Domain Setup

How custom domains work

When you set up a white-label portal, clients access it via your custom domain (e.g., ai.agencyname.com). This domain points to Trakkr's infrastructure, but clients see only your branding.

How it works:

Client browser                Your DNS                  Trakkr
     |                           |                        |
     |  1. Visits ai.agency.com  |                        |
     |-------------------------->|                        |
     |                           |  2. CNAME lookup       |
     |                           |----------------------->|
     |                           |                        |
     |  3. Loads your branding   |                        |
     |<--------------------------------------------------------|
     |                           |                        |
     |  4. Client sees branded portal                     |

The magic happens through a simple CNAME record. When someone visits your domain:

1. 1Their browser asks DNS where ai.agencyname.com lives
2. 2DNS returns Trakkr's address (via the CNAME you set up)
3. 3Trakkr detects the incoming domain and loads your agency's branding
4. 4The client sees your fully branded portal

The setup process

Domain setup happens in four stages:

*DNS propagation is usually fast (under 1 hour) but can take up to 48 hours depending on your DNS provider and TTL settings.

Choosing your domain

You'll use a subdomain of a domain you already own. We recommend:

Good choices:

• ai.agencyname.com - Clear, modern, describes purpose
• portal.agencyname.com - Generic but professional
• insights.agencyname.com - Emphasizes the analytics aspect
• data.agencyname.com - Simple and clear

Suggestions in the UI: When you start typing, we'll suggest common patterns like portal, aisearch, geo, insights, and data.

Tips:

• Keep it short and memorable
• Avoid hyphens if possible
• Don't use your root domain (use portal.agency.com, not agency.com)
• Make it something clients can easily type and remember

Step-by-step setup

Step 1: Enter your domain in Trakkr

1. 1Go to Settings → White-Label
2. 2In the Domain Setup section, enter your desired subdomain and root domain
3. 3Click Set Up Domain

Trakkr will display the DNS record you need to add.

Step 2: Add the CNAME record

Add this record at your DNS provider:

Step 3: Verify DNS

Once you've added the record:

1. 1Return to Trakkr's Domain Setup
2. 2Click Verify DNS
3. 3Trakkr checks multiple DNS servers to confirm your record

Status indicators:

• Pending (yellow) - Waiting for you to add DNS record
• Checking (blue spinner) - Actively verifying DNS
• DNS Verified (green check) - Record found, moving to SSL

If verification fails, you'll see specific guidance on what to check.

Step 4: SSL provisioning

After DNS verification succeeds, Trakkr automatically provisions an SSL certificate via Cloudflare.

Status indicators:

• Provisioning SSL (blue) - Certificate being created
• Active (green) - Domain ready to use

SSL provisioning typically takes 1-5 minutes. The page auto-refreshes every 5 seconds during this stage, so you don't need to manually check.

Provider-specific guides

Cloudflare

1. 1Log into your Cloudflare dashboard
2. 2Select your domain
3. 3Go to DNS → Records
4. 4Click Add record
5. 5Fill in:

- Type: CNAME - Name: ai (or your subdomain) - Target: client-portal.trakkr.ai - Proxy status: DNS only (click the orange cloud to turn it grey)

1. 1Click Save

Why grey cloud? Cloudflare's proxy intercepts traffic and provides its own SSL certificate. This conflicts with Trakkr's SSL provisioning. DNS-only mode passes traffic directly to us.

GoDaddy

1. 1Log into GoDaddy and go to My Products
2. 2Find your domain and click DNS
3. 3Scroll to Records and click Add
4. 4Select CNAME as the type
5. 5Fill in:

- Host: ai (your subdomain) - Points to: client-portal.trakkr.ai - TTL: 1 Hour

1. 1Click Save

Namecheap

1. 1Log into Namecheap
2. 2Go to Domain List and click Manage next to your domain
3. 3Click Advanced DNS tab
4. 4Click Add New Record
5. 5Select CNAME Record
6. 6Fill in:

- Host: ai (your subdomain) - Value: client-portal.trakkr.ai - TTL: Automatic

1. 1Click the checkmark to save

Google Domains / Squarespace Domains

1. 1Open Google Domains (or Squarespace Domains)
2. 2Select your domain
3. 3Go to DNS → Custom records
4. 4Click Create new record
5. 5Fill in:

- Host name: ai (your subdomain) - Type: CNAME - Data: client-portal.trakkr.ai

1. 1Click Save

Other providers

The process is similar for all DNS providers. You need to create a CNAME record where:

• The host/name is your subdomain (just the subdomain part, not the full domain)
• The target/value/points to is client-portal.trakkr.ai

If your provider asks for TTL, use 3600 (1 hour) or the default.

Changing your domain

To use a different domain:

1. 1Go to Settings → White-Label → Domain Setup
2. 2Click the menu icon (three dots) in the top-right
3. 3Select Remove Domain
4. 4Confirm removal
5. 5Set up your new domain from scratch

Updating DNS at your provider:

• Remove or update the old CNAME record
• Add the new CNAME record pointing to client-portal.trakkr.ai

Troubleshooting

DNS not verifying

Symptoms: Status stays "Pending" or shows "DNS not found" error.

Check these common issues:

1. 1CNAME value is wrong

- Must be exactly client-portal.trakkr.ai - No trailing dot (some providers add this automatically - that's OK) - No https:// prefix

1. 1Wrong subdomain

- Verify you added the record for the exact subdomain you entered in Trakkr - If you entered ai.agency.com but added the record for portal.agency.com, it won't work

1. 1DNS hasn't propagated yet

- Most records propagate in under an hour - Can take up to 48 hours in rare cases - Wait and retry

1. 1Conflicting records

- If you have an existing A or AAAA record for the same subdomain, remove it - CNAME records cannot coexist with A/AAAA records for the same name

Verify your DNS manually:

# On Mac/Linux terminal:
dig ai.agencyname.com CNAME +short
# Should return: client-portal.trakkr.ai

# Or use nslookup:
nslookup -type=CNAME ai.agencyname.com

Online tools: You can also use dnschecker.org to check if your CNAME has propagated globally.

SSL certificate not provisioning

Symptoms: DNS verified but SSL stays in "Provisioning" for more than 10 minutes.

Most common cause: Cloudflare proxy enabled

If you use Cloudflare for DNS, make sure the proxy is OFF (grey cloud). This is the #1 cause of SSL provisioning failures.

Other causes:

1. 1DNS not fully propagated to all regions
2. 2Domain is already configured for another Trakkr team
3. 3Temporary Cloudflare infrastructure issue

Solutions:

1. 1If using Cloudflare, verify the record shows a grey cloud (DNS only)
2. 2Wait 15 minutes and check the status
3. 3Try clicking "Verify DNS" again to restart the process
4. 4Contact support if it's been more than 30 minutes

Domain shows as "already in use"

Symptom: Error message saying the domain is already claimed.

Causes:

• Another team in your organization already set up this domain
• You previously set it up on a different account
• The domain was set up by a previous owner (rare)

Solutions:

1. 1Check with teammates if anyone already configured this domain
2. 2If you own both accounts, remove the domain from the other account first
3. 3Contact support if you believe this is an error

Clients can't access the portal

After successful setup, clients still can't reach the portal:

1. 1Clear browser cache - Old DNS results may be cached
2. 2Check SSL certificate - Visit the domain and check for certificate warnings
3. 3Verify the URL - Must use https:// not http://
4. 4Check branding is configured - The portal won't fully work without basic branding

Testing your domain

Once setup shows Active:

1. 1Open a new browser window (or incognito mode)
2. 2Visit https://ai.agencyname.com (your domain)
3. 3You should see your branded login page
4. 4Check for the padlock icon in the browser (valid SSL)
5. 5Verify no security warnings appear

Next steps

• Branding & Customization - Set up your agency branding
• Client Management - Invite your first client