Use a custom domain

Put your help center on a domain you own: workspace custom domains on Quackback Cloud (from Pro), or a separate help center hostname on a self-hosted install.

JM
James Morton
Written By James MortonLast updated 1 day ago

By default your help center is served at /hc on your workspace's address. This article explains how to put it on a domain you own, on Quackback Cloud and on a self-hosted install.

Quackback Cloud

On Cloud, a custom domain applies to your whole workspace: the portal, the help center at /hc, and other public pages all move to it.

Note: On Quackback Cloud, custom domains are available from the Pro plan.

  1. Go to Admin > Settings > Domains.
  2. Under Custom domain, enter the hostname you want to use (for example feedback.yourcompany.com) and click Add domain.
  3. At your DNS provider, add the CNAME record shown for the domain. If a TXT record is also shown, add it to prove you own the domain.
  4. Click Check status. The domain shows Waiting for DNS until the records resolve, then Ready. Needs attention means a record is missing or wrong.
  5. When it's ready, click Make primary to use it as your workspace's main address.

Certificates are handled for you once the domain is ready.

Tip: If you use Cloudflare for DNS, set the record to DNS only (grey cloud), not Proxied, so the certificate can be issued.

Self-hosted

A self-hosted install can serve the help center from its own hostname, such as help.yourcompany.com, separate from your portal.

  1. Go to Admin > Settings > Help Center, on the Domains & languages tab.
  2. Under Custom domain, enter the hostname, without https:// or a path. It saves when you leave the field.
  3. Point a CNAME (or A/AAAA record) for that hostname at your Quackback instance.
  4. Configure your reverse proxy to accept the new hostname and serve it over HTTPS. Quackback does not issue certificates on a self-hosted install. See Set up a reverse proxy.
  5. Click Verify. The domain shows Verified when DNS resolves and the instance answers on it. Otherwise it shows Not verified, with "DNS has not propagated yet" or "The domain doesn't reach this instance yet".

Once verified, /hc pages on the default host redirect to the custom domain automatically.

Things to know

  • Images in existing articles keep their original addresses. If you change domains, keep the old host reachable or re-upload the affected images.
  • Fonts: if you self-host branding fonts, keep doing so on the new domain.
  • Old links: use Redirect rules on the Domains & languages tab to send old /hc paths to the right article or category.

Troubleshoot DNS

Check the record from your computer:

nslookup help.yourcompany.com

The answer should show the target you configured. If it shows something else, fix the DNS record and wait a few minutes for it to propagate before checking again.

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Help CenterOverview of the help center: where it appears (web, widget Help tab, Quinn), how to turn it on, and links to setup, categories, articles, search and custom domains.Set up your help centerTurn on the Help Center module, set the homepage title and description, add header links, and control visibility, domains, languages and indexing.Create a Cloud workspaceSign up for Quackback Cloud, pick a plan or a 14-day trial, create your workspace, choose its URL, turn on the modules you need, and work through your first hour.Set up a reverse proxyServe self-hosted Quackback over HTTPS with Caddy, Nginx, or Traefik, and set TRUSTED_PROXY_HOPS or TRUSTED_CLIENT_IP_HEADER so rate limits see each visitor's real IP.