotoBiz website yet

DNS changes may take up to 24 to 48 hours to fully propagate. If you recently updated the records, the changes may still be processing.

Confirm that the two A records and the CNAME match the values shown in this guide. If you need help changing or troubleshooting records inside your DNS account, contact your DNS provider.

My website is not loading securely

SSL is configured after your domain begins pointing correctly to PhotoBiz.

If your DNS records are correct and the domain has finished updating but the website still does not load securely, contact PhotoBiz Support.

If your DNS provider uses additional proxy, CDN, firewall, forwarding, or SSL settings, contact that provider for help reviewing those settings.

My DNS provider does not use @ for the host

DNS providers may use different labels for the root domain. Some use @, some leave the host field blank, and others display the full domain name.

Contact your DNS provider if you are unsure how to create an A record for the root version of your domain.

My DNS provider will not let me add one of the records

You may already have another DNS record using the same host.

Contact your DNS provider and ask them to help you configure the two A records and CNAME shown in this guide. PhotoBiz Support can confirm the records required for your PhotoBiz website but cannot make changes inside your third-party DNS account.

My email stopped working after I updated my DNS

Check whether any MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, or other records required by your email provider were removed or changed.

Contact your email provider or DNS provider for help restoring those records. PhotoBiz Support can confirm the website records required for your PhotoBiz connection but cannot edit DNS hosted by another provider.

Should I use A records or PhotoBiz name servers?

Both options can connect your domain to PhotoBiz.

Using A records is a good option when you need or prefer to keep DNS management with a third-party provider. The tradeoff is that PhotoBiz cannot directly access or manage those DNS records.

Using PhotoBiz name servers allows PhotoBiz to manage your DNS and gives the PhotoBiz Support Team more direct access when troubleshooting domain-related issues.

Need Help?

Support Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm EST

Phone: 866.463.7620

Support Channels: Phone, Live Chat, Support Ticket

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