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Custom Domain

Use your own domain name for your booking page so anglers see your brand, not ours, throughout the entire booking experience.

5 min read

Why Use a Custom Domain?

By default, your booking page lives at a Guidewinds subdomain (e.g., your-business.https://guidewinds.com). With a custom domain, you can use your own address instead — like book.yourbusiness.com — giving anglers a seamless, branded experience from start to finish.

  • Brand trust: Anglers stay on your domain throughout thebooking process
  • SEO benefits: Booking page traffic builds authority for your domain
  • Professional appearance: No third-party branding in the URL bar

Plan Requirement

Custom domains are available on the Enterprise plan.

DNS Setup

Setting up your custom domain requires adding a DNS record with your domain registrar. Here's how:

  1. Go to Dashboard → Settings → Domain
  2. Enter your desired domain (e.g., book.yourbusiness.com)
  3. Guidewinds will display the required CNAME record to add
  4. Log in to your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.)
  5. Add a CNAME record pointing your subdomain to the target shown in Guidewinds
  6. Return to Guidewinds and click "Verify Domain"

Pro Tip

We recommend using a subdomain like book.yourdomain.com or reserve.yourdomain.com rather than your root domain. CNAME records work most reliably on subdomains.

SSL Certificate

Guidewinds automatically provisions and renews an SSL certificate for your custom domain. There's nothing you need to do — HTTPS is enabled as soon as the domain is verified.

  • Certificate provisioning takes 5–15 minutes after verification
  • Certificates are automatically renewed before expiration
  • All traffic is forced to HTTPS — no insecure connections

Automatic SSL

Your anglers will see the padlock icon in their browser, building trust during the booking and payment process.

Verification Process

After adding the CNAME record, Guidewinds checks for it automatically. Here's what to expect:

  • Propagation time: DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate, though most resolve in under 30 minutes
  • Status indicators: Your domain settings page shows real-time verification status (Pending, Verified, or Error)
  • Auto-retry: Guidewinds retries verification every few minutes until the record is detected

Existing DNS Records

If you already have a DNS record for the same subdomain, remove it before adding the CNAME. Conflicting records will prevent verification.

Subdomain vs. Custom Domain

Not sure which option is right for you? Here's a comparison:

  • Guidewinds subdomain (free, all plans): Quick to set up, no DNS changes needed. URL looks like your-business.https://guidewinds.com. Great for getting started.
  • Custom subdomain (Enterprise): Use your own domain like book.yourbusiness.com. Best for established businesses that want full brand control.

Pro Tip

You can switch from a Guidewinds subdomain to a custom domain at any time. Your old subdomain URL will automatically redirect to the new domain, so existing links and bookmarks won't break.

What's Next?

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