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Dashboard Domain Setup

This article explains how to expose the dashboard on a custom subdomain.

The examples use the domain home-and-outdoor.shop and the dashboard hostname dashboard.home-and-outdoor.shop. Replace these values with your own domain when you configure your installation.

Overview

A dashboard domain is a public hostname that routes browser traffic to the tracker dashboard.

To add a dashboard domain, complete two configuration steps:

  1. Create a Domain Name System (DNS) A record for the dashboard subdomain.
  2. Add the same hostname in the dashboard as a managed domain with purpose Dashboard.

After the tracker detects that the DNS record points to the server, it provisions a Let's Encrypt Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) certificate and updates the Nginx web server configuration.

DNS changes are not immediate. An A record can become visible within several minutes, but a delay of a few hours is normal because DNS providers and recursive resolvers cache records.

Why HTTPS Matters

The dashboard handles credentials and campaign management data. HTTPS encrypts traffic between the browser and the server, which protects passwords, session cookies, and dashboard actions from network interception.

Modern browsers also mark plain Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) pages as insecure. A valid HTTPS certificate allows users to open the dashboard without browser security warnings.

Example Values

Item Example value
Example main domain home-and-outdoor.shop
DNS record name dashboard
Example dashboard hostname dashboard.home-and-outdoor.shop
DNS record type A
DNS record value <server-ip>
Domain purpose Dashboard

After setup, the dashboard URL is:

https://dashboard.<your-domain>

Example:

https://dashboard.home-and-outdoor.shop

Prerequisites

Before you start, verify that you have the following access and information.

Requirement Description How to verify
Installed Tracker Tracker is installed and running Open the dashboard URL printed by the installer
DNS access You can edit DNS records for the main domain Open the DNS settings page at your domain provider
Server public IP address The IP address of the server where the tracker is installed Use the IP address from the VDS/VPS provider dashboard
Tracker credentials You can sign in to the dashboard Sign in with the installer output username and password

Step 1: Add DNS A Record

Add an A record that points the dashboard subdomain to the tracker server.

  1. Open the DNS management page for <your-domain>.
  2. Add a new DNS record.
  3. Set the record values:
Field Value
Type A
Name dashboard
Value <server-ip>
Time to Live (TTL) Default value from your DNS provider
  1. Save the DNS record.

The record name dashboard creates the full hostname:

dashboard.<your-domain>

For the example domain home-and-outdoor.shop, the full hostname is:

dashboard.home-and-outdoor.shop

Add dashboard A record

Wait for DNS propagation after saving the record. A delay of a few hours is normal.

Step 2: Add Dashboard Domain

Create a managed domain record in the dashboard.

  1. Open the dashboard.
  2. Go to Domains.
  3. Click New Domain.
  4. Set Hostname to:

text dashboard.<your-domain>

Example:

text dashboard.home-and-outdoor.shop

  1. Set Purpose to Dashboard.
  2. Keep Disabled unchecked.
  3. Click Save changes.

Create dashboard domain

The dashboard saves the managed domain and starts background validation.

Step 3: Verify Domain Status

The tracker validates the DNS record before it enables HTTPS for the dashboard domain.

  1. Open Domains.
  2. Open the domain page for dashboard.<your-domain>.
  3. Check the domain status values.

Expected values:

Field Expected value Meaning
A Record Set DNS points the hostname to the tracker server
Certificate / Status Active The tracker issued and installed the HTTPS certificate
CA letsencrypt Let's Encrypt issued the certificate
Validation method http-01-webroot The tracker used HTTP validation for certificate issuance

Dashboard domain with issued certificate

Step 4: Open Dashboard by Domain

Open the dashboard URL in a browser:

https://dashboard.<your-domain>

Example:

https://dashboard.home-and-outdoor.shop

Sign in with your dashboard username and password.

Timing and Edge Cases

  • If A Record is Unchecked, wait for the background DNS check to run.
  • If A Record is Missing, confirm that the DNS record value matches <server-ip>.
  • If Certificate is Pending, wait for the tracker to complete certificate issuance. Certificate provisioning can start only after DNS resolves to the tracker server.
  • Do not use the same hostname for dashboard and campaign traffic.
  • Configure campaign domains in the campaign setup flow.