Overview
There are two ways in which domains are personalized to each person using BoldTrail. They can leverage a personalized subdomain for free, which is part of the Company, Office, or Team domain, OR an individual user can have their own unique URL that they've purchased via a third party such as GoDaddy.
Subdomain Option - Admins Only
When adding an agent to BoldTrail, there is an option for you to automatically create a website for that Agent using the 'Create Website For Agent' checkbox.
This will create a subdomain off of your Company URL in BoldTrail e.g. agentname.companywebsite.com. It will use the same prefix as the email you specify for the agent, or you can enter one manually.
Managing Subdomains - Admins Only
If you have an Agent profile without a website attached, or the website needs to be changed, as an Admin, navigate to the websites control panel.
Click on the green '+Add Website' button on the top right.
In the popup, choose the Agent, and type in what you'd like as their subdomain, then click 'Add Website.'
If you have more than one root domain, you can select it from the menu to the right of the subdomain field.
If you see an open website domain field just above the subdomain field option, do not use it. Adding a custom domain to this field will not create a website. Only specify a subdomain.
How to Change An Existing Subdomain to a Custom Domain
You can use any domain that you own with BoldTrail with the vanity domain add-on.
What About Domain Forwarding?
Please Note: Domain forwarding is not recommended as it can cause security and other issues.
At your domain host such as GoDaddy, you also have the option of domain forwarding. When set up correctly, what will happen when someone visits the personalized domain is they are immediately redirected to the agent's subdomain.
Important: Some hosts have the option for forwarding with masking. This option is to be avoided at all costs. The general idea in this instance is that the Agent will ensure their custom or personalized URL will always be visible in the address bar when a user or lead is browsing their site. However, when this is enabled, the agent's subdomain is actually embedded into an empty website. It causes all of the lead capture functions, mobile functionality, and other features of the BoldTrail website to be disabled.
Although the standard forwarding does not keep the personalized domain in the address bar, it is the correct option to have a functioning website.
So, wherever you see the option to forward your custom domain, be sure to select regular forwarding, not forwarding with masking.
Click here for instructions on how to forward a domain in GoDaddy.
Have more questions? Please reach out to Customer Support via the blue chat bubble to the right or by emailing support@insiderealestate.com!
(Keywords: domain, subdomain, vanity domain, 301 redirect, masking)