Using a custom domain is one of the best ways to stake a claim for your brand on the internet. It'll also make it easier for your customers to find, revisit, and share all the great things you offer.
By default, your PWA is accessible from this URL: https://login.alavon365.com/m/{appcode}, but you can (and should) customize this URL by adding a custom domain name.
How to set up a Custom Domain for your web app (PWA)
1. Set up the entry in DNS for the Custom Domain
- The entry MUST be a CNAME pointing to webapp.pwahosting.com. "ALIAS" records do not work at this time. This means that the entry at this time must be a subdomain; that is to say, it cannot be the root domain. For example, "www.alavon365.com" is a subdomain of the root domain "alavon365.com".
- The name must be compliant with RFC 952; only numbers, letters and the hyphen ("-") are allowed. In particular, underscores are not allowed.
- We strongly recommend using the app customer's domain, not the reseller's nor a new domain. This helps give the client the best bang for the buck in terms of search results.
- The DNS provider must have CAA lookups implemented. (Almost all DNS providers do, but there are a few who don't.)
- If the client already has DNS set up, it will be easiest to add a subdomain to their existing DNS. If not, the reseller or client will need to set DNS up.
2. There is a new page in the app's Settings: Domain & SEO. Click Add
- In the pop-up, you'll type in the new domain and click "Validate," which will check that you did Step 1 properly.
- If it fails to validate, the domain may not yet have propagated throughout global DNS, or it may not be a CNAME pointing at webapp.pwahosting.com.
- If it validates, click "Add" again to add the domain.
3. Wait up to one business day.
- You'll receive an email when the site is set up!
How to optimize your web app (PWA) for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps you optimize your web app (PWA) so that it can be found by search engines like Google, Yahoo, & Bing.
How can I optimize SEO for my web app (PWA)?
- Add a page Title or "Title Tag" to your web app (PWA). The title of your web app and will be displayed within the title of your browser tab. It will be used by search engines to index your web app. It is important to have a good title as this will positively influence your ranking and click through rate.
- Add a Description or "Meta Description Tag" to your web app (PWA). The description of your web app as it is displayed in search results. Having a clear and concise description will result in more customers clicking through to your web app. The recommended length is 150 characters.
- Add Keywords or "Meta Keywords" to your web app (PWA). Keywords are used to index your web app. Separate them by using commas and spaces. Yahoo and Bing are the only search engines still using this information. It has very little impact on your SEO. Keywords should be no more than 20 words, separated by commas and spaces.
If you would like to know more about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as it relates to websites and the future of web apps (PWAs), check out Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide.