Changing company/domain name?

SiriusPhotog · August 2, 2015

I've got a SmugMug website that was setup here through GoDaddy many years ago. I've shuttered my business but wish to keep my site. I'd like to register it under a different .photography domain and change the name but I have no clue what the process is. Do I go through GoDaddy or through SmugMug to handle this?
And are there any Pros and Cons to doing this? I never really used my site for commercial purposes so I'm not worried about losing a client base.

Thanks for the assistance.
Greg ~

denisegoldberg · August 2, 2015

If the domain is registered at GoDaddy you would start there. If you want to change the domain name you will need to register a new domain. You can then forward your old domain to the new one if you want people with the existing URL to find you, or you can simply not renew the old domain.

Once you have the domain name registered you will need to define a CNAME pointing to smug. And you will need to update your SmugMug account settings to identify the new URL.

See the help page at http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/articles/93340-how-do-i-use-my-custom-domain-, Option 2: DIY.

--- Denise

SiriusPhotog · August 4, 2015

It looks like I have to go to the main GoDaddy website to do this instead of the "SmugMug custom domains by GoDaddy" site like I've always dealt with. They do not offer the .photography or .photo domains on the custom site. Seems ashamed considering the partnership with SmugMug that is obviously in place.

SiriusPhotog · February 14, 2016

So I'm just now getting ready to actually do this. Thanks Denise for the advise. One last question. What happens to all my photos on my old domain once I switch names? Do they all remain where they are under the old domain or get deleted or address changed?

Thanks again.

denisegoldberg · February 14, 2016

SiriusPhotog wrote: »

So I'm just now getting ready to actually do this. Thanks Denise for the advise. One last question. What happens to all my photos on my old domain once I switch names? Do they all remain where they are under the old domain or get deleted or address changed?

Your smugmug site remains the same - all you are doing is changing the URL used to access it. Your photos and galleries will be available under the new name once you switch the domain.

If you have a menu on your site it's likely that you used your old URL in creating the menu entries. You will need to update the menu to use the new URL.

--- Denise

Allen · February 14, 2016

The nickname.smugmug.com links will always work for your site.
As Denise mentioned you'll have to crawl your site and anywhere you used a domain link change that.

The best way to handle links on your site is use relative links in menus and any other embedded links.
example:
http://(domain or nickname).com/folder/....
A relative link leaves off the leading part (red) and starts with the /folder
/folder/gallery/....

SiriusPhotog · February 23, 2016

Thanks guys

Changing company/domain name?

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