How to Register and Manage Your Pattern Domain

A unique domain name can be helpful in creating a stronger web presence for your business. It’s also a great way to reinforce your branding.

If you don’t already have a domain, you can register up to three domain names from the Pattern Dashboard through OpenSRS. This is an affiliate of our partner, Tucows Inc, a third-party domain name registrar accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

If you use this service, you'll also be subject to Tucows’ registration agreement and privacy policy.

Select a domain name

To register a new domain for your Pattern site, go to Shop Manager and select your Pattern shop name under "Sales Channels". Click the Domains tab.

Your domain name has to comply with our Terms of Use (so it can’t be offensive or infringe on someone’s intellectual property rights) and our Trademark Policy.

Please know that we can’t guarantee the availability of any particular domain name. Read more about choosing a domain name in the Pattern Policy.

Verifying your domain

After registering your domain through Pattern, you'll receive a verification email from Etsy asking you to confirm your domain registration. To ensure your domain points to your Pattern site, click the verification link within the email.

If you aren't seeing this email in your inbox:

  • Check your spam filters.
  • Make sure you entered your email address correctly when you registered your domain.

To ensure your email address is correct, go to the Domains section of the Pattern Dashboard. Click the Contact Information section and update your email address if necessary.

Please note that when you register a new domain, it can take up to 24-48 hours for your site to go live with this domain. This is the amount of time it takes name servers and cache records to update your website's DNS information.

If you’d like to disconnect your domain from your Pattern site, this Help article will show you how.

Fees

Domain name prices vary according to the top-level domain, or TLD. Prices of specific TLDs offered on Pattern are listed here.

The price of registering a domain on Pattern will be added to your Payment account, as well as WHOIS protection (see Domain Privacy below), if purchased.

Domain privacy

Domain privacy is a paid service offered by our partner, Tucows, when you register a domain though Pattern. Domain registrars are required to collect contact and location information from domain registrants. This information is then displayed in WHOIS, which is a public internet record directory.

If you purchase the WHOIS Privacy Service, the service protects your contact information from being displayed on WHOIS. This could potentially cut down on the amount of spam emails and phone calls you receive. You can purchase this service when registering a domain on Pattern for an additional $3.00 per year.

Registration contact information

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) requires that your domain contact information is accurate. To review or edit the contact information associated with your domain name:

  1. Visit the Domains section of your Pattern Dashboard.
  2. Locate the domain you want to make changes to and click Manage Domain.
  3. Click Edit in the Contact Information section.
  4. Make appropriate changes to your contact information and then click Save.

Note: You may receive a series of confirmation emails if you make changes to your contact information associated with your domain.

Records management

Managing your DNS records allows you to point your domain to other websites, like a blog outside of your Pattern site. It also allows you to create a professional email address.

If you're new to domain management, you might find it helpful to read through this beginner's guide to web domains.

To manage your DNS records while keeping your domain pointed to your Pattern site:

  1. Go to the Domains section your Pattern Dashboard.
  2. Locate the domain you want to manage and click Manage Domain.
  3. Click Manage records, then Add Record.
  4. Select the record you’d like to create from the dropdown and enter the appropriate information in the fields provided.
  5. Click Save when finished.

The table below outlines the records you can manage on Pattern and what they are for.

Record Purpose
A* Points your root domain to a specific IP address. You should not delete or modify this record if you want to keep your domain pointed to your Pattern site.
AAAA Points your root domain to a specific IPv6 address. You should not delete or modify this record if you want to keep your domain pointed to your Pattern site.
CNAME* Creates a subdomain for your domain name. For example, blog.[yourdomain].com. If you want to keep your domain pointed to your Pattern site, you should not delete your patternbyetsy.com CNAME record or create any www. subdomains.
MX Creates an email address with your domain name. For example, hello@[yourdomain].com. You can only have email forwarding or MX records at a given time. If you want to create an MX record for a domain, you'll need to disable email forwarding first. You can turn this off from the Marketing tab of the Pattern Dashboard.
TXT Generates a file that can be given to outside entities upon request. For example, Google might ask for this in order to verify your site in search results more quickly.

Important: Be extremely careful when managing A and CNAME records. Creating a new A record or CNAME record with a www. subdomain will prevent your Pattern site from properly loading.

Disconnecting a domain

If you want to point your domain to a different site, you'll need to disconnect it from Pattern and delete the A and CNAME records. To do this:

  1. Go to the Domains section of your Pattern Dashboard and click Manage Domain under the appropriate domain.
  2. Click Disconnect domain.
  3. In the DNS Records section on the following page, select Manage records.
  4. Click the trash icon next to the A record with 130.211.40.170 in the Data field.
  5. Click the trash icon next to the CNAME record with patternbyetsy.com in the Data field.

To point the domain to a different site, click Add Record and select the record you’d like to create from the dropdown list. Then, enter the appropriate information in the fields provided. When finished, click Save.

Resetting records

If you delete your Pattern site records and need to set them back up, follow the instructions outlined below.

  1. Go to the Domains section of your Pattern Dashboard.
  2. Click Manage Domain under the domain you want to reconnect
  3. Select the Reconnect button on the following page.
  4. In the DNS Records section on the same page, click Manage records.
  5. Delete all A records you’ve created.
  6. Delete all CNAME records with www. in the Host field.
  7. Click Add Record.
  8. In the Record dropdown, select A
  9. Leave the Host field blank.
  10. In the Data field, enter 130.211.40.170
  11. Click Save.
  12. Click Add Record.
  13. In the Record dropdown, select CNAME.
  14. In the Host field, enter www.
  15. In the Data field, enter patternbyetsy.com.
  16. Click Save.

Renewal

If you register a domain name through OpenSRS, the registration will remain in effect for one year. OpenSRS will send you emails reminding you to renew your registration 30 days prior to the domain expiration date, 5 days prior to the domain expiration date, and 3 days after the domain expires.

Etsy will also send you reminder emails 31 days before the expiration date, and 1 week before the expiration date.

You can renew your domain from the Domains section of your Pattern Dashboard. To learn more about renewing your domain on Pattern, read this guide.

Note: Your yearly domain renewal is separate from your Pattern monthly subscription. If you do not choose to renew your domain, your Pattern subscription will continue unless you cancel it, and your URL will revert back to: YourEtsyShopName.patternbyetsy.com.

Country-specific domains

Many countries have their own top-level domains, and the regulations for registering a country-specific domain vary. We don't have a way for you to register country-specific domains through Pattern, but you're welcome to connect an existing country-specific domain to your Pattern site.

Custom email address

Once you register for a domain through Pattern, you have the option to set up a professional email address that matches your domain name and further promotes your brand. This email address will automatically forward to an existing email account that you own. Learn more about setting up a custom email address.

Support

If you have questions or experience issues registering a domain on Pattern, contact Etsy Support by clicking the link at the bottom of this page.

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