Get rid of "samcart.com" in your checkout page URL by using a custom domain!
Connecting your Domain to SamCart
SamCart gives you the freedom to connect a Custom Domain and discard the .samcart.com suffix on your checkout pages. You can use a Custom Domain for one page, a few of your pages, or all. You can also setup multiple Custom Domains within the same SamCart marketplace and use them for separate checkout pages.
With SamCart’s new simple custom domain setup you can say goodbye to any additional Cloudlfare steps!
Step 1 - Get a Registered Domain
If you don't already have a domain, you'll need to purchase one for your business. You have several options for getting a custom domain - you can now purchase a domain directly within your SamCart marketplace through Name.com! Alternatively, you can obtain a domain name outside of SamCart from from Google Domains, GoDaddy, Namecheap, or the domain registrar of your choosing.
If you do not want to purchase a custom domain from within your SamCart marketplace through Name.com, you do not have to! You can still purchase a custom domain outside of SamCart from any domain registrar that you would like. If you choose to buy a domain outside of SamCart, complete that step first and then move on to Step 2 of this article. If you would like to purchase a custom domain through SamCart, read below to learn more!
Purchasing a Custom Domain Through SamCart
We are excited to now be able to offer the ability to purchase custom domains from directly within your SamCart marketplace using Name.com! To start this process head over to your custom domains settings by clicking on the Settings button in the lefthand navigation bar, and then the Custom Domains tab. From here you will want to click on the + Buy a Domain button. 
You will see a popup screen from Name.com where you can search for domains available for purchase. 
Once you have selected a domain (or domains) that you want to purchase, add the domain(s) to your cart and click "Go To Checkout." The Name.com popup will then show you your total price for the domain(s) you have selected, and you will be prompted to either log in to Name.com or create a Name.com account in order to continue with your purchase. 
Once you have logged in you will be able to review your cart and enter payment details to complete the purchase. This will all occur within the Name.com popup window! Please make sure to allow the purchase to fully complete before closing out of the popup window. After the purchase is fully complete, the popup window will close out and you will see your domain in the custom domains section. 
Now your custom domain is connected, but there are still some steps to take to make sure it is fully connected to your sales page and set up how you want. Continue reading for next steps!
Step 2 - Connect your Domain Registrar to Your SamCart Marketplace
There are two ways to connect a custom domain to your marketplace. You can use either option, or both.
- You can point your root domain at your marketplace (an example of a root domain is mycustomdomain.com). Do not use this method if you already have an existing website at your root domain.
- You can point your subdomain at your marketplace (an example of a subdomain is shop.mycustomdomain.com). This method is recommended if you have an existing website outside of SamCart.
The reason for the two different processes is the restrictions in DNS for record types that can be created for root domains.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you purchased your custom domain directly through SamCart, the steps below in the Option 1: Point Your Root Domain at Your Marketplace section have been completed automatically for you upon purchase. There is no need to take any steps to connect your root domain, it is automatically done for you. If you wish to use a subdomain in addition to the root domain, you will need to configure that manually using the steps below in the Option 2: Point Your Subdomain at Your Marketplace section.
Option 1: Point Your Root Domain at Your Marketplace
To start, log in to your DNS hosting provider and add or update the A record for the root domain to contain the following IP addresses: 54.87.111.129 and 107.23.163.128
(Do not change your A records if you have a website outside of SamCart)
It should look something like this:
Your domain registrar screen may be different than the above screenshot, however the process will be the same regardless of your hosting provider.
Save the changes made on your DNS hosting provider before leaving the page.
Option 2: Point Your Subdomain at Your Marketplace
If you are going to be using a URL with a subdomain such as ‘www’, or ‘shop’, log in to your DNS hosting provider and add a CNAME record for the subdomain to contain the following value: custom-lu4rid0t27xh1ppv.samcart.com
Save the changes made on your DNS hosting provider before leaving the page.
Step 3 - Add Your Custom Domain to SamCart a
Now for the super easy part! After you've configured your DNS settings, you're ready to link your SamCart Products to a Custom Domain.
If you purchased your domain directly through SamCart, this step will be automatically done once you complete the purchase of your custom domain. However there is still one step that you need to take to complete the setup, move on to Step 4 of this article!
If you purchased your custom domain outside of SamCart or are setting up a subdomain for a custom domain purchased within SamCart, you will need to add this to SamCart manually. Click the Use Existing Domain button, enter the Custom Domain, and click Save. The custom domain is now connected to SamCart and be seen on your Custom Domains page!
Step 4 - Choose a Default Product for Your Custom Domain
Whether you purchased your custom domain within SamCart or outside of SamCart, there is one final step that is necessary to make sure that your custom domain is connected to the desired SamCart sales page. By default, when a custom domain is connecting it will go to a "Coming Soon" page. You can leave it on the coming soon page as long as you'd like, however, if you want your custom domain to take customers to your SamCart sales page make sure to follow this step!
Click on the pencil icon next to your custom domain in order to edit it. In the Edit Custom Domain popup window, click on the Product button under Select Your Homepage to make your custom domain point to one of your product pages instead of the default Coming Soon page. Once you click Product, you will see a dropdown list of all your products to select from (you can also type directly within the dropdown box to search your products). Choose one as the default product for your custom domain and click Save!
That's it! Your custom domain is connected and ready to go.
Step 5 - Add a Favicon (optional)
You have the ability to add a favicon when adding a custom domain! The favicon is the icon the appears on a tab when someone is visiting your page. For example: 
To add a favicon with your custom domain, click the pencil icon that allows you to make edits to the custom domain: 
This will bring up the Edit Custom Domain popup. Click the Upload button to upload a favicon, this will allow you to choose your favicon image from the files on your computer. Once you have chosen your favicon, click the Save button.
Now when your customers visit your page at your custom domain, they will see the favicon in the tab on their browser! You can also easily see which favicons are attached to your custom domains directly on your custom domains page within SamCart:
Step 6 - Add a Custom Domain to Additional Products (optional)
After a Default Product has been selected in your SamCart Marketplace Settings, you can add additional Products to a Custom Domain by going to any product settings page and clicking the Advanced Settings tab:
Scroll down to the Advanced section, click Default Custom Domain, and select the Custom Domain you'd like to use for the Product. Make sure to click the Save Changes button in the top right corner of the page.
Once you save changes, go back to the Product Details tab, and the Checkout Page URL will now reflect the Custom Domain:
Step 7 - Add your Custom Domain to Referral Links inside your Affiliate Center (optional)
Once the Custom Domain is connected to SamCart, you can use it for your referral link inside the Affiliate Center.
When you create or edit a Link, it will be available as an option in the Custom Domain dropdown.
When you add the Custom Domain to the Link, it will appear in your affiliate's dashboard like this:
If you use a Custom Domain for the referral link, it will only track SamCart checkout pages that use that same Custom Domain as well. This is because the affiliate's tracking cookie uses the domain in the referral link.
So, if you are using a Custom Domain for all your SamCart pages, be sure to use it on all the referral links. If you are not using a Custom Domain for your SamCart checkout, stick with the default URL for the referral link.
Check out the chart below for examples.
For more information on the Affiliate Center, check out this support article.
If you would like to discontinue using a Custom Domain in your marketplace, remove the domain from the affiliate link first. Then remove the Custom Domain from your General Marketplace Settings. If you do not remove the custom domain from the affiliate link beforehand, the referral link will no longer show inside your affiliate's dashboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I completed every step but my Custom Domain still is not working. What do I do?
A: Keep in mind that changes made in your DNS provider can take hours to update. We recommend waiting for about 24 hours to pass and checking over the steps above again. If there are still issues with connecting the custom domain after this time passes, reach out to SamCart support.
Q: Can I setup multiple CNAME records for one Custom Domain?
A: Yes. Repeat the steps for pointing your subdomain at your marketplace and you can create multiple subdomains with the same root domain.
Q: I already have shared my SamCart URL without a custom domain. If I add a custom domain, will users still land on my checkout page?
A: Yes! Adding a custom domain will not deactivate the checkout page URL with the samcart suffix. If a user clicks a previous link, they will still land on your checkout page even if a custom domain has been added.
Q: Can I use a custom domain to edit the URL of my courses?
A: No. Custom domains are applicable to checkout pages only.
Q: Does invisible reCAPTCHA work with my Custom Domain?
A: Invisible reCAPTCHA is on by default for every Sales Page. We have also enabled invisible reCAPTCHA for every Custom Domain.
Q: I have multiple Marketplaces. Can I use the same domain for both?
A: Unfortunately, you cannot user the same domain with multiple Marketplaces. Alternatively, you can create a subdomain to use for each additional Marketplace.