Using a Custom URL with OpenCUNY

As a member of the OpenCUNY community, your site will have an OpenCUNY.org address (ex. OpenCUNY.org/yoursitetitle ). However, you can also use a customized URL with your OpenCUNY site (ex. yoursitetitle.com).

To create a customizable URL, called a domain name, follow the steps below.

  1. Purchase a domain name (i.e. your personal URL, yoursitetitle.com). There are many registrars available on the web (just google “Domain Name Registration”) but we recommend using one of the following domain name registrars:
    > gandi.net
    > hover.com
    > moniker.com
    > namecheap.com
    We do not recommend buying your domain from GoDaddy (follow the link for one explanation of why).
  2. Log into the account for your domain name and find the area that lists your domain name servers (DNS). If you have trouble finding this area, look in your registrar’s FAQ for instructions on “changing name servers.”
  3. Update your domain name’s name servers to the OpenCUNY name servers:
    ns1.opencuny.org
    ns2.opencuny.org
    (If your domain name registrar lists more than 2 name servers, delete those so you only have the two OpenCUNY ones.)
  4. Once you’ve performed the above steps, contact the OpenCUNY Coordinators via the form below, so that we can approve your request. Do NOT enable forwarding, as that can screw up the domain mapping! Note that requests may take up to 48 hours to be processed. While you’re waiting for your request to be processed, you may want to read up on mapped domains and privacy settings on the OpenCUNY system.

    Personal Domain Processing Form

    Please confirm that

    you already own your own personal domain name and have set the name servers as specified above.

    Your Name (required)

    Your OpenCUNY User Name (required)

    Your Graduate Center Email (required)

    Your OpenCUNY URL (required)

    Your Personal URL (required)

    Anything else we should know?

    Please enter the following keyword in the space below. The keyword is case-sensitive so enter it exactly as it appears:

    captcha