Overview
The Custom Domain option for Pendo Adopt also allows the Partner to create a custom hostname for their Adopt product. The following is the process needed to create the Custom Domain.
What Does CNAME Stand For?
A Canonical Name record (abbreviated as CNAME record) is a type of resource record in the Domain Name System (DNS) used to specify that a domain name is an alias for another domain, which is the "canonical" domain.
1. Choose A Custom Hostname
Pendo will need the custom hostname that the Adopt Partner would like customers to use to access the Adopt platform.
- Ideally, the Adopt Partner’s custom hostname would be a subdomain, eg. training.example.com, rather than a root domain, eg. example.com
- Adopt Partner Action Item: Communicate desired custom hostname to Pendo
2. Verification Tokens
Pendo will generate “verification tokens“ that will be used to allow Pendo’s services to verify that Pendo has permission to create records in Pendo’s system for the Adopt Partner’s subdomain. These “verification tokens” will be from Google, and Pendo’s email provider (either Sendgrid or Amazon SES, we are in the process of migrating between the two). The Adopt Partner will use these verification tokens to create DNS records with their domain registrar. There should be three verification tokens if not using DKIM for email, and six verification tokens if the Partner chooses to use DKIM (more information on DKIM here: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/messaging-and-targeting/easy-dkim-is-here-but-why-should-i-care/).
- “verification tokens” should be sent in the format:
- Record Kind: <CNAME or TXT>
- Host/Name: <info to put in the Host/Name field>
- Value: <info to put in the value field>
- Pendo Action Item: Gather “verification tokens” and communicate them back to Adopt Partner.
3. DNS Records
The Adopt Partner will need to to use the “verification tokens” that were communicated back to them in order to create DNS records with their Domain Registrar, eg. GoDaddy, Namecheap, Domain.com.
If the Adopt Partner received a verification token like the following:
- Record Kind: CNAME
- Host/Name: asknwifjsdo.training
- Value: asdkl-klasdmen.dv.googlehosted.com.
the Adopt Partner would create a record with their domain registrar that looks like this:
This should be done for all verification records the Adopt Partner received.
- Adopt Partner Action Item: DNS records successfully created with Domain Registrar
- Adopt Partner Action Item: Notify Pendo that records have been successfully created.
4. Verification
Pendo will kickoff the process to verify the subdomain with Pendo’s services. If verification was successful, they will create any remaining records necessary. After these records have been created and Pendo has verified they are working, the partner should now be able to access the Adopt platform using their custom hostname.
- Pendo Action Item: Perform verification process
- Pendo Action Item: Create remaining records in Pendo’s system
- Pendo Action Item: Communicate back to Adopt Partner once their custom domain is working.
Warning: If verification was not successful, Pendo will need to double check that all records they sent the Adopt Partner were correct, and the Adopt Partner will need to check their domain registrar for any mistakes.
5. Educate
Once this process is complete, Adopt Partners' customers can now login from the custom hostname. The invitation those customers receive will be sent from 'no-reply@yourcustomhostname'. Be sure to educate your customers to either check spam filters, or ask their IT teams to allow that email through their mail clients, as sometimes "no-reply" email addresses automatically get filtered.