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By setting up a domain, you can change how people access your site. For instance, if your team name was "Green Way Baseball", you can register the domain www.GreenWayBaseball.com so that people can reach your page by typing that into their browser address bar, rather than searching for your team on the HomeTeamsONLINE site. Creating a domain is an easy way to make your site more personal and easy to access.

IMPORTANT: When you register a domain, selecting the auto-renew option authorizes the domain company to charge you for renewals. Do not turn on auto-renew if you do not want this. Without auto-renew, you must submit the renewal yourself or the domain will expire (and can be taken by someone else). Renewal notices are sent to the email you used on the domain registration, so be sure to use a permanent email.

Also, take extra care when choosing your domain name. Make sure you spell it correctly and avoid names similar to existing domains that your viewers could easily misspell and be taken to the wrong site. Once a domain is registered, it cannot be changed or deleted.

If you have any issues or emergencies regarding a domain registered through us, contact domain support @ 480-624-2500, and have your credit card handy to confirm your identity.

You can keep your domain at your current domain company and point it to your HomeTeamsONLINE site.

First, contact us to add your domain to your account. Send Support the domain name you want to use, and we'll add it to your account and get it ready. All-Star and Champion users: we can manage the domain for you and take care of the rest.

Then point your domain to your site. The easiest way is your Domain Setup page, which shows the exact records with copy buttons and tracks your progress. Or set these two records in your domain company's DNS settings:

1. www record: set the type to CNAME with the value hto.hometeamsonline.com
2. Main domain record, shown as @ (A record): set it to 174.138.109.213

Leave everything else as it is, especially your email (MX) records. Once saved, your secure padlock (HTTPS) turns on automatically.

If your domain company's DNS screens look different, contact them and they can help you add these two records.

Domain forwarding is only an option if you own the domain in your own domain account. It is usually available for a small annual fee, however many domain registrars provide it at no extra cost.

For domain forwarding to work, the name servers sometimes have to be assigned to the registrar's default servers. This may be an issue if you used your domain name for a custom website in the past. In that case, ask your registrar how to reset the domain to their default servers.

You do not need any DNS or name server information for forwarding. Keep the domain on your registrar's servers and just forward it to your HTO home page.

If you follow the steps to set up domain forwarding on your registrar's account, it should be fairly straightforward. Your HomeTeamsONLINE website address is always in this format:

http://HTOsports.com/your_username_here

Replace your_username_here with the username for your account. Another method is to go to the page you want to link to (usually the team or league home page), copy the URL from the address bar in your browser, and paste it into the address requested when setting up the forwarding. Each registrar has its own method, so ask your registrar for their specific steps.

Will my domain name appear at the top of my site in the URL? With DNS (the two records above), it shows up on every page. If you use domain forwarding instead, you'll want to set up domain masking as well to hide the default URL. Contact your domain company for details; there is usually an extra fee for masking.

If you're confused trying to understand how to set up a domain name on HomeTeamsONLINE, don't feel bad, it is genuinely confusing. Here are a few things that should help clear it up:

1) Your website is NOT the same as your domain. It is common to refer to a website as a domain, but they are two different things. A simple example is your name: if your name is "Bill" you could change it to "John" but you are still the same person, and just because someone shares your name doesn't mean they ARE you. Names are just an easy way to identify people. It's the same with websites: domain names are just a way of identifying a website.

If your domain is not working, that doesn't mean your website is not working. You can go to our homepage and use the search box at the top to find your team website even if the domain name does not seem to be working. (This will not work if you have set your website as NOT SEARCHABLE under User Info & Upgrades > Team/League Info.)

2) Domain registration is only done by official organizations. We cannot actually register domains, we just help you do it. When a baby is born, the hospital records the name and information, but the registrar of births, not the hospital, issues the birth certificate. It's the same way with domains: you will contact your domain registrar for help and information about your domain. HomeTeamsONLINE staff cannot directly access your domain account.

3) Changes to your domain can only be made with YOUR permission. We will do everything we can to help you set up your domain, but we do not have control over your domain account. If you provide us the customer number and password for your domain account, we will gladly make changes on your behalf. For your security we are not allowed to know your domain password; the domain is something you own. You keep your domain name for your own use even if you no longer use our sports websites.

4) My domain isn't working, now what? When you contact us about a domain issue, it is best to have the customer number and password for your DOMAIN account (not your sports website). We can usually find your customer number, but you may need to reset the password through the email you used when you got the domain, or by calling your registrar's support line to verify your identity. This separation between the registrar and HomeTeamsONLINE is intentional, to protect your rights to your domain. If your domain was set up through another registrar such as GoDaddy, that registrar will be your best resource.

5) Isn't there an easier way? Yes. If you have a CHAMPION or ALL-STAR site, we can register and manage a domain for you at no extra cost. Just contact us and we'll take care of it. (Because the domain is under our account, you won't access the domain settings directly, but it can be transferred to your own private account later if you request it.)