Custom Domain Retirement
Custom domain mapping will be turned off completely after January 31, 2023. At that time, custom domain sites that remain on UBS will revert to their default UBS site name (e.g. https://sites.utexas.edu/<your_site_path>/ ) URL.
As previously shared, UBS will no longer be able to fulfill requests to host custom domains on the service. This change is due to WPMUDev, the developer of the plugin that makes that functionality possible, retiring the Domain Mapping plugin and no longer offering support.
Browsing to your Custom Domain Name will still reach your UBS site!
We will be setting up redirects from your custom domain name to your UBS site account. To do this:
- We’ll set up a redirect in our redirect service for your custom name,
- We will work with ITS Networking to update DNS, and make sure you’re included in the correspondence, as your permission may be required.
- Done!
- The only caveat here is that after the redirect is complete, the web browser URL bar will have your UBS site address (https://sites.utexas.edu/<your site path/) rather than your custom domain name – but the name will still get your customers to your UBS site.
Pantheon Web Hosting
If the redirect of your custom domain name to your UBS site will not fulfill your branding or business needs, we recommend the managed CMS hosting service offered by ITS and hosted on Pantheon.
Pantheon is a subscription-based service that allows web developers to maintain their own sites as well implement their own customizations. Costs depend on the volume of traffic that a site sustains month-to-month. Web hosting on Pantheon is supported by ITS’ Web Development teams, and we’re happy to help with site migrations or new site set up, as well as advise on on-going maintenance.
We understand the inconvenience that these changes will cause. We do so reluctantly but we are obligated to maintain a secure service on behalf of the campus. Please feel free to reach out to stewards with any questions that you may have about these changes.
FAQ
What’s Pantheon?
Pantheon is a third-party service that supports the Drupal and WordPress content management systems, and access through UT Austin includes the availability of the UT Drupal Kit and WordPress for Texas custom distributions. In addition to cloud hosting, Pantheon provides a suite of tools for website development, deployment, and management. Learn more about the Pantheon service here.
What if I don’t want to move my site?
Your site is free to remain on UBS indefinitely, however, visitors will need to go to the “default” sites.utexas.edu URL for the site instead of the custom domain it was using previously. Please consider the redirect service, described above.
We can help! Please contact us at help@sites.utexas.edu to get started, and help us to retire the unsupported domain-mapping plugin.
