Custom Domains for ShootCal Galleries and Websites

On Pro, you can connect two separate subdomains (hostnames): www.yourstudio.com for your Website and galleries.yourstudio.com for client galleries. You can connect either one or both. Each subdomain needs its own CNAME record pointing to cname.shootcal.com, and ShootCal activates HTTPS automatically. Existing connected Plus domains keep working while the plan remains eligible. Connecting or changing a domain requires Pro.

The two hostnames have separate jobs. The www hostname serves the pages in your Website plan. The galleries hostname serves gallery pages, share links, downloads, video, and print-store pages.

1. Choose which subdomains to connect

Use a domain you already own. ShootCal requires these prefixes:

• Website: www.yourstudio.com
• Client galleries: galleries.yourstudio.com

Do not enter the bare domain, such as yourstudio.com, in ShootCal. If you want the bare domain to open your Website, set up a redirect from the bare domain to www with your registrar or DNS provider.

2. Add the CNAME records

Sign in wherever your domain's DNS lives and add one record for each hostname you want to use:

Use	Type	Name / Host	Value / Target
Website	CNAME	www	cname.shootcal.com
Client galleries	CNAME	galleries	cname.shootcal.com

Leave the TTL at its default.

Where that screen lives at the common registrars:

• GoDaddy: My Products → your domain → DNS → Add New Record.
• Cloudflare: your site → DNS → Records → Add record. Set the cloud icon to “DNS only” (grey), not proxied. A proxied (orange) record hides the target and HTTPS can’t be issued.
• Namecheap: Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS → Add New Record.
• Squarespace Domains: Domains → your domain → DNS Settings → Add Record.

3. Save each hostname where it belongs

The two hostnames are entered in two places, next to the thing they serve:

• Website: in ShootCal, choose Website at the top of ShootCal. The Website address card shows where your site is published; enter www.yourstudio.com under Your own website domain and press Save domain.
• Client galleries: in ShootCal, open Settings > Studio and find Gallery address. Enter galleries.yourstudio.com under Your own gallery domain and save.

Connect either one or both. Each has its own status and shows Waiting for DNS… while the record propagates. ShootCal keeps using the corresponding ShootCal address until both routing and HTTPS are active for that hostname. Most domains activate within a few minutes, though DNS can occasionally take up to an hour.

4. Use the active addresses

Once the Website hostname reads Active, it serves your published site. Once the client-gallery hostname reads Active, new gallery share links, delivery emails, downloads, video links, and print-store links use it. The platform addresses at sites.shootcal.com and galleries.shootcal.com continue to work as fallbacks.

Troubleshooting

• Stuck on “Waiting for DNS”? Double-check that the record type is CNAME, the host is www or galleries, and the target is exactly cname.shootcal.com. On Cloudflare, make sure the record is DNS only, not proxied.
• Prefix error when saving? Website hostnames must begin with www. and gallery hostnames must begin with galleries..
• Disconnecting a hostname? Clearing the field (and saving) switches future links back to the ShootCal address and queues that hostname for removal. Links already sent on the removed custom hostname may stop working, so update them before disconnecting it.

Still stuck? Contact support with your domain name and a screenshot of the DNS record. This is usually a one-line fix.