Settings: Setting Up Domain (URL)

Connecting a custom domain to your Raisely site can be a great way to enhance your brand recognition, making it simple for people to share and remember. 

Configuring your settings in Raisely is simple. Though, to setup any custom domain you will need access to your domain provider, as much of the process is done there. If you have not setup domain names before, or lack access to your domain provider, we recommend working through this process with your IT support. We have made it simple for them with all the settings they’ll need below.

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What is a Domain?

Adding Domain name in Raisely

DNS Configuration settings for your domain provider

Advanced DNS setup

Moving a Custom Domain to Another Campaign

Common Issues and Troubleshooting Steps

FAQ’s

What is a Domain?

A domain is simply your site's address, also referred to as your URL. A website will always have a primary domain, example raisely.com. It may also have sub-domains, acting like an add-on to the primary domain, example support.raisely.com.

Adding Domain name in Raisely

Whether you are wanting to change to a primary domain or a sub-domain, the settings are simple within Raisely. Start here by following these steps:

Steps:
  1. Within the campaign you'd like to connect the domain to, navigate to Settings > Domains.
  2. In the Custom Domains section, simply add either your primary domain name or sub-domain into the field and click Save.
  3. A verification pop-up is presented, providing you details for your DNS settings that need to be configured. Select Finish Later if you have not yet configured your DNS, or select Check Now if you are ready to verify your domain.

DNS Configuration settings for your domain provider

Once you've added your domain to Raisely, you need to update your domain's DNS records so that the domain points to your Raisely site. Here are the following DNS settings you will need to add/edit:

Settings for adding primary domain:

A Record: 213.188.193.176

AAAA Record: 2a09:8280:1:9169:525:6faf:8a6f:9ab1

CNAME: www points to hosting.raisely.com or hosting.raiselysite.com. The correct record will be displayed within the Raisely admin.

Settings for adding  sub-domain:

CNAME: subdomain points to hosting.raisely.com or hosting.raiselysite.com. The correct record will be displayed within the Raisely admin.

💡 Cloudflare users: If you use Cloudflare, make sure the Proxy status "orange cloud" is set to "DNS only". Raisely won't work correctly if proxied by Cloudflare.

If your domain doesn't verify immediately you may need to wait a few minutes for your DNS changes to propagate across the internet. We'll check your DNS records regularly and automatically verify your domain when it's ready. 

In most instances, we recommend using a dedicated custom domain for your Raisely campaigns that is separate from your main Organisation's website. This prevents any duplication of DNS records that may cause the verification process to fail.

Advanced DNS Setup

If you are pointing a high-traffic site to Raisely, or you're preparing for a launch, you may want Raisely to issue an SSL certificate prior to you pointing your domain to us. This avoids any momentary downtime while Raisely automatically issues an SSL certificate and sets up your domain.

Advanced DNS setup is only recommended if you're familiar with DNS concepts, or you've got support from someone who does and who also has access to the Raisely admin panel.

  1. Within your verification pop-up, simply select the Advanced tab, then select Continue.
  2. Add the CNAME details shown here into your domains DNS settings via your domain provider.
  3. Go back to Raisely and select Check Now. Raisely will attempt to verify the domain and issue you with an SSL certificate. You may need to wait a few minutes while the DNS changes propagate.

When you're ready to launch your Raisely campaign, update your domain's DNS settings to include the relevant A/AAAA/CNAME records listed in Instructions for IT/Domain Providers above.

Moving a Custom Domain to Another Campaign

Once your custom domain is connected to Raisely, you can easily carry it from one campaign to another. You don't need to make any changes to your domain's DNS records. To move your domain, just follow these steps.

  1. From your Raisely admin panel, go into the campaign you'd like to move the domain to and navigate to Settings > Domains.
  2. In the Custom Domains section, enter in the domain you would like to move in the box called Add domain. Click Save.
  3. Raisely will ask you if you'd like to move your domain. Click Yes, move my domain. 
  4. Your domain will immediately move over to your new campaign.

🟢 Note: If you have previously connected both your root domain as well as your subdomain to your Raisely Campaign, you'll want to ensure that both are moved over to your new campaign. If you do not see the option to move your root domain over, simply manually adding the domain to your new campaign settings will resolve this. 

Common Issues and Troubleshooting Steps

1. Incorrect DNS Settings

Problem: The most common issue is incorrect DNS records. If your domain’s DNS is not configured correctly, it won’t point to your Raisely site.

Troubleshooting:

  • Check your DNS records: Use the following DNS records to point your custom domain to your Raisely campaign:
    • A Record: Point your domain's A record to the following IP address provided by Raisely:
      213.188.193.176
    • AAAA Record: For IPv6, use the following AAAA record:
      2a09:8280:1:9169:525:6faf:8a6f:9ab1
    • CNAME Record: If you're using the www subdomain (e.g., www.yourdomain.com), set up a CNAME record that points to either:
      • hosting.raisely.com or
      • hosting.raiselysite.com
        The exact CNAME record will be displayed in your Raisely admin panel once you've set up your custom domain.
  • Verify DNS propagation: DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate globally. Use tools like DNS Checker to check if your DNS records have propagated successfully.

2. TTL (Time to Live) Issues

Problem: TTL settings determine how long DNS records are cached before they’re updated. If TTL is too high, changes to your domain may take longer to reflect.

Troubleshooting:

  • Lower the TTL temporarily: Set the TTL to a lower value (e.g., 300 seconds) when making changes to DNS records for quicker propagation.

3. Raisely Campaign Misconfiguration

Problem: Even with the correct DNS settings, your Raisely campaign may not display properly if the custom domain isn't linked correctly in your Raisely account.

Troubleshooting:

  • Confirm domain setup in Raisely: Make sure that your custom domain is configured correctly in your Raisely campaign settings. Raisely requires you to enter and verify your custom domain.
  • Verify that the campaign is live: Ensure that the campaign on Raisely is active and ready to display content. Sometimes, a campaign may not be live, leading to a “site not found” error or a redirection to the general Raisely site.

4. Multiple A or AAAA records

Problem: If you have multiple A or AAAA records (e.g., multiple IP addresses), some users might be directed to one server while others are directed to a different one, which can lead to uneven traffic distribution.

Fix:

  • Check load balancing: If you're using multiple servers for balancing traffic, make sure they're set up to handle requests equally.
  • Test with different DNS resolvers: Try using different DNS services (like Google DNS or Cloudflare) to see if traffic is distributed fairly.
  • Remove additional A or AAAA records. If this is required, you may want to set up a dedicated domain for your raisely campaigns.

5. Duplicate or Conflicting Records

Problem: Having duplicate or conflicting A or AAAA records can cause DNS problems. For example, if you have multiple records pointing to the same IP, it could confuse DNS servers.

Fix:

  • Remove duplicates: Check for any identical or redundant A or AAAA records and clean them up.
  • Consolidate records: If multiple records point to the same IP, keep just one record for simplicity.

6. Caching Problems

Problem: DNS servers and devices cache IP addresses for a period of time. If you change the A or AAAA records, users might still be directed to an old IP address until the cache is cleared.

Fix:

  • Clear DNS cache: Instruct users to clear their DNS cache or try accessing the site from a different network.
  • Set low TTL: Lower TTL values can help DNS updates spread more quickly.

FAQs

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# Why are new campaigns being created with campaignname.raiselysite.com? How does this change affect my campaign website?

 From 23 Jan 2024, 11 am AEDT, all new campaigns will be created on raiselysite.com. From 1 April 2024, existing campaigns built on raisely.com will automatically be updated to raiselysite.com. A redirect will be in place for anyone who uses the old raisely.com url. This redirect will cease on 1 February 2026, so all campaigns will be hosted on raiselysite.com.

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# With the move to raiselysite.com, how does this affect me if I have a custom domain?

Campaigns using a custom domain will not be affected by this update and will continue to work. 

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# With the move to raiselysite.com, how does this affect embedded donation forms?

If you are using the embed code from the admin panel, you will not have to make any changes as the form will automatically reference the correct URL.

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# With the move to raiselysite.com, how does this affect analytics tracking?

Within Google Analytics, existing users could potentially appear as new users in analytics. The best workaround would be to move to raiselysite.com during a low traffic period so that any effects to analytics tracking is minimised.

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# Will our default Raisely URL still work if I have a custom domain?

When you connect a custom domain, you still have your free raiselysite.com subdomain. You can redirect visitors that find your raiselysite.com subdomain over to your custom URL.

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# I don’t have a domain yet. What should I do?

You'll need to buy one from a domain registrar. A domain name usually costs AUS$10-30 a year, depending on the type of domain name you're purchasing. We recommend buying your domain from NameCheap.

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# How can I check my DNS records are correct, especially if I don't have access to my DNS manager?

Google offer a simple tool called DIG, providing you a simple way to view your DNS records. Simply head to toolbox.googleapps.com/apps/dig and enter your domain name to view your records.

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# I want to change my DNS settings myself, but I don’t understand terminology. Where do I start?

Many domain providers can use slightly different terms for editing DNS records, making it more complicated than it needs to be. Here are some guides from well-known domain providers to help you understand and edit your settings:

    Popular Domain Providers:

    Google Domains, NameCheap, Domain.com, Go Daddy, Cloudflare

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# Do I need both an A record and AAAA record?

For root domains (ie not a subdomain), the A and AAAA records are both required. If you don’t set the AAAA record, we cannot issue an TLS certificate and the site won’t work correctly.

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