Difference between revisions of "Domains Management"

Revision as of 16:49, 16 November 2010

General Domain Settings

This is where you configure which registration options you offer, payment and renewal settings and various other domain related options
More info on this on a specific page here: http://wiki.whmcs.com/Domains_Tab

Domain Management

WHMCS allows the automated management of domains with a wide selection of built in registrars. From WHMCS you can view, modify and request all of the common things you are likely to need when providing and supporting users with their domains.

Available Management Features

Domain Registration
Domain Transfers
Renewal/Extensions
View Nameservers
Change Nameservers
View WHOIS Information
Update WHOIS Information
Lock/Unlock Domains
ID Protection
EPP Code Retrieval
Register/Manage Private Nameservers
DNS Record Management
Email Forwarding Management

Most features are available for all but some are only available on certain registrars. Refer to individual registrar's documentation @ http://wiki.whmcs.com/Domain_Registrars for specific information.

Where can I manage domains?

Admins

As an administrator, you can manage domains from the Domains tab inside a Clients Profile
On this page, you can see nameservers and lock status in realtime alongside the stored values from the database
You'll also see a row labelled Registrar Commands with options such as Renew, Modify WHOIS, Get EPP Code, etc...
Clicking any of those buttons will perform the relevant option live with the domain registrar

Clients

Clients also receive full access to the management tools from the client area
Like you, they have access to view and change the current nameservers, change the lock status of their domain*, change the auto renewal setting, view/edit WHOIS information, manage the dns records*, configure email forwarding*, register nameservers*, request the epp code* and order a renewal for their domain (*if supported by the registrar)

Moving a Domain to another Client

When viewing the Domains tab of the domain you want to move, click Move Domain to Another Client located at the top-right of the page
A popup box will appear (you will need popup blockers disabled to use this)
In the popup, a dropdown will appear of clients for you to select the client to move it to
After selecting the desired client, click the Transfer button
The domain will then be transferred, the window will close, and the original window will refresh to show the domain under its new owner.

Note:' If you have the Clients Dropdown disabled in General Settings then instead of a dropdown or clients you will get a text input box to enter the Client ID you want to move the product to.

Deleting a Domain from a Client

When viewing the domain you want to delete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the red Delete link
After clicking this link, you will be asked to confirm if you are sure you want to delete the domain
If you click No you will be returned to the page, if you click Yes, the item will be deleted and you will be taken to the next domain under that client

Note: Deleting a domain from WHMCS will not perform any action at the domain registrar.

Registrar Configuration

Domain Registrars can be configured by going to Setup > Domain Registrars
Choose the registrar you want to configure from the dropdown of available registrars and then enter the relevant details for your account
Each registrar supported by WHMCS has specific instructions & requirements @ http://wiki.whmcs.com/Domain_Registrars
Here you can also set the default nameservers that WHMCS will use for domain only registrations ordered through the system
We have prepared a video tutorial for this section @ http://www.whmcs.com/tutorials.php?i=7

Configuring Domain Pricing

You can manage domain pricing in Setup > Domain Pricing
You need to setup all the TLDs you want to offer, their features & pricing
We have prepared a video tutorial for this section @ http://www.whmcs.com/tutorials.php?i=6

Adding a New TLD

The empty last row in the TLDs table is where you add new TLDs to your list
Begin by entering the TLD including the preceeding . for example ".com", ".net", etc...
If DNS Management, Email Forwarding or ID Protection is available & should be offered for this TLD check the boxes
If an EPP code is required for transfers, tick the EPP Code box
And if you want automatic registration to occur on payment, choose the registrar which should be used in the dropdown (more about this furthur down)
Then click Save Changes to add
Once added, you can click the Open Pricing link on the new TLDs row to edit the pricing matrix for the years available on this TLD

Re-ordering TLDs

Reordering TLDs is simply a drag & drop process
Position your mouse over the up/down arrows on the row you want to move, click+hold and then drag up or down
Once it is where you want it to be, let go of the mouse button to assign it.

Addon Pricing

Domain addons consist of DNS Management, Email Forwarding & ID Protection
These prices can be configured below the TLDs list also in Setup > Domain Pricing

Automatic Domain Registration

With Automatic Domain Registration, you can automate the submission of registration and transfer requests with the built in registrars
When enabled, WHMCS will automatically submit the request to the registrar as soon as the client pays you for it
Domain registrations are never submitted by the system before you get paid
You can automate some TLDs while not others, and can select which registrar to be used for each TLD you offer
To enable automatic registration, in Setup > Domain Pricing choose a registrar in the automatic registrar dropdown on each TLD you want to automate
To not enable automatic registration, leave the dropdown set to None

Note: With automatic domain registration disabled, the system will wait after a client has paid until an admin user manually reviews the order and authorizes it. At that point, the admin user can still initiate the automatic registration by accepting the order once they are happy the order is legitimate.

Automatic Renewal

Domain renewals can be enabled for auto submission to the domain registrar as soon as you receive payment for them
This setting is independant of the auto registration and so you can enable this without enabling auto registration
To turn this on, go to General Settings > Domains and tick the Auto Renew on Payment checkbox
Automatic renewal should always be turned off at the registrar, as this would override WHMCS' behaviour and renew regardless of if you get paid or not

Renewing a domain before payment is received

For some trusted customers you may wish to register or renew the domain before you have actually received their payment. To do this:

Access the domains tab in the client's profile for the desired domain
Click the Register or Renew Module Command button to immediately send a request to the domain registrar
If successful, the expiry date will update. You should also increment the next due date if you are manually handling payment as below.

Now if the domain is already invoiced, when that invoice is paid another domain renewal request would get sent to the registrar unless you stop it. So to do that you need to also perform these steps:

Locate the invoice for the domain (click the View Invoices link on the domain page to jump straight to a list of invoices for just that domain)
Copy the line item and amount for the domain from the existing line to a new invoice line item and save
Then delete the original line item from the invoice and by doing that you are removing the actual link to the domain when paid so no further renewal will occur

Domain Renew

By default, all domains are set to auto-renew.
But this is not the same as what domain regstrars commonly mean by auto-renew.
In this case, we mean that an invoice will generate x days (as per your settings) prior to the due date and once paid, the domain will renew.
It won't ever renew without payment being made.
It is possible however to set a domain's auto renewal setting to off so that no invoice will generate and it will be allowed to expire.
This can be done by ticking the Do Not Renew checkbox on the domains management page in the admin area or by the client themselves through the toggling of the option in the client area.
When the disable auto renew button is clicked, WHMCS checks for any outstanding invoices and if the domain is invoiced on it's own that invoice is cancelled, or if an invoice for multiple items just the line item for the domain in question is removed from it.

Offering Free Domain Registration with Selected Packages

With WHMCS, you are able to offer free domains with your packages when purchased with certain payment terms - for example you might want to offer a free domain when a package is purchased annually. The following steps walk you through how to do this.

Begin by going to Setup > Products/Services
Next, click the edit icon next to the product or service that you want to offer a free domain with
Now select the Free Domain tab from the tabs at the top of the page
Choose the type of free domain you want to offer, either first year free' and renew as normal or for the lifetime of the package
Then select the payment terms (AKA billing cycles) that you want to offer the free domain with - press Ctrl when clicking the options to select more than one
Now you need to select which TLDs the free domain offer applies to. This allows you to exclude high priced TLDs such as .tv Again, use Ctrl when clicking the options to select more than one
Now click the Save Changes button

This package will now not charge the user for the domain when ordered with the specified criteria.

As long as the payment method for the domain and the hosting account is the same, and the next due date is the same, when the time for the invoice to generate comes up (based on the settings in your Automation settings), WHMCS will invoice for the hosting and the domain on the same invoice. When this invoice is paid, WHMCS will (if your settings allow in General Settings > Domains) automatically renew your clients domain for a further period. The hosting account and domains next due date will automatically change to the next period.

Domain Renewal Notices

Domain Renewal Notices by default are sent 60, 30, 15, 7 & 1 Day(s) prior to expiry. This can be changed and even disabled if you want to.

Changing the Intervals at which Renewal Notices are sent

Begin by going to Setup > Automation Settings
Scroll to the Domain Reminder Settings section of the page
You can then change the number of days before expiry that the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th reminders are sent
You can disable an option by entering 0

Editing the Renewal Notice Email that gets sent

To edit the email message sent to clients, go to Setup > Email Templates
The email template name used for these emails is Upcoming Domain Renewal Notice
Refer to http://wiki.whmcs.com/Messages/Emails#Email_Templates for more info on editing

Adding a Custom TLD

WHMCS supports a large number of TLDs, however it is possible that you wish to use one not supported by default. You can add any TLD you like by opening the includes/whoisservers.php file. On the bottom line add your entry in the format:

.extension|whois server|match string

Where .extension is the TLD, whois server is the WHOIS server, and the match string is the message returned by the whois server when a domain is available for registration. An extensive list of whois servers can be found at DNAz.Net, if it not listed you will need to contact the registry to find out the appropriate information.

Domain Name Length

The major TLDs have length limits included by default and you can specify your own for any others by adding lines such as these to the configuration.php file:

$DomainMinLengthRestrictions[".asia"] = 3;
$DomainMaxLengthRestrictions[".asia"] = 64;
$DomainMinLengthRestrictions[".ws"] = 4;
$DomainMaxLengthRestrictions[".ws"] = 63;

Domain Renewal Restrictions

Many TLDs have restrictions surrounding when they can be renewed after expiry, this is often referred to as the grace period. For example a .com can be renewed 40 days after the expiry date while .uk domains can be renewed up to 97 days after expiry.

The major TLDs have grace periods included by default and you can specify your own for any others by adding lines such as these to the configuration.php file:

$DomainRenewalGracePeriods = array(".com"=>"30");

You can also specify multiple grace periods in a single entry:

$DomainRenewalGracePeriods = array(".com"=>"30",".net"=>"40",".uk"=>"97");

@@ Line 114: / Line 114: @@
 ===Renewing a domain before payment is received===
-For some trusted customers you may wish to renew the domain before you have actually received their payment. To do this:
+For some trusted customers you may wish to register or renew the domain before you have actually received their payment. To do this:
 # Access the domains tab in the client's profile for the desired domain
-# Click the '''Renew''' Module Command button to immediately send a request to the domain registrar
+# Click the '''Register''' or '''Renew''' Module Command button to immediately send a request to the domain registrar
 # If successful, the expiry date will update. You should also increment the next due date if you are manually handling payment as below.
-Now if the domain renewal is already invoiced, when that invoice is paid another domain renewal request would get sent to the registrar unless you stop it. So to do that you need to also perform these steps:
+Now if the domain is already invoiced, when that invoice is paid another domain renewal request would get sent to the registrar unless you stop it. So to do that you need to also perform these steps:
-# Locate the invoice for the domain renewal (click the '''View Invoices''' link on the domain page to jump straight to a list of invoices for just that domain)
+# Locate the invoice for the domain (click the '''View Invoices''' link on the domain page to jump straight to a list of invoices for just that domain)
 # Copy the line item and amount for the domain from the existing line to a new invoice line item and save
 # Then delete the original line item from the invoice and by doing that you are removing the actual link to the domain when paid so no further renewal will occur

Documentation