Changing the domain name for your Lightspeed eCom site

A domain name, also known as a site URL or link, is a unique address of your site on the Internet.

When you connect Lightspeed eCom (E-Series) to Retail POS, you get an eCom website (Instant Site). The site has a free default domain name, or URL, in the form of https://store123.company.site. You can change that URL in two ways: by editing the “store123” part, or by replacing this web address with a custom domain (for example, coffee-store.com).

You can buy a custom domain from your eCom admin (it will be automatically connected to your eCom website) or purchase it from a third-party domain provider and then manually connect it to your website.

I forgot my eCom website address, where do I find it?

The best way to find the current URL that opens your eCom website to visitors is to look it up in your Retail POS.

To check your eCom website URL:

From Retail POS, go to Online > Webstore (or Website).
Scroll down to Domain name and site address.
In the Site address section, you will see your current URL:

Editing the default URL of your eCom website

By default, your eCom site web address looks like this: store123.company.site, where "123" is your eCom account ID. The built-in URL consists of two parts:

“store123” — a subdomain that you can edit. For example, you can rename it to your brand name or use keywords related to your business: joys-toys.company.site or coffee-oregon.company.site.
“company.site” — a top-level domain that is constant and can’t be changed.

Editing the default URL of your eCom website helps you reflect your brand and feature your business name in the URL.

To edit your default eCom website URL:

From Retail POS, go to Online > Webstore (or Website).
Scroll down to Domain name and site address.
In the Site address section, click Change Address:
In the Use our subdomain field, enter a new subdomain for your site:
Click Save.

Now your eCom website is available on a new address.

Links to products and your online store that appear in the customer order notifications and invoices will be automatically replaced with a new URL. In case you mention your store URL in marketing campaigns or on social media, don’t forget to update the URL everywhere since there will be no redirects from the old URL to a new one.

Best practice: Tips on choosing a custom domain name

While you can use your eCom website on the default editable URL as long as you need, it's recommended that you connect a custom domain. You can buy a custom domain from your eCom admin (it will be automatically connected to your eCom website) or purchase it from a third-party domain provider and then manually connect it to your website.

Owning a unique domain name is crucial for business or personal brand. It gives your online store a more professional look and builds credibility with customers.

The main benefits of a custom domain are:

SEO-friendly. Proper keywords in the URL may improve your site position in the search engine results, meaning people are more likely to visit your store.
Trustworthy. Site with a familiar TLD like .com or .org is more familiar to shoppers and adds professional credibility to your business.
Memorable. Custom domains that are not too long are considered more memorable, so it’s easier for customers to re-visit your site.

Take some time to come up with a unique domain name that fits your business. Choosing a proper URL is important since your site address is how your audience will find and remember you, and it also can help boost your SEO.

Here are some tips to help you create a name to stand out from the crowd:

Keep it short and simple. The shorter the domain is, the easier it is for customers to remember your store. Aim for 6-14 characters. Make sure your domain is easy to spell or pronounce. That includes avoiding hyphens, numbers, and doubled letters.

Be specific and use keywords. Try to mention either your business niche or your brand name. Keywords specific to your business are also a good idea that will help to boost your site in search results.

Stay unique. Make sure your domain stands out from competitors and does not sound familiar to major brands.

Try different TLDs (Top-Level Domains). Experiment with TLD if a domain name you want is already taken. For example, try BeautyJars.net if BeautyJars.com is already taken. Remember there are a lot of TLDs based on type of business: .clothing, .shoes .tech .coffee, .bike, etc.

Try out domain generators. In case you run out of ideas, try using Wordoid, Lean Domain Search, or DomainHole. These tools allow you to come up with ideas that contain your keywords.

Purchasing an auto-connected domain through eCom

The easiest way to connect a unique domain to your eCom website is to buy it directly from Lightspeed eCom. That requires no manual setup, and the domain connects automatically after purchasing.

Here’s what you need to know before you proceed with buying a domain through eCom:

Domains are registered for one year and auto-renewed annually.
Renewals are charged separately from your POS subscription charges. Depending on your location, your renewal price might include taxes.
Domains purchased from Lightspeed eCom have a free TLS certificate. TLS is a digital protocol that ensures the security of your site, online transactions, and your customers’ data.
Domains purchased from eCom include the WHOIS privacy service that keeps your personal contact information private. WHOIS protects you from spam or stealing your domain.
After purchasing a domain, you will still have your default eCom site URL as your secondary domain. If for any reason your primary domain becomes disconnected from the eCom website, your site will still be accessible through a link to your default URL.

To purchase a domain through eCom:

From Retail POS, go to Online > Webstore (or Website).
In the Domain name and site address, click Buy New Domain.
Enter a domain name and an extension (e.g., .com, .net) in the search field. For example, mydomain.com. Click Search. Alternatively, you can click Generate with AI and provide information about your business to get suggestions about your domain name.
Review available domains and their prices. The price may vary depending on the name length or extension. Choose a preferred domain and click Next Step.

The domain name cannot be changed after registration, so make sure you haven’t made any mistakes in the name spelling.
Enter the information about the domain owner. Make sure you entered the correct email address since you will need to verify your contact information via email. Click Next Step.
The payment method that you used to pay for your subscription will be chosen as a default payment method. To change the payment method for domain purchase, click Change.
Click Buy Domain.
Verify your email address to complete your domain registration. Check the mailbox you specified during the purchase process and follow the instructions in the email. Domains with unverified emails will be suspended.

That’s it. It may take up to 48 hours to connect your domain to your eCom site. Meanwhile, your site will still be available on your secondary domain which is your default eCom website URL. Your default eCom site URL can be used as a backup option in case you disconnect the primary domain.

Once a domain is connected, new links appear in customer order notifications and invoices. Domains purchased from eCom are stored in Online > Webstore (or Website) > Domain name and site address in Retail POS, where you can see the domain price and the next billing date.

Disconnecting and reconnecting a domain purchased through eCom

You can disconnect a domain purchased from eCom from your eCom website. After disconnecting you will still own the domain for the whole remaining time you paid for and will be able to reconnect the domain until your ownership has expired. If you don’t reconnect the domain before your ownership expires, it becomes available for registration by someone else.

Domain registration and renewal fees are non-refundable.

Once you disconnect a domain:

Your eCom website no longer will open via the disconnected domain.
Your eCom website will remain available on the default free editable URL.
In case you own another domain purchased from eCom, it will become your eCom site primary domain instead of a free URL. When you have several active domains, the one that you bought first will become your primary domain.
Links in customer email notifications and invoices will be replaced with your new primary domain.

To disconnect a domain from your eCom site:

From Retail POS, go to Online > Webstore (or Website).
Scroll down to Domain name and site address.
In the Site address block, click Manage.
Under the section with the billing info for your domain, click the disconnect it from your store link.
Click Disconnect Domain.

When you disconnect a domain purchased from eCom, you cancel your annual subscription. Still, you own a domain for the whole year you paid for it, and you can reconnect a domain within that year. For that, go to Online > Webstore (or Website), click Manage near the disconnected domain, then click Reconnect.

Reconnecting a domain means that you re-subscribe to yearly domain renewal. Your eCom site will be available on the reconnected domain. The reconnected domain becomes primary only if at the moment of reconnect your main domain is the default free eCom website URL.

Renewing an expired domain purchased through eCom

A domain purchased from eCom is renewed automatically every year with the same payment method you used to buy it. Auto-renewal ensures that your domain ownership doesn't expire and your site will open via your custom URL.

If for some reason a payment for a domain renewal fails:

Your domain becomes expired. This means that when someone tries to open your custom URL to reach your site, your eCom site won’t open.
You have approximately 40 days to reactivate your domain. Please note that if you reactivate domain during that grace period, the domain price may increase.
If you don’t renew your domain after the grace period, your domain will be deleted from the registry.
Deleting from the registry means you no longer own that domain name, and it becomes available for anyone to purchase.
Your eCom website will still be available on a built-in free URL. In case you purchased more than one domain from eCom, your site automatically connects to another non-expired active domain. When you have several active domains, the one that you bought first is connected.

To manually renew a domain:

From Retail POS, go to Online > Webstore (or Website).
Click Renew Domain.
Enter a payment method and click Pay for Renewal.

That’s it. After successful payment, your domain will be up and running. You can see the domain price and the next billing date on the Online > Webstore (or Website) page in Retail POS.

To make sure your site is always available for customers via the preferred domain, check that you have enough funds on your card or PayPal account that you used to pay for the domain. If you know that your card expires soon, issue a new card. Typically, the card issuer will send you a replacement card before your old card expires. All you have to do is activate it.

Accessing the control panel for a domain purchased through eCom

After purchasing a domain through eCom, you can disconnect or reconnect it, as well as manage primary domains in Retail POS. Other domain settings are located in the domain control panel. Usually, you only need those settings for specific cases, like setting up a custom email for sending notifications and newsletters to customers.

To access the domain control panel:

From Retail POS, go to Online > Webstore (or Website).
Near Site Address, click Manage.
Click Go to domain settings. If you're accessing the domain control panel for the first time, click Request login and password. You will receive a username on the email that you've specified during the domain purchase.
Open manage.opensrs.net where your domain control panel is located, enter your username and create a password. Save the password so that you can access the control panel later.

Once you're in your domain control panel, you can manage your domain, for example create DNS records.

Connecting a third-party domain to your eCom site

Unlike domains purchased through eCom, connecting a domain you bought from a third-party domain registrar requires setup both in your Retail POS and in your registrar account.

You can purchase a domain from any third-party domain provider like GoDaddy, eNom, or Name.com that you are comfortable with:

Go to the domain name registrar you chose.
Type in your domain into the search box and click Search Domain.
Select the extension you need (for example .com or .biz) and add the domain to your cart.
Complete the registration process and make the payment. Remember that your eCom site is secured with a free TLS certificate, so you don't need to purchase it extra.

Once you purchased a domain, it’s yours, and you can now connect it to your eCom site.

A custom third-party domain is connected to your eCom site in two steps: first you specify domain name in Retail POS, then you adjust the domain in your domain registrar.

Step 1 — Specifying your domain in Retail POS

To begin with, you need to specify your domain name in your eCom site settings:

From Retail POS, go to Online > Webstore (or Website).
In the Domain name and site address block, click Connect Existing Domain.
In the Specify a domain name field, enter your custom domain name (without www):
Click Save and Continue.

Now, you should finish the domain setup by adjusting DNS settings in your registrar account so that the domain name is actually connected to your eCom site.

Automatic domain setup tool powered by Entri allows you to adjust DNS settings on the registrar side right from your Retail POS, no manual changes in the registrar needed. You can see if automatic connection is available for your domain name after you specify it in Retail POS.

Step 2 — Adjusting domain settings on the registrar side

To finish the domain setup you'll need to make changes in your registrar account. Below you’ll find general steps for making changes but you can get precise setup steps from your third-party service.

To set up a domain in your registrar account:

Specify your domain name in Retail POS (see Step 1), then copy the IP-address for manual connection. You will need it to set up your domain in your registrar account.
Log in to your domain registrar's account. If you do not know who your domain registrar is, you can check it out in online domain checkers like whois.domaintools.com
Create an A-record for your custom domain (your-domain.com) and point it to the IP-address you copied.

Make sure to delete other A or AAAA records for your root domain (@), so they don’t conflict with the A record pointing to your eCom site.
To make your eCom site available at www.your-domain.com as well, create a CNAME record for your custom domain your-domain.com and specify www as a name/alias for it. You will need to add the following to DNS record:

www IN CNAME @
or
www IN CNAME your-domain.com

If you are not sure how to make these changes, contact your domain registrar support for more detailed instructions.

Now wait for the domain changes to take effect. It can take from 2 to 48 hours.

Once the setup is complete and the changes are propagated, your eCom site will become available at the specified addresses via a secure HTTPS connection encrypted by an TLS certificate from Lightspeed eCom. Links to products and your online store that appear in the customer order notifications and invoices will be automatically replaced with a new URL.

If you open your domain name straight after adding DNS records, you will most likely see the "This site can’t be reached" message. That's expected behavior. Give it from 2 to 48 hours for the changes to propagate on the side of the domain and for eCom to connect the domain name to your site.

You can disconnect a third-party domain from your eCom site at any time. For that, go to Online > Webstore (or Website) in Retail POS, click Manage in the Site address block, then click the disconnect it from your store link. After you disconnect a domain, it will no longer open your eCom site. Visitors will see a blank page instead. Still, your site will be available on the default free URL.

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