[intro]Whether you have already purchased a domain or not, these Guides will show you what you need to know to set up a domain and email address on your EKM online shop.[/intro]

Your next step in setting up your EKM online shop is to attach a domain to it, so customers can easily find it online. As well as a domain, you’ll also need an email address that is built onto that domain. For example, if your domain is myonlineshop.co.uk, you’ll need an email address built onto it like sales@myonlineshop.co.uk. This ensures that customers will receive emails from your shop which are sent from the correct address.

If you don’t own a domain

If you have yet to buy a domain, there are plenty of options:

  • If you upgrade your EKM online shop from the Lite to the Basic Tier, we will give you a free domain. This will point to your EKM online shop automatically. 
  • Alternatively, if you’d like to remain on the Lite Tier but think you might need assistance to set up your domain, purchase a domain from EKM Domains. If you encounter any issues or need a hand setting things up, our Customer Support Team can log into your EKM Domains account to assist you. You can open an account and purchase a domain by clicking here.
  • You can purchase a domain elsewhere - there are lots of different domain providers available. However, you will need to refer to your domain provider to help you configure your domain and your email.  

If you already own a domain

If you already own a domain that is hosted by a third party, you need to point this at your EKM online shop by amending the A Records on the domain. To begin, you need to locate the IP address of your EKM online shop. 

1. From the Dashboard page, click Settings at the bottom of the left-hand menu:

2. Click Domain Name on the left-hand side, beneath the Shop Settings header:

3. On this page, click Use Existing Domain Name on the far right-hand side:

4. Then you need to click ‘The domain name is currently in use’:

5. Then click ‘Use the domain name just for my new site’:

6. On this page, the bold number is the IP Address of your EKM online shop. Note this down as you will need this to create the A Records on your domain:

[warning]The IP address for your EKM online shop is made up of four groups of numbers and it does not require a full stop after the final set of numbers. Don't be tempted to simply copy the IP address that is shown in the image above. You need to use the IP address of your own EKM online shop as it may not reside on the same server as our test shop which we used to create this Guide. Adding the wrong IP address will result in your domain not working properly and it can take upwards of another 24 hours to rectify the issue and have your domain pointing correctly at your EKM online shop.[/warning]

Then you need to click the relevant link below and follow the steps within:

GoDaddy

1and1

123 Reg

If your domain provider is not listed above, simply log into your account with them and look at their support articles for ‘How to create A Records’. 

[remember]When you have amended the settings on a domain, these changes can take between 24-36 hours to propagate. Although sometimes this period can be a lot quicker, it’s something to be aware of when you are looking at the front end of your EKM online shop using different devices after you have set up your domain.[/remember]

Troubleshooting

When you go to visit the front end of your EKM online shop 24-36 hours after pointing your domain, if you see a ‘Domain Parked’ message instead of your Homepage, this Guide will take you through the different steps required to troubleshoot the issue.

Adding your Email Address for your EKM online shop

7. You now need to add an email address to your EKM online shop, which will be the email address used to notify customers when they've placed an order. From the Settings page, click Outgoing Emails on the left-hand menu:

8. On this page, you need to add your email address to the Shop Email Address field before clicking the green Save button:

[caution]Do not use an email address from a free provider, such as an email that ends in @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @BTInternet.com or similar on your EKM online shop. Not only does this look very unprofessional, but using a free email address in this field can prevent customers from receiving emails from your EKM online shop.

The reason for this is that each of the free email providers - and there are a lot of them - have different settings on their accounts for what they deem to be spam. When customers place an order on your EKM online shop, the system sends them a confirmation email listed from the address in the Shop Email Settings field and this uses a method called ‘spoofing’. What this means is that the email appears to come from your email address, but in reality, it’s sent on your behalf by your EKM online shop. You’ll be setting this up in Step 8.

Spoofing is a perfectly normal procedure that lots of platforms use, however, some email providers will wrongly class these emails as spam, or worse, block them from reaching your customers. To avoid this occurring, ensure you have a dedicated email address set up with ends in your domain name, which will ensure that your emails will be delivered to your customers and not classed as potential spam by their email providers.[/caution]

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[contact] If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert or the Customer Support Team, who will be able to point you in the right direction. We're open from 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-5.30pm weekends. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. If you have a non-account specific question to ask the EKM Team, join us in EKM Community. If you need some inspiration for your EKM online shop, listen to our podcast on iTunes and Spotify.[/contact]