# Domain Setup

## What it does

Domain setup is what turns your agency account into a true white label experience. You connect **your** web addresses for outbound email, the **client portal** where customers sign in, and optional addresses for **widget** embeds, **image** hosting, and the **API**. When these are in place, **review requests**, **feedback** links, and **reputation** touchpoints reflect your brand instead of the default platform host.

***

## How to use it

1. Open **Agency** in the console header, then click **Domain**.
2. Work through the page from top to bottom. Start with **White Label Sending Domain**, then each **White Label** section for the portal, widget, images, and API.
3. For every block, copy the DNS values shown into your domain host, save there, then return and click **Verify** when the screen offers it. Status moves from pending to active when propagation and checks finish.
4. Use **Download records** at the bottom if you want a single file that lists everything you still need at your DNS provider.

### Sending domain (**White Label Sending Domain**)

This is the address used to send platform email to your team and clients (notifications, invites, reports) and to send **review request** and customer-facing mail on behalf of client projects that do not have their own sending domain yet.

1. Enter the domain fragment the form asks for. The product builds a full sending hostname using an **`agency.`** prefix on your domain (you will see the exact value on screen after you save).
2. Add the **TXT** and **MX** records listed for that domain. They authorize Mailgun, the service that delivers mail for this product, to send as you. **MX** rows are optional but help **inbox** placement; skipping them can hurt deliverability on some providers. Because the records use a dedicated subdomain, they do not replace normal mail for your main website address.
3. Add **DMARC** using the **TXT** row shown in the **DMARC** section, then click **Verify** there once your DNS has the value.
4. This hostname is for **sending mail only**. Typing it in a browser will not show a website. That is expected.

{% hint style="info" %}
When each client project has its own **sending domain** under **Settings** in that project, **review** and customer email for that business can come from **their** domain instead of your agency sending domain.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="danger" %}
If you skip a custom sending domain, mail to your clients still goes out from **<notifications@moregoodreviews.com>** instead of your brand.
{% endhint %}

### **Switch to SMTP Setup** (optional)

At the top of **Domain** you can switch from the standard email setup to **SMTP Setup** if your organization routes mail through its own mail server. That path replaces the DNS-based sending domain block with fields for host, port, username, and password shown on the same page. Most agencies stay on the standard setup unless IT has already chosen SMTP.

### CNAME-style domains (portal, widget, images, API)

Everything below the sending domain on **Domain** uses the same pattern. Each is a **subdomain you choose** (for example `customers.myagency.com`) that points at our platform. For each one you add:

1. Type the full hostname the section asks for and click **Add**.
2. Create the **CNAME** at your DNS host so it points to the **hosting** target shown in the instructions on screen.
3. Wait for the **TXT** record used for secure **HTTPS** to appear in the console (it can take a few minutes). Add that **TXT** row too.
4. Click **Verify** until the section shows **active**.

The four sections are:

* **White Label Client Portal.** Where your **clients** sign in. This host is also used as a fallback for **review** pages and **showcase** experiences when a client has not set their own customer-facing domain on a project. When this hostname is active, client projects can also use it for a **Custom URL** button link in **Settings > Email > Review Link**.
* **White Label Widget Tag.** Appears inside the **embed code** for widgets, so pick something you are comfortable **clients** seeing in snippets.
* **White Label Image URLs.** Serves uploaded **images**. People rarely notice it unless they inspect how a page loads.
* **White Label API.** Optional separate host if you expose integrations under your brand.

On **White Label Client Portal** you may also enable **Show cookie consent banner** if you need that visible for portal visitors.

{% hint style="warning" %}
If you use **Cloudflare**, turn **off** proxying (the orange cloud) on the **CNAME** you create for these hostnames so validation and certificates can complete.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="danger" %}
Without a **White Label Client Portal** hostname, the product is not fully white labeled. **Clients** are sent through the default **moregoodreviews.com** address to create accounts and sign in.
{% endhint %}

***

## What to expect

* DNS can take minutes or, in rare cases, up to a day to propagate. Pending states are normal right after you save changes at your DNS host.
* Until **HTTPS** verification finishes, a new hostname can look broken in the browser even when the **CNAME** is correct. Finish the **TXT** step and use **Verify** again after a short wait.
* After the sending domain and **DMARC** verify, new mail can begin using your domain for **from** addresses; exact **from** names and reply behavior are adjusted in **Email** settings elsewhere in the console.
* A green or success state on each block means that hostname is live for its purpose (portal login, widgets, images, or API, depending on the section).

***

## Tips and common issues

{% hint style="info" %}
If a **TXT** row for **HTTPS** never appears or disappears before you copy it, remove the hostname in our console and add it again to generate a fresh value.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
If a **CNAME** stays stuck in pending after you are sure both the **CNAME** and **TXT** are correct, your DNS provider may be blocking automatic certificates. Some providers need extra **CAA** permission for Google trust services before validation succeeds. Your DNS or IT team can confirm whether **CAA** rules are in the way.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="success" %}
Finishing **White Label Client Portal** and **White Label Sending Domain** first removes the most visible "default platform" touches from invitations, sign-in, and **reputation** outreach.
{% endhint %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.moregoodreviews.com/agencies/domain-setup.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.