looking to create a hosted solution

Question

I am in the early stages of thinking through a product I am looking to develop, the product is a hosted e-commerce solution. What kind of things do I need to think about when allowing users to register there own domain names? Hows does that even work? I know I can do subdomains, but no idea how a users own domain would work on the hosted solution?

Any ideas?

Answer 1

You can run multiple domains on a single host using virtual hosts, as supported by HTTP 1.1. See the Apache docs for setting up virtual hosts for Apache httpd for example (you may use some other web server).

You probably don't want to get involved with the actual domain registration: users should register the domain with an established domain registrar and configure the A record to point to your server.

All a user would then do is specify their domain name and you'd update Apache's httpd.conf (or equivalent config file) appropriately.

Answer 2

You might want to look into the easy way out - A resellers account. I had one before, it was easy to use and setup. The only problem I had was there are extra fees if you want people to register domains though your website. It's worth the money if your going to make it back.

I used JustHost.com, there pricing is fair but there e-mail system and cPanel are out-dated. E-mail is fine if you use POP3 or IMAP.

Good Luck, CwTechies