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Setting up a domain pointer

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A domain pointer is an additional domain name that points to the root of your site.

So, for example, if you own domain.net and want it to point to your domain.com site, you can add domain.net as a domain pointer and anyone entering domain.net in a browser will see the domain.com website.

It’s easy to set up a domain pointer, just go to the Site Tools section of Control Panel and click on the “Domain Pointer” icon or link:

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On the Domain Pointer page, click the “Add” button:

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Enter the domain you want to add as a pointer in the “Domain Pointer” field.

Domain pointers do not get full email service, but you can set up aliases (forwarding addresses) for the domain pointer. To set up forwarding addresses, just check the “Enable Email Alias” box.

Click the “Create” button:

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That’s all there is to it, the domain pointer is now set up.

About domain pointer name server records: The name servers for the new domain pointer have to be set to use the Winhost name servers:

ns1.winhost.com
ns2.winhost.com
ns3.winhost.com

How you make that change varies depending on where your domain is registered, so check with your domain registrar for details.

If your domain was registered through Winhost, your name servers should already be set and the domain pointer should start to work in a few minutes. If you have to change the name servers for the domain pointer, DNS propagation may take several hours.

About domain pointer email aliases: When domain pointer Email Alias service is activated, an MX (mail) record is added to the pointer domain’s DNS record. If the domain has a preexisting MX record, it will not be removed when you activate Domain Pointer Email Aliases.

So you must ensure that you remove any preexisting MX records through the Control Panel DNS Manager (or wherever you manage the DNS for the domain) to avoid possible conflicts with the Domain Pointer Email Alias service.

How domain pointer email aliases work: Domain pointer email aliases are forwarded to the corresponding email address of your primary email account. So if you set up the email address [email protected], that mailbox will also accept mail for [email protected].

If the same message is sent to [email protected] and [email protected] you will receive two copies of the message in the [email protected] mailbox.

 

You can disable domain pointer email aliasing in Control Panel. Go to Site Manager > Domain Pointer and click the “On [Turn Off]” link. You can activate domain pointer email aliasing the same way when it is disabled. On this page you can also delete the domain pointer completely:

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One Response
  • Jerry Peres Reply

    The post you submitted here is very informative. Setting up a domain pointer is very important while you choose a domain name for your business. Thanks for sharing such a great post here.

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