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Custom Domains

A custom domain puts your partner portal on your own web address, such as partners.yourcompany.com, instead of the standard Journeybee one. Partners sign in on an address they recognise, on your branding, without ever seeing a third-party domain.

It also unlocks three things that stay switched off until you have one: portal branding, the partner portal access settings, and showing an application form on your portal login page.

Where to find it: Go to Settings, then Portal Settings (under Workspace), and scroll to Custom Domain.

Who can use this: Admins only. The Portal Settings page is not visible to other roles.

Before you start

You need three things:

  • Admin access to Journeybee.

  • Access to your domain's DNS settings, or somebody who has it.

  • A subdomain to use. partners., portal. or channel. are the usual choices.

You do not need to buy or manage an SSL certificate. Journeybee provisions and renews one for you.

Step 1: Connect your domain

  1. Go to Settings, then Portal Settings.

  2. Find the Custom Domain section.

  3. Type your subdomain, for example partners.yourcompany.com.

  4. Click Connect Domain.

Step 2: Add the DNS records

Journeybee then shows you two records to add at your DNS provider. Use the copy buttons rather than retyping them.

  • CNAME: name is your subdomain, value is the target shown on screen. This is what actually routes traffic to Journeybee.

  • TXT: name is _journeybee-verification.yourdomain.com, value is the token shown on screen. This proves you own the domain.

Both records are needed. A CNAME with no TXT verifies nothing, and a TXT with no CNAME routes nothing.

Step 3: Wait for verification

Journeybee rechecks your DNS every few minutes on its own. Click Refresh if you want to check immediately.

DNS changes can take up to 72 hours to propagate, though in practice most providers are far quicker than that.

Step 4: SSL is issued for you

Once verification passes, Journeybee requests the SSL certificate automatically. This part can take a few hours. When it finishes, the domain goes Live and partners can use it.

Reading the status badges

There are two badges, and they mean different things.

The first is DNS verification:

  • Pending: domain added, DNS not configured yet.

  • DNS Required: records still missing.

  • Verifying: records found, verification under way.

  • Verified: ownership confirmed.

  • Error or Expired: check the records match exactly, then click Refresh.

The second is whether the domain is serving: Live, or Configuring Domain while the certificate is being issued. A domain can be Verified and still not Live, which simply means SSL is not finished yet.

What a custom domain unlocks

Three parts of Journeybee stay disabled until a custom domain is connected:

  • Partner Portal Access settings, on the same Portal Settings page: automatic user creation, letting partners request access, and allowing applications from public email addresses. See Portal Settings.

  • Partner Portal Branding: your portal colours, navigation bar logo and login background image, under Branding.

  • Application forms on the portal login page: a partner application form can only be shown there if you have a custom domain. See Forms.

If any of those look greyed out, a missing custom domain is usually the reason.

When your domain is live

Partners reach the portal at https://partners.yourcompany.com and stay on your address throughout, including sign-in.

Someone who belongs to more than one partnership sees a chooser first, still on your domain.

Removing a custom domain

  1. Click Remove next to the domain.

  2. Confirm.

This cannot be undone, and it takes effect straight away: partners on that address lose it and go back to the standard Journeybee one. Tell partners before you do it, then clean up the DNS records at your provider afterwards.

Troubleshooting

Verification is taking a long time

  • Allow for propagation. Up to 72 hours is normal in the worst case.

  • Compare both records character by character against what Journeybee shows.

  • Make sure the CNAME value has no http:// or https:// in front of it.

  • Delete any older A or CNAME record on the same subdomain. A clashing record will block the new one.

The domain says Verified but partners get an error

Check the second badge. Verified means DNS is right; the domain is only usable once it also shows Live, which waits on the certificate.

Partners cannot open the domain

  • Confirm the status reads Live.

  • Have them use https://.

  • Try a private window, since browsers cache failed certificates aggressively.

Portal branding is still greyed out

Branding and the portal access settings read the connected domain, so they open up once the domain is saved. Reload the settings page if you have just connected it.

Good to know

  • Use a subdomain, not your root domain. Pointing yourcompany.com itself at the portal would take over your main website.

  • Journeybee renews the certificate for you. There is nothing to diarise.

  • The custom domain and embedding the portal in your own site are separate features. You can do either, both, or neither. See Partner Portal.

  • Once the domain is live, set your portal colours and background image so the sign-in page looks like the rest of your site.

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