Adding a CNAME Record (WL)
What is a CNAME?
Without delving *too* deep into the finer points of CNAME records, "CNAME" stands for "canonical name", and it is a record that basically points one domain to use the IP address of another domain. If you'd like to know more about the inner workings of CNAME records, there are a number of great resources available via web search, including a detailed breakdown by Wikipedia.
Why do I need one?
You must have one in place because your white label instance is being hosted by us. Essentially, you need to point your domain to where the white label instance is in order to access it from your domain.
So I have to point my entire domain to Paytronix Online Ordering?
Not at all. In the case of your white label, you'll only be pointing a segment of your domain to our servers, and your main site (and all other existing components of it) will remain completely intact. As an example, let's say we have a domain called ridgegrove.net and have a new Paytronix Online Ordering white label instance set up. What we'd do is create a CNAME called ordering (you can really name this anything you want, but it will be somewhat customer-facing, so we recommend something relevant and professional like ordering or orders) and point it to opendining.net. The end result is the ability to access our white label from ordering.ridgegrove.net and the rest of our website would remain unchanged.
Okay, so what do I need to do to get a CNAME record set up?
First, you need to determine which hosting provider you're using, as the steps involved in actually configuring a CNAME record can vary from host to host. Each hosting provider will likely have its own KB article for setting up a CNAME record. While we can't list all of them, here are links to CNAME-creation articles via some of the popular providers:
Once you've made your way to the proper section of your hosting provider's control panel, you'll want to select the option to create a CNAME record specifically (there are usually multiple record types you can choose from). In what is typically called the "alias name" field for your CNAME record, type the desired name you wish to give it (like ordering in the example in the above section). For the "host name", enter opendining.net as the value. Save the changes to your new CNAME record and you're solid gold.
Keep in mind that name record changes like these *can* take up to 8 hours to fully propagate depending on your hosting provider, so you may not see the results of the change right away. It usually happens a little more quickly than that, though.