OctopusPro’s Domain White Labelling is a powerful add-on feature that allows your business to establish a seamless online identity by integrating your brand directly into your customer portal’s URL. Instead of directing your customers to a generic OctopusPro URL (booking.octopuspro.com), you can now guide them to a subdomain that is directly tied to your business. For instance, if you own a website called mywebsite.com, you can create a subdomain like booking.mywebsite.com.

This feature helps keep your brand name consistent across all customer touchpoints, significantly enhancing your customers’ experience, boosting your credibility and making it easier for customers to connect with your business.

Examples

For example, if you operate a cleaning service called End of Lease Bond Cleaning, instead of directing your clients to the generic OctopusPro URL, you can guide them to booking.endofleasebondcleaning.com.au. This not only keeps your brand name front and center but also simplifies the booking process for your clients.

For a business such as Zenin Massage, a subdomain like booking.zenin.com.au immediately positions your brand at the forefront, offering a sense of familiarity for your clients.

Benefits

1. Unified Online Presence: Using your own subdomain instead of the default OctopusPro domain (booking.octopuspro.com) streamlines your digital presence. With your brand evident in the URL, customers can quickly identify and remember your portal.
2. Improved Credibility and Trust: A unique subdomain increases your brand credibility and reinforces customer trust, as it signals a commitment to professionalism and quality.
3. Improved SEO: Having your own branded subdomain can also provide SEO benefits, helping improve your search engine visibility, and therefore potentially driving more organic traffic to your booking portal.

Pricing and Support

Implementing a custom subdomain with the Domain White Labelling feature does incur additional charges. However, the improved customer experience, enhanced brand visibility, and potential increase in bookings offer a substantial return on investment. You can find detailed pricing information in the extra charges section on the pricing page at https://www.octopuspro.com/pricing.

Viewing and Editing Your Portal URL

1. Go to Settings > Customer Portal > General Settings. This will redirect you to the customer portal general settings page.
2. Click on “Portal URL“ if you want to view your customer portal prior to customization.

Editing Your Customer Portal Username in the URL

The portal username in the URL is a unique identifier for your business. By customizing this, you can make your URL more branded and aligned with your business identity.

1. Click on “Edit Portal Username”.
2. Enter your preferred portal name in the designated box.
3. Click on “Save”.

Editing Your Customer Portal Domain Name in the URL

By customizing your customer portal URL to use a subdomain of your own website domain name, you can fully white-label your service. This not only enhances your brand’s professional appearance but also keeps your customers engaged on your domain rather than a generic one. Here’s a straightforward guide on how to do this:

Steps to Customize Your URL:

1. Initiate the Change:
   • Action: Click on “Edit Domain Name in URL” in your OctopusPro account settings. This starts the process to customize your customer portal’s URL to better reflect your brand.
2. Choose Your Subdomain:
   • Decision: Decide on a subdomain that aligns with your customer interactions, such as booking, reserve, or client. A relevant subdomain makes it clear to your customers what the link is for, enhancing user experience and trust.
3. Log Into Your Domain Host Account:
   • Access: Go to your domain registrar’s website (like GoDaddy, Google Domains, etc.). Direct access allows you to make necessary DNS changes, which are crucial for directing your chosen subdomain to the OctopusPro servers.
4. Create a New CNAME Record:
   • Setup: In your domain’s DNS settings, create a new CNAME record.
     • Name/Host/Alias: Enter the subdomain you’ve chosen (e.g., booking).
     • Value/Points to/Destination: Point it to the appropriate OctopusPro regional subdomain (e.g., us.octopuspro.com, eu.octopuspro.com, au.octopuspro.com). This ensures that the subdomain correctly routes traffic to your customer portal hosted by OctopusPro.
   • TTL (Time to Live): Set this to the default or as recommended, which is typically 3600 seconds. This setting determines how quickly the changes are recognized across the internet.
5. Notify OctopusPro:
   • Inform: Once you have made these changes, inform OctopusPro so their server engineers can configure their servers to recognize your new subdomain. This step is critical to ensure your subdomain is connected properly to the customer portal, allowing it to function seamlessly.
6. Allow Time for Propagation:
   • Wait: Changes may take up to 48 hours to propagate across the internet. Understanding this helps set realistic expectations on when the changes will take effect.

Also, it’s important to note that if you are not comfortable making these changes yourself, you should contact your website administrator or your domain hosting provider’s customer support. They can guide you through the process or make the necessary changes on your behalf.

Integrating Your Customer Portal with Your Website

After setting up and customizing your portal URL, you can integrate it into your existing website. This will help provide a seamless experience to your customers and strengthen your brand consistency.

1. Create a link or a button on your website that links to your customer portal, such as a “Book Now” button that links to your customer portal URL.
   

Costs Associated with Using Your Website Domain Name in the Customer Portal URL

There is an additional cost for using your own domain in your customer portal URL. For a breakdown of these charges, please refer to the extra charges section on the pricing page at https://www.octopuspro.com/pricing.

To integrate your domain name into your customer portal URL, you will need to login to your domain host account and edit the DNS records for your domain. If you are unsure about this process, it is recommended to contact your domain host or website administrator.

Don’t forget to inform us once this is complete, so our server engineers can configure our servers before the changes can take effect.

Concluding Thoughts

Always remember to check the changes with your team and customers to ensure they are comfortable and understand the new setup. These changes should be communicated clearly, and users should be provided with any necessary support during the transition. Your customer portal is a valuable touchpoint for your customers, and its success depends on how effectively it meets their needs.

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