Domain Name mapping question

Question

I'm developing a desktop application which communicates with a custom webservice which is currently being tested using the default domain name provided by our hosting plan , eg http://mysite-001-siteXYZ.somehostingcompany.net/

Once everything is working and ready to launch we will map the domain name of the bought domain address, eg http://RealNameofWebsite.com/

This is a newbie question really, will both url's work once the domain name is mapped?

Also, am I correct in assuming using http://RealNameofWebsite.com/ is preferable in the application as it will follow whichever hosting company is mapped?

Answer 1

Generally speaking... yes. However, there is one gotcha I have seen in these situations: If ever the IP address must he reversed, often the telecom's sub-domain/domain name is returned and not the hosted domain name potentially causing problems. It is best for a professional service that the telecom replace their sub-domain/domain name and substitute yours in the DNS.

It may be that this will not even be a problem if there is no cause to reverse the IP address. However, if at all possible, I would pay attention to the DNS just in case.

Answer 2

will both url's work once the domain name is mapped?

Yes, both urls are going to work, and actually, you can have unlimited domain names pointing to the same webservice.

am I correct in assuming using http://RealNameofWebsite.com/ is preferable

Yes, is it preferable. You will have more configuration options available, and it will be more memorable and professional.

On the other hand, having 2 or more domains for 1 webservice it is not preferable and it should be avoided, as you will have some problems like:

• Sessions that are started on one domain will be different from sessions started on the other domain
• You will SSL certificatations will not work
• Duplicate content. Yes, both domains are going to be the same website, but for the search engines they are going to be 2 totally different websites, with identical content and they maybe penalized both.

If you really need to have more that 1 domain names pointing to the same webservice, you should add a permanent 301 redirection from old domain to new domain, so users that visit the old domain are automatically redirected to the new domain.

The redirection can be easily performed from your webserver.