There are two steps involved in pointing a custom domain to your website.  The first step requires an IT Professional in your unit to create or edit a DNS entry.  The second step requires the cPanel administrator to associate the custom domain with your website.

At the University of Illinois there are two types of custom domains you can request: a domain off an existing subzone or a new subzone off of illinois.edu. For example, if you would like yoursite.cs.illinois.edu, that would be a custom domain off the existing subzone of cs.illinois.edu. If you would like newsite.illinois.edu, then that is a new subzone. New subzones are restricted to campus wide initiatives or centers and are not available for individual websites, single research group sites, local only RSOs etc.

Domain in Existing Subzone

For a custom domain in an existing subzone (ie: yoursite.dept.illinois.edu), ask you IT Pro to create the record for the domain in IPAM using the following steps:

1. From your subzone, add a new CNAME Record.
2. For the “Alias” enter the custom domain in your subzone for your cPanel  site. For example, enter "yoursite" as your alias if you want your custom domain to be yoursite.yourzone.illinois.edu.
3. For the “Canonical Name” enter "web.illinois.edu".
4. Click “Save & Close”.

New Subzone of Illinois.edu

 If your website qualifies for a new subzone off illinois.edu, one of your unit's IT Professionals will need to fill out the Technology Services Domain Request form. These domains are not free and a university account number will need to be provided. For the domain specific questions, enter the following:

• Do you want an A record? Answer "Yes" and enter the following IP Address: 18.220.149.166
• Do you want a CNAME?  Answer "Yes". The host you associate with the CNAME is the subzone you are requesting. For example: "yourzone.illinois.edu".

cPanel Configuration Step 

Submit a ticket at https://go.illinois.edu/cpanelhelp asking for your custom domain to be associated with your cPanel account.

For production sites, this email should be sent at least a few days in advance to ensure that the service team is available to park your domain at the time when your DNS changes become live. The email should include both the custom domain name and the name of your cPanel domain (i.e. yoursite.web.illinois.edu), and the date and time you would prefer to schedule the change. If there is not a team member available at your requested time, we will work with you to find a time that works for everyone involved.

For test, development, and otherwise non-production sites, send your request after the DNS changes are complete. Make sure you include both the custom domain and the name of your cPanel domain (ie. yoursite.web.illinois.edu). We will park your domain as soon as we process your request, usually within 4 hours.

Additional Considerations

1. If your website uses a content management system, you may need to update your configuration to tell the CMS about your new domain name.
2. AutoSSL certificates normally take only a few minutes to update but may take up to 24 hours. 
   1. You can run AutoSSL manually by logging in to your cPanel account and choosing "SSL/TLS Status" then clicking "Run AutoSSL"
3. If you plan to use a certificate from the Campus Certificate Manager, you should request this certificate a few days ahead of your go-live date and have it in hand and ready to install once the domain is parked.
4. If you currently receive email at your custom domain, cPanel does not handle that functionality. Please open a ticket at https://go.illinois.edu/cPanelHelp so that we can link to your externally provided mail exchanger. Until this is completed, email sent from your website to your custom domain email address will not be delivered.

Using a custom domain with a website moved from other hosting to cPanel

There are two parts to using a custom domain with your website after moving it to cPanel. You have to have the domain associated or ‘parked’ on your cPanel account. Then you need to update the domain registration. You will probably want to verify your website is working using the default address, yoursitename.web.illinois.edu, before pointing the custom domain to the site.

Parking the custom domain

To park the custom domain, submit a ticket at https://go.illinois.edu/cpanelhelp with the following information:

1. The name of your cPanel account
2. The custom domain

Domain registration:

For the domain registration, you will need to know where the custom domain is registered. If you aren’t sure where it is registered, submit a ticket at https://go.illinois.edu/cpanelhelp and we can help you figure that out.

If the domain is registered at UIUC

• Your local IT Pro will be able to edit the domain.  Ask your IT Pro to point your domain to the campus cPanel service using the following:
  • For CNAMEs, point to ‘web.illinois.edu;
  • For A Records point to 18.220.149.166

If your domain is registered outside of UIUC, such as through GoDaddy, you will need to follow the vendor's instructions to manage your DNS records. 

• If your record is a CNAME, update it to point to web.illinois.edu
• If your record is an A Record, update it to point to 18.220.149.166