WP to old SM acct transition ?s

Wiren

Hello... lots of questions.... let me set the stage;

OLD SM Pro Acct (onthewallphoto.net). Prior to the big change, I had made a new WP website (prismaticimagery.com) because SM at the time wasn't offering prints just the way I could have wanted them (mainly metal with satin finish) that I can get now... there were other reasons, like seperating landscape art photography from my people/family albums and such.

OK.... moving on. I was recenlty looking at the new changes that SM made.... and I am impressed. I always enjoyed the fact that I could upload my photo's, taylor what images were purchasable by clients and in what sizes and be hands free. I currently don't have that from my WP site and would like that maintenence hands free feeling back.

Onto my main question. I still have my original pro SM acct.... (just upgraded it to the new style). Is it possible to use that pro account and redirect my URL of Prismatic Imagery so that my SM site is renamed to that?

My thought is.... having one password locked file for "On the Wall" that customers/family could get to that would contain all the files associated with the things my old site had (people, groups, sports and such) without it being directly noticeable for my Fine Art Photography site. The main site would hae all my fine art photo in landscapes and such that would be much like my WP site is now, just with all the SM goodies and ease of use for me. All of my family and old customers would just need to come to Prismatic Imagery first and jump into the password locked file that contains the stuff they're concerned about while folks coming to Prismatic Imagery to check out the fine art would see that seperated out by year/type and such.

I would hate to have to buy a new SM acct when I already have one... I just want to meld the two and have PrismaticImagery.com be the address that shows instead of OntheWallPhoto.net as it is now......

Thoughts?

Thanks

jwashburn

Yep, not a problem. You just need to change the DNS for prismaticimagery to point to smugmug. They have instructions in the help section. Then make a change inside your Onthewallphoto account to rename it.

EDIT:

Let me be more clear on my instructions, I just saw your other post.

In your hostgator CPANEL you will need to modify some records in your Advanced DNS. Option 2 from this link

http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/articles/93340-how-do-i-set-up-a-custom-hostname-domain

1. Point your CNAME 'www' to domains.smugmug.com .

2. Point your A Record '@' to 208.79.45.23 .

3. Visit your SmugMug Account Settings > Me > Account tab for the "Custom Domain" line. Paste your new domain name into the box and click "Save Changes." That's it!

Step 3 from above is on your SmugMug site but the instructions are a little outdated. You are going to go SmugMug.com and login.
From there click on Account Settings and partially down that page you will see Custom Domain. there where you put your www.prismaticimagery.com

Be aware, once you make the change to DNS all of your old links to your wordpress site are going to break. You are going to take a bit of an SEO hit while your new site gets indexed, you get photos uploaded and organized etc.

denisegoldberg

Keep in mind that you can only have one domain pointing to your smugmug account - so you will need to notify folks with your onthewallphoto.net site that they will need to use the new URL.

You could set up onthewallphoto.net to forward to PrismaticImagery.com.

--- Denise

Wiren

denisegoldberg wrote: »

Keep in mind that you can only have one domain pointing to your smugmug account - so you will need to notify folks with your onthewallphoto.net site that they will need to use the new URL.

You could set up onthewallphoto.net to forward to PrismaticImagery.com.

--- Denise

Thanks guys... about the broken links in the WP site... expected... I am going to re-vamp all my imagery prior to making the change so I can have all prepared for the transition and I will just need to upload the imagery to the revamped SM site.

Denise, I understand about the domain... most folks that use my old site know my new site as well and know they can find my work at either, so that change should be a minimal headache, just a message to returning visitors that they need to look at Prismatic Imagery for all now.....

Thanks for the responses, i'm sure i'll need a little assistance during transition when i'm ready.

As far as the SEO hit.... I think that won't be a huge problem.... and am willing to deal with it, site is mostly word of mouth, handing out my card for people to get to it anyways.

Thanks again.

jwashburn

Wiren wrote: »

Thanks guys... about the broken links in the WP site... expected... I am going to re-vamp all my imagery prior to making the change so I can have all prepared for the transition and I will just need to upload the imagery to the revamped SM site.
Thanks again.

The WP Site will be GONE, not just broken links. Just wanted to make sure you understood that.

Wiren

jwashburn wrote: »

The WP Site will be GONE, not just broken links. Just wanted to make sure you understood that.

Understood and as I figured.... thank you for ensuring that I understood that point.

I can't say that I ever got what I expected out of going to a WP site, an experiment in something different, lesson learned and all of that.

I am going to look forward to revamping my stuff here at SM with all the new goods... it will take me a while to prep it all out for a smooth transition, but in the end, I think I will feel whole about it and glad for the change.

I appreciate the responses.

Lee

Wiren

denisegoldberg wrote: »

Keep in mind that you can only have one domain pointing to your smugmug account - so you will need to notify folks with your onthewallphoto.net site that they will need to use the new URL.

You could set up onthewallphoto.net to forward to PrismaticImagery.com.

--- Denise

Hi Denise... I contacted Host Gator (my domain for Prismatic Imagery) and had them set my account up with the new A Code and CNAME... I just re-read your statement above....

So, I have onthewallphoto.net through Go Daddy.... If what I read in your post is correct, I need them to stop pointing onthewallphoto.net to smugmug, right? And if that's right, how do I go about doing that?

Lee

denisegoldberg

Wiren wrote: »

Hi Denise... I contacted Host Gator (my domain for Prismatic Imagery) and had them set my account up with the new A Code and CNAME... I just re-read your statement above....

So, I have onthewallphoto.net through Go Daddy.... If what I read in your post is correct, I need them to stop pointing onthewallphoto.net to smugmug, right? And if that's right, how do I go about doing that?

You should be able to log on to your GoDaddy account, remove the CNAME and A-record.

--- Denise

Wiren

denisegoldberg wrote: »

You should be able to log on to your GoDaddy account, remove the CNAME and A-record.

--- Denise

Much as I figured.... now I have to call GD Cust. Svc to get my account stuff back... it's been a few years since I have visited my account page and my usual password combos aren't working.....

So, I can just take the CNAME and A-Record info out, I don't have to replace it with anything?

I appreciate the help.

Lee

denisegoldberg

Wiren wrote: »

So, I can just take the CNAME and A-Record info out, I don't have to replace it with anything?

If you just want to disable the connection, yes.

In addition to removing the CNAME and A-Record you could forward your old URL to your new URL (not your smug URL, your custom URL). At least folks who have your old link would still end up on your site.

--- Denise

Wiren

denisegoldberg wrote: »

If you just want to disable the connection, yes.

In addition to removing the CNAME and A-Record you could forward your old URL to your new URL (not your smug URL, your custom URL). At least folks who have your old link would still end up on your site.

--- Denise

So, I got onto my old GoDaddy account and disabled the CNAME (onthewallphoto.net) and also disabled the @ record.....

I went back into my HostGator account... I made sure the domain states the following;

domains.smugmug.com and they informed me the other evening that they pointed the A Record to the ip address listed in the SM site....

Do I just sit and wait for it all to take effect... I saw disclaimers that it could take up to 48 hours ??

How long before it doesn't work do I reach back out? Did I do everything I should have?

Thanks

denisegoldberg

Wiren wrote: »

So, I got onto my old GoDaddy account and disabled the CNAME (onthewallphoto.net) and also disabled the @ record.....

I went back into my HostGator account... I made sure the domain states the following;

domains.smugmug.com and they informed me the other evening that they pointed the A Record to the ip address listed in the SM site....

Do I just sit and wait for it all to take effect... I saw disclaimers that it could take up to 48 hours ??

How long before it doesn't work do I reach back out? Did I do everything I should have?

I believe it is usually much faster than 48 hours but it could take that long.

Did you also set your custom URL on your smug settings?
Account settings... Me... Account...
Set the Custom URL field to your new domain name.

If you have done that and it has been a while you might want to contact the smugmug help desk, http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/emails/new.

--- Denise

Wiren

denisegoldberg wrote: »

I believe it is usually much faster than 48 hours but it could take that long.

Did you also set your custom URL on your smug settings?
Account settings... Me... Account...
Set the Custom URL field to your new domain name.

If you have done that and it has been a while you might want to contact the smugmug help desk, http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/emails/new.

--- Denise

I tried to.... I went into my Account Settings and typed in the new (other) URL address and when I hit save, it states that I can't do that without setting up the CNAME from my host.... but I did that.

I do assume that at Host Gator I need to tell them my domain name needs to state "domain.smugmug.com" or does it need to be "prismaticimagery.smugmug.com"? I tried both (since I can at least access the account to change domain name) to no avail so far and thought maybe I wasn't being patient enough... switched it back to domain.smugmug.com... I think I may need to call Host Gator and have them verify that the IP address in the A record is truly set to the one listed on SM..... since I had to explain what I was doing to a guy that wasn't truly getting it, I wonder if he didn't do it right.....

If I wait the requisite time, I may just holler to the SM help desk for assistance, thanks

denisegoldberg

Wiren wrote: »

I do assume that at Host Gator I need to tell them my domain name needs to state "domain.smugmug.com" or does it need to be "prismaticimagery.smugmug.com"? I tried both (since I can at least access the account to change domain name) to no avail so far and thought maybe I wasn't being patient enough... switched it back to domain.smugmug.com... I think I may need to call Host Gator and have them verify that the IP address in the A record is truly set to the one listed on SM..... since I had to explain what I was doing to a guy that wasn't truly getting it, I wonder if he didn't do

Your domain name needs to be set to domains.smugmug.com for your domain provider.

You need to specify your custom URL in the smugmug settings.

See the DIY section of this help page, http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/articles/93340-how-do-i-set-up-a-custom-hostname-domain-, or this post earlier in this thread.

--- Denise

Wiren

denisegoldberg wrote: »

Your domain name needs to be set to domain.smugmug.com for your domain provider.

You need to specify your custom URL in the smugmug settings.

See the DIY section of this help page, http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/articles/93340-how-do-i-set-up-a-custom-hostname-domain-, or this post earlier in this thread.

--- Denise

I'll try it again tonight to see if enough time has passed for it all to take effect. My domain name is set at Host Gator to domain.smugmug.com.....

The last time I tried to specify the custom URL on the SM settings page, it came up with an error, but I will diligently try again, I am thinking enough time hasn't passed since changing the settings.....? I made the change at Host Gator last night at around 8:30pm and changed the old DNS settings on GoDaddy around 8pm last night....

Thanks for your help and patience Denise.

Lee

denisegoldberg

Wiren wrote: »

My domain name is set at Host Gator to domain.smugmug.com.....

It should be set to domains.smugmug.com.
sorry there was a typo in my previous message (now fixed) but the posts above it and the help page are correct...

If it is really set as you noted in your last message that is the problem.

From the help page:

1. Point your CNAME 'www' to domains.smugmug.com .

--- Denise

Wiren

denisegoldberg wrote: »

It should be set to domains.smugmug.com.
sorry there was a typo in my previous message (now fixed) but the posts above it and the help page are correct...

If it is really set as you noted in your last message that is the problem.

From the help page:


--- Denise

I just checked... it is listed as domains.smugmug.com

Wiren

Ok, I just went and tried to place my custom domain name - prismaticimagery.com into the "Me" section of Account settings.... this is the response I get:

That hostname doesn't appear to be valid. Your hostname needs to be setup using a CNAME record at your domain registrar.

denisegoldberg

Wiren wrote: »

Ok, I just went and tried to place my custom domain name - prismaticimagery.com into the "Me" section of Account settings.... this is the response I get:

That hostname doesn't appear to be valid. Your hostname needs to be setup using a CNAME record at your domain registrar.

It sounds like it would be a good idea to contact the smug help desk - http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/emails/new.

--- Denise

Wiren

denisegoldberg wrote: »

It sounds like it would be a good idea to contact the smug help desk - http://help.smugmug.com/customer/portal/emails/new.

--- Denise

FIXED!!!!!

I used Host Gators live chat to ask them to verify the proper DNS settings. The fellow the other evening told me he set things all up, but another tech confirmed that he did not. The new tech read the SM instructions, knew what to do and now all is well. Thank you for your help and patience Denise.

Word to the wise.... do not use Host Gator... their site is not very intuitive or user friendly as GD's and some of their techs do now know their stuff!

Lee

Hikin' Mike

Wiren wrote: »

FIXED!!!!!

I used Host Gators live chat to ask them to verify the proper DNS settings. The fellow the other evening told me he set things all up, but another tech confirmed that he did not. The new tech read the SM instructions, knew what to do and now all is well. Thank you for your help and patience Denise.

Word to the wise.... do not use Host Gator... their site is not very intuitive or user friendly as GD's and some of their techs do now know their stuff!

Lee

My brief encounter with GD is the same as HostGator. Not very intuitive and lacks some of the features that my host (www.ICDSoft.com) does. Their (GD) customer support was great though.

Glad you got it taken care of.