Does my site come with a domain name?
Does my site come with email?
Can I use my own domain name? Which plan do I need for this?
How will my site be found?
My main website is using a custom domain name, how can I incorporate your proofing galleries into it using that name?
What is a CNAME / subdomain and why do I need one?
How do I change my Zenfolio URL?
Can I transfer my custom domain?
Does my site come with a domain name?
Your site comes with a customized URL that is created with your username. It will look like this: username.zenfolio.com. But you may be wanting to remove the "zenfolio" from your site URL.
You can remove the .zenfolio from your URL by using a custom domain name with your Zenfolio site. If you would like to use a custom domain name, it will need to be purchased from a registrar such as GoDaddy, Yahoo or 1and1, and then pointed to your Zenfolio site. Please see this link for more details on how to point your custom domain to Zenfolio.
Does my site come with email?
Zenfolio is your website host, not an email provider or domain registrar. Email hosting would need to be done through your domain host or registrar. Your customers are able to send emails to your existing email address through the contact page on your site and you can email invitations from your Dashboard
Can I use my own domain name? How do I do this? Which plan do I need for this?
You can use a custom domain name with any of our current plans. Please note that only one custom domain name can be pointed to your site.
There are two steps in the process for pointing your name: the first is with your registrar and the second is in your Zenfolio settings. Complete instructions can be found at this link.
If you already use another website, and would like to use Zenfolio only for proofing, you can set up a Sub-domain for your Zenfolio account.
How will my site be found?
You can share your site with your friends, family and clients by sending them your new URL that is available the moment you sign up for a trial (username.zenfolio.com).
In addition, all subscribers have access to several great methods for sharing their work including customizable invitations and integrated social media sharing with Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
We also know how important it is for your site to appear in search engines such as Google or Yahoo. To help you maximize your visibility, we have many suggestions in our Help Center for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that you can utilize.
My main website is using a custom domain name, how can I incorporate your proofing galleries into it using that name?
If you have a current website hosted elsewhere, proofing and selling can be incorporated using the Client Access feature available in our Pro and Advanced plan accounts. With this feature, your visitors will enter a client access code and be taken directly to the proofing gallery that matches the code entered. See this guide for more details.
What is a CNAME / subdomain and why do I need one?
A CNAME record is a type of DNS record which specifies that the domain name is an alias. The alias name is the sub-domain you want to use. For example "photos", which will display as photos.yourdomainname.com in the address bar of your Zenfolio site. This is the best way to make your site function as Client Access (proofing/selling) galleries in your website that is hosted elsewhere, while still using your custom domain name. You can see more info on how to set up a CNAME, at this link.
How do I change my Zenfolio URL?
By default, your URL for your Zenfolio account will be: http://yourusername.zenfolio.com (replace "yourusername" with your actual username). You can change your username at any time by going to Settings tab > Personal Information.
Please note that if you change your username, any existing links to your old username will stop working.
Can I transfer my custom domain?
Zenfolio is not a domain host and does not host any photographer's custom domain. Because of this, it is not possible for Zenfolio to transfer a photographer's custom domain to a domain host.
Custom domains can only be transferred between two domain hosts. If you would like to transfer your custom domain, contact the domain host that is hosting your custom domain to start the domain transfer process.
This also means that it is not possible to transfer a custom domain to Zenfolio. To use a custom domain with a Zenfolio site, the domain will need to stay hosted by either its current domain host or another domain host (like Godaddy.com or iwantmyname.com). It will then need to be pointed to Zenfolio through the use of DNS records.
Click here for how to correctly point a custom domain to Zenfolio