Custom Domain

Custom Domain

As a course trainer, after creating and publishing your courses, the next step is to make them available to your intended learners through a website. However, to achieve this, you need to have a domain where the course content will be hosted and accessible to your learners.

What is a domain?

A domain is a unique web address that identifies a website on the internet. It serves as the location where the course content is hosted and can be accessed by learners. TrainerCentral provides a Default Domain option for trainers to host their courses and sessions. However, if you prefer to have a branding for your academy, you can go for a custom domain.

What is a custom domain?

Custom Domain is a unique web address hosted on a domain server. The website can have your preferred web address, which will be easily identifiable and memorable to the learners. A custom domain can also improve the website visibility in the search engine results. The trainer can name the website as they prefer to improve the professionalism of their academy.
For example, Safia runs an academy named Zylker, and her website's domain name is "https://zylker.com." If she chooses to host her academy on TrainerCentral's default domain, the website address would be "https://zylker.trainercentralsite.com." However, by utilizing custom domain mapping, Safia can access the website from a custom domain name like "https://training.zylker.com."

Add a custom domain to TrainerCentral

To add a custom domain name, you have to add a CNAME record in your domain name provider’s website and then verify your domain name in TrainerCentral.
To initiate this process in TrainerCentral:
  1. Sign in as an admin.
  2. Navigate to the Settings tab in the left pane and click the Academy Settings tab.
  3. Select the Domain tab.
  4. Click Add Custom Domain to add the new domain. The Add Custom Domain window will open.



    Setup the CNAME in your domain registrar's website 

  5. Navigate to your Domain provider account.
  6. Create a record for CNAME in the DNS settings of your domain registrar and map the CNAME entry with the displayed value from the TrainerCentral.
    <unique_value>.trainercentral.cs.zohohost.com. Learn more.

    In TrainerCentral:

  7. Enter the new URL under Domain Name. The URL should have a subdomain and be in the format: "https://xxx.yyy.com."
  8. Click Add domain.
    CNAME Mapping will take some time in your Domain Service Provider. If you encounter any error while adding your domain, please wait for some time and try again.
    Next, you need to verify the domain name in TrainerCentral to complete the process.

  9. Click Verify domain mapping.



    After verifying, you need to obtain a SSL certificate for your Domain. TrainerCentral will install a group SSL certificate for you at free of cost.
  10. Click Apply SSL and you will be notified by email once the SSL certificate is issued.



    This process will usually take one-to-two business days.



    Once the certificate is obtained, you have to make it as a default domain

  11. Select Make Default to make this domain your default domain.



    You can now host your courses and live workshops in your new custom domain.

Delete Domain

Deleting your custom domain mapping is also necessary if you want to switch back to the default TrainerCentral mapping, or if you want to opt for a different domain name.


Please ensure to follow these steps before deleting custom domain:

  1. Make TrainerCentral domain your default domain.
  2. Delete the CName record in your domain registrar's website.
Click Delete
Your custom domain mapping will now be deleted permanently.

Domain Forwarding

Any custom domain you add in TrainerCentral needs a subdomain to it. A subdomain always precedes your domain name. For example:
https://www.zylker.com: subdomain
zylker: domain name
There is a possibility of learners accessing your site without a subdomain. For example: zylker.com instead of "www.zylker.com". You can carry out simple steps in your domain service provider to make the site available to them without a subdomain. In your domain service provider, create a CNAME record. This record helps associate your custom domain (www.zylker.com) with the TrainerCentral platform. Additionally, create a forwarding or redirecting rule from zylker.com to www.zylker.com in your Domain Service Provider. This rule can be set up as a 301 redirect, which indicates a permanent redirection from the non-www version of your domain to the www version. By implementing these steps, learners will be able to access your site using both the www and non-www versions of the domain (e.g., zylker.com and www.zylker.com). The forwarding/redirecting rule ensures that users are automatically directed to the appropriate version of the domain when they access your site.

For any assistance with custom domain configuration, please contact support@trainercentral.com. You can also visit our website for further assistance.

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