Each organisation subscription to Tribal Habits receives a unique URL for their portal within our ecosystem on the pattern *.tribalhabits.com. For example, yourorg.tribalhabits.com or acme.tribalhabits.com. This URL is unique to your organisation.
We also offer the alternative of a custom domain (also called a custom URL or vanity URL) which allows you to 'mask' your Tribal Habits domain with a domain of your own. Let's say your domain was yourorg.com. This means you could use a custom domain like training.yourorg.com or academy.yourorg.com as a 'mask' for your Tribal Habits domain.
In this article, we review the requirements for using a custom domain and how to obtain one for your portal.
What are the requirements for a custom domain?
First, your subscription must include the custom domain feature.
For Active 50 or larger plans, custom domains are included in your subscription.
For Starter 10 or similar plans, custom domains are not included in your subscription but can be added for an additional cost.
If you are unsure about your subscription and whether it includes the custom domain feature, or to enquire about adding the feature to a smaller plan, please contact the team at [email protected].
Second, you must request a valid custom domain.
It must be for a top level domain you control and can edit the DNS records for.
For example, if your preferred custom domain is elearning.myorg.com.au, then you must own and be able to edit the DNS for myorg.com.au.
For example, if your preferred custom domain is training.acme.com, then you must own and be able to edit the DNS for acme.com.
Your custom domain must be a subdomain of the top level domain you control. Your custom domain cannot be a top level domain itself - it must be a subdomain of your top level domain. It also cannot be a folder of a top level domain.
Good: elearning.myorg.com.au
Bad: myorg.com.au (this is just a top level domain - so elearning.myorg.com.au would be acceptable since that is a subdomain).
Bad: myorg.com.au/customers (this is also a top level domain, just with a folder added - we need a subdomain).
How do I apply for a custom domain with Tribal Habits?
To apply for a custom domain, reach out via the in-platform Admin Chat. Send a message to the team saying 'I would like to establish a custom domain for our portal'. This will start the process and trigger some additional questions for you to answer.
Setting up the custom domain is relatively easy assuming you can edit your domain DNS. The process is broadly:
Request the custom domain from Tribal Habits.
Our support team will confirm your subscription and domain. They will also provide you with specific instructions to update your DNS.
Once your DNS is updated, notify our support team again, who will then set up your custom domain in your platform (within 24 business hours).
After your custom domain is activated, you will be able to access your portal via your Tribal Habits domain or your custom domain - both will work.
Let's review these steps in more detail.
Step 1 - Request a custom domain from Tribal Habits.
First, log into your Tribal Habits portal and use the in-platform Admin Chat to send a message to the support team. Simply type 'Set up custom domain' and select the prompt 'How do I set up a custom domain?'.
Note you must be an Admin of your portal to start this process. Please also check within your organisation as to whether another admin has already started the process and/or that you have permission from your organisation to set up a custom domain.
Alternatively, you can email [email protected] with your request.
Either way, we will ask you to confirm that you have reviewed this support article first and to confirm the custom domain you wish to use.
Note that changing your custom domain at any time will restart the entire process. So please be 100% certain of your choice of custom domain before making the request. In particular, ensure you (a) own the domain and (b) are able to edit the DNS records for that domain.
Step 2 - Await instructions from the support team
Once we receive your request, we will review your subscription and confirm inclusion of this feature (or any additional cost). We will also review and approve your custom domain choice to ensure it is valid.
The support team will then provide you with instructions on two additions to your DNS records. They will email this information and instructions to you.
The first will be a CNAME record pointing your custom domain to your Tribal Habits domain.
The second will be a TXT record to confirm ownership of your domain and allow us to establish security certificates for your domain on your behalf.
Our support team typically replies within 24 business hours.
Step 3 - Update your DNS records
Once you receive the information from the Tribal Habits team, you will need to update your DNS records as instructed.
Step 4 - Confirm DNS update with the support team
Once you update your DNS records, please email back to the support team so they can confirm the changes are correct. The support team will then finalise your custom domain and activate it in your portal.
The support team typically completes this final step within 24 business hours.
Step 5 - Update your links and learners (and SSO)
Once the custom domain is activated, it will become the primary domain for your portal. This means that the following changes will occur:
All notification emails will insert links from the custom domain (not the Tribal Habits domain). Note that emails will still be sent from @tribalhabits.com (changing the portal domain does not change the From email).
All new auto-enrol links will be created using the custom domain
All new self-registration links will be created using the custom domain
All new SCORM links will be created using the custom domain
However, your portal will continue to work with the underlying Tribal Habits domain too. There is no redirection to your new custom domain. This ensures that you can (a) always access your Tribal Habits domain even if something goes wrong with your own domain and (b) all existing links using the Tribal Habits domain will continue to work.
Once your custom domain is functional, you may wish to replace your Tribal Habits links outlined above with new links using the custom domain. If so, you will need to create all new links. We recommend leaving the old Tribal Habits links in place for a period of time, just in case they are still in use by a learner. Once you are satisfied all learners have migrated to the custom domain, then you can delete the old Tribal Habits links.
Special Notes: Single-Sign-On (SSO)
If your organisation is moving to a custom domain and you are already using Single-Sign-On (SAML 2.0 SSO) with your existing Tribal Habits domain, then you will need to update your SSO details.
Essentially, your existing SSO will continue to redirect you to the old Tribal Habits domain. To fix this, you will need to create a new SSO profile for your custom domain. In our experience, this works best if you create an entirely new SSO profile (with new x.509 certificate) rather than just swapping the URLs. To do this, log into Tribal Habits via your new custom domain profile and go to the Admin/Account/SSO page. You will see new URLs in the Identity Provider Config panel. You will also see your existing SSO credentials (which work for the underlying Tribal Habits domain). You should replace all the existing SSO credentials with new SSO credentials and certificates mapped to your custom domain.
If you have difficulties, remember you can log into either domain without SSO credentials by using the destination *.tribalhabits.com/accounts/sign_in_without_sso (or similarly for your custom domain).
Special notes: Zapier API and Public API
The establishment of a custom domain will not impact the Zapier API or Public API.
Your zaps will continue to run as they are, since your existing Tribal Habits portal continues to work. All notifications created by your zaps will, however, switch to using links from your custom domain (automatically).
Your integrations with the Public API will continue to work as they are, since your existing Tribal Habits portal continues to work. All notifications created by your integrations will, however, switch to using links from your custom domain (automatically).