Set up a custom hostname

This walkthrough describes how to set up a custom hostname. A custom hostname enables access to Sitecore APIs using a subdomain of your organization's domain. For example <your-custom-hostname>.example.com.

You can add a custom hostname to access Sitecore APIs using your own domain.

To set up a custom hostname, you first need to create it from the Sitecore Cloud Portal or using the Edge Platform Admin REST API and then validate it with your domain provider.

This walkthrough describes how to:

  1. Create a custom hostname

  2. Add the TXT and CNAME records to your domain's DNS record

  3. Check the status of your custom hostname

Before you begin

  • You must be an Organization Admin or Organization Owner in your Sitecore Cloud Portal organization.

  • You must have a domain name and the ability to create a TXT record with your domain host.

Create a custom hostname

Note

Currently, a custom hostname must be a subdomain such as <your-custom-hostname>.example.com. Wildcards and apex domains are not supported.

You need to create a custom hostname using either the Sitecore Cloud Portal or the Edge Platform API, then use information in the response to add records in your domain's DNS record.

The maximum number of hostnames you can create is determined by your contract. To increase this limit, please contact your Sitecore representative.

To create a custom hostname:

Sitecore Cloud Portal

  1. Open the Custom hostnames page, then click Create custom hostname.

  2. In the Create custom hostname dialog, in the Hostname field, enter the custom hostname to be created. Wildcards and apex domains are not supported.

  3. In the Default Context ID field, enter the default context ID associated with the custom hostname.

    If you don't specify a value for default context ID now, you'll need to provide a context ID in the query parameter or header every time you make a request to the hostname.

  4. In the Default site ID field, enter the name of the site you want to attach to this hostname. The site ID is the value of the SITECORE_SITE_NAME variable in the Developer settings tab in the Deploy app.

    If you don't specify a value for default site ID now, you'll need to provide a site ID in the query parameter or body every time you make a request to the hostname.

  5. Click Create. The hostname will be created and the Hostname records dialog will pop up.

Add the CNAME and TXT records to your domain's DNS record

For hostname validation and domain control validation (DCV), you need to add TXT records to your domain's DNS record. You also need to add a CNAME record to associate your custom hostname with the Sitecore proxy.

The way that you add a DNS record varies, depending on your domain host.

In general, to add DNS records:

Sitecore Cloud Portal

  1. Sign in to your domain registrar with the account you used to buy your domain.

  2. Go to the section where you can update your domain's TXT and CNAME records. This is typically called: DNS settings, DNS management, or advanced settings.

  3. For hostname validation, add a TXT record using the information in the TXT Hostname validation section of the Hostname records dialog. If you closed the dialog, in the Custom hostnames page, click Add records.

  4. For SSL validation, add a TXT record using the information in the TXT SSL validation section.

  5. Add a CNAME record using the information in the CNAME section.

For some examples, see Google's custom instructions for many popular domain registrars.

Check the status of your custom hostname

After adding the required DNS records to your domain registrar, your hostname will typically be active within 10 minutes.

To check the status of your custom hostname:

Sitecore Cloud Portal

In the Custom hostname page, see the Hostname status of your custom hostname. When the status is ACTIVE, it is ready to use.

After you've added your custom hostname, you can use it to route traffic to specific Sitecore services.

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