Your client portal is the app on your own address, like portal.youragency.com, where your clients and your team sign in under your brand. To connect it, you add two records where you manage your domain. You copy both from the app, so there is nothing to work out.
You need white label on the Agency plan, and a login to the company where you bought your domain. See White label →.
Before you start
- DNS is the address book for your domain. It tells the internet where each address on your domain goes.
- A record is one line in that address book. Each line has a type, a host and a value.
- Your provider is the company where you bought the domain, or where its DNS lives: Namecheap, GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Squarespace and so on.
- You add two new lines. You do not change or delete any line that is already there, so your website and your email keep working.
1. Choose your portal address
- Open Settings, then Client portal.
- Type an address under a domain you own, like
portal.youragency.com, and press Save.
Use a new subdomain. Do not use youragency.com or www.youragency.com: those are your website.
The card now shows two records, a CNAME and a TXT. Each one has a Host, a Value and a copy button beside each.
2. Open your domain's DNS settings
Log in to your provider in a second browser tab. The DNS page has a different name at each one:
| Provider | Where the records are |
|---|---|
| Namecheap | Domain List, then Manage next to the domain, then the Advanced DNS tab |
| GoDaddy | Domain Portfolio, then the domain, then DNS |
| Cloudflare | The domain, then DNS, then Records |
| Squarespace | Domains, then the domain, then DNS |
Look for a button called Add record or Add new record. If you cannot find the page, search your provider's help for "add a DNS record".
3. Add the CNAME record
The CNAME points your portal address at our servers.
- Press Add record and choose the type CNAME.
- In Host (some providers say Name), paste the CNAME Host from the card. For
portal.youragency.comit isportal. - In Value (some say Target or Points to), paste
cname.vercel-dns.com. - Leave TTL as it is, or pick Automatic.
- On Cloudflare, click the orange cloud so it turns grey: DNS only.
- Save the record.
4. Add the TXT record
The TXT record proves the domain is yours. Nothing visits it.
- Press Add record and choose the type TXT.
- In Host, paste the TXT Host from the card. For
portal.youragency.comit is_portal-verify.portal. - In Value, paste the TXT Value from the card. It starts with
portal-verify=. - Leave TTL as it is, and save the record.
Paste the short Host from the card, not the full name. Most providers add your domain to the end by themselves. If you paste the full name too, the record ends up as portal.youragency.com.youragency.com and the check fails. The card names that mistake when it sees it.
5. Press Check DNS
Go back to the app and press Check DNS on the card. If it is not ready yet, you can close the page and press Check DNS again later.
When the portal is live, the card turns green and reads Your portal is live. From then on, Check status on the same card checks it again, and invite links and sign-in emails point to your address.
How long it takes
- Most providers: a few minutes after you save the records.
- Some providers: up to an hour.
- The secure padlock (HTTPS): a few more minutes after both records show. We switch it on for you.
Nothing breaks while you wait. Your clients keep using the links they already have until the portal is live.
What the card says while it waits
The pill at the top of the card says where you are. The message under Check DNS says what is missing.
| The card says | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting for DNS and "We can't see the TXT record with Host … yet" | The TXT record has not reached us yet, or it was not saved. | Check the record is saved, then press Check DNS again in a few minutes. |
| "Your DNS provider saved the TXT record as …, adding … a second time" | You pasted the full name into Host. | Edit the record and change its Host to the one the card shows. |
| "The TXT record with Host … has a different value" | The value was not copied whole. | Copy the Value again with the copy button and paste it over the old one. |
| Needs attention and "Our host can't see the CNAME for … yet" | The CNAME is missing, or another record uses the same Host. | Check there is one CNAME on that Host, pointing at cname.vercel-dns.com, and nothing else on it. |
| "The CNAME with Host … points at …" | The CNAME points somewhere else. | Change its Value to cname.vercel-dns.com. |
| One more record | Your domain is also used by another hosting account, so our host asks for one more proof. | Add the extra record marked One more on the card, then press Check DNS. |
| Almost live | Both records are right. The padlock is still being made. | Press Check DNS again in a few minutes. |
| Live | Your portal works. | Open it, then invite your clients from there. |
If the card says to contact support, your records are right and the last step is on our side. Write to us and name your portal address.
Limits and usage
- One portal address per workspace.
- Use a subdomain, like
portal.youragency.com. Most providers do not allow a CNAME on the bare domain, and the bare domain is your website. - Your website, your email and your other records are not touched.
- The portal stays on while white label is on. If white label ends, the address stops answering, and adding it back brings it back with no DNS step.
If something isn't working
It has been more than an hour. Open your provider's DNS page and check that both records are there, with the type, Host and Value the card shows. Then press Check DNS.
Your provider has no Host field, only Name. Name is the same field. Paste the Host from the card into it.
Your provider says a record already exists on that Host. Another record already uses portal. Pick a different address in the card, like clients.youragency.com, or remove the old record if you know nothing uses it.
You use Cloudflare and the check never passes. Set the CNAME to DNS only (grey cloud). An orange cloud hides where the record points.