Level 1 Domain Training
While you won’t be expected to complete any technical domain setups during your first 90 days, it’s helpful to start building a basic understanding of how domains work. Customers often have questions like “How do I launch my website?”, “How do I buy a new domain?”, “How can I transfer my domain?”, and—most importantly—“Why is my website offline?” This guide will give you the foundational knowledge you need to answer those questions confidently and point customers in the right direction.
Why Domains Matter
Customers often ask questions like:
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“How do I launch my website?”
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“How do I buy a new domain?”
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“Can I transfer my domain?”
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“Why is my website offline?”
This module gives you the foundational knowledge to answer confidently, set expectations, and know when to escalate to Level 2.
What is a Domain?
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A domain is a website’s unique web address (e.g., photobiz.com or zibster.com).
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Domains can end in many extensions (.com, .net, .org, .ca, etc.).
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Domains must be registered through a registrar (like Enom, GoDaddy, Namecheap).
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Domains must be renewed regularly to remain active.
👉 Think of a domain like a street address for a website.
Domain Registration
Registering A Domain Through PhotoBiz/Zibster
We are a domain reseller with Enom, a domain registrar, to allow customers to purchase domains directly through their PhotoBiz or Zibster account.
Cost:
- Annual membership: $12 setup fee + $42/year registration fee
- Monthly membership: $12 setup fee + $3.50/month registration fee
Things To Know:
- Clients can register the following domains in their control panel .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info. Any other domain extensions will need to be registered with a 3rd party registrar.
- After a domain has been purchased and registered, it's non-refundable.
Third Party Domain Registration
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Clients may own a domain elsewhere (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.).
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They can keep registration with that company and still connect it to PhotoBiz/Zibster.
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There is no extra cost to connect an existing domain.
- The domain registration will be renewed by the place they've registered it.
Domain Transfers
Transferring To Photobiz
If a customer has a domain registered somewhere else, they may want to transfer the registration to Photobiz so that their domain fees and website fees are all in one place. It is important to note that a customer can only transfer a domain ending in .COM, .NET, .ORG, .BIZ, and .INFO.
To start a domain transfer…
Transferring Out Of Photobiz
Customers may request to move their domain to another registrar for a few reasons, including switching to another website company or wanting to manage their own domain settings.
Our policy is to transfer domains only to the same registrar where they are currently registered. Since we now partner with Enom, most domain transfers will be made to the customer's own Enom account. However, we used to use GoDaddy for domain registration, so there are still a few older Photobiz accounts with domains registered there. In those cases, the domain will need to be transferred to the customer’s own GoDaddy account. You can tell which registrar a domain is in by looking at the customer's membership page.
GoDaddy domains will be listed simply as "domain registration":
Enom domains will also list the domain name itself:
Domain Setup Process + Key Terms
Now that we’ve covered how customers purchase domains, how do we connect a domain to a Photobiz account to launch the customer’s website?
Level 2 agents will take care of customer domain setups, however it is important to have a basic understanding of the process so that you can answer customer questions and let them know what to expect.
Each customer needs three key services to make their website live on the internet:
3. The Level 2 Agent Creates a DNS for The Customer
In our ticket system, we will create a DNS for the customer based on the information they submitted. The DNS will contain four unique nameservers, our basic records to make the website live, and the customer’s email records, if applicable.
Once the domain name has been set up and if the client is hosting their DNS with us through Route 53 (our hosting servers with AWS). They can manage and update their DNS on their own.
Let’s break down each of these terms using our example domain, krazmien.com:
4. We Send The Customer Their Nameservers
The agent who set up the DNS will email the customer their four unique nameservers. It’s important to note that the act of setting up a DNS does not affect the domain or launch the website. The customer must enter the nameservers in their domain registrar account to connect the domain to the DNS we created.
5. Wait for Propagation
Propagation refers to the time it takes for a nameserver change to load across the entire internet. Typically, nameserver changes can take 24-48 hours to load. After this propagation period, the customer’s website and branded email will be live!
Tools & Resources
misk.com/tools
If you enter a domain name into this website, you will be able to see what nameservers and DNS records are in place for that domain
whois.com
If you enter a domain name into the small search bar in the upper right, you can see where this domain is registered and when it expires.
Common Customer Questions + Troubleshooting Steps
Why is my website offline?
- Visit the domain yourself: If the site loads on your end, the issue may be with the customer's device or a typo in the URL.
- Check to see if the domain has expired. Search for the domain on whois.com to see if the expiration date has passed. If it has, they will need to recover the domain with their domain registrar
- Check to make sure our basic records are applying. Search for the domain on misk.com/tools. Do you see basic records or this customer’s unique nameservers listed? If not, chances are they need to edit their domain settings to point the domain back to Photobiz
Why does my website say it is not secure?
- Check to see which version of Photobiz the customer is running. Only the latest website builder Photobiz 9 supports SSL. If a customer's website is built on the Portfolio builder or the Legacy builder, they will need to switch to Photobiz 9 in order to enable SSL.
- Check the domains panel to make sure the checkbox for SSL is checked
- Send a ticket to QA. If the customer is on Photobiz 9 and has SSL checked in the domains panel, send a ticket to Hanna in QA to ask her to reset the SSL for this domain. Once the reset is complete, you will receive the ticket back and can let the customer know the issue is resolved.