Adding Your First Domain

Complete guide to adding domains, configuring monitoring options, and understanding what gets tracked.

Before You Start

What you'll need:

Domain name (e.g., example.com)
ElasticDomain account with available credits

What you DON'T need:

Domain ownership (can monitor any public domain)
DNS access or admin credentials
Special configuration on the domain

Adding a Domain (Step-by-Step)

1. Open Add Domain Dialog

Click "Add Domain" button (top right of dashboard)
Or go to Dashboard → Domains → New

2. Enter Domain Name

Format: Just the domain name, no protocol or path

✅ CORRECT	❌ INCORRECT
`example.com`	`https://example.com`
`subdomain.example.com`	`www.example.com/path`
`example.co.uk`	`example.com:443`

3. Select Domain Type

Type	When to Use
Owned	Domains you own/manage
Competitor	Competitor domains to track
Client	Client domains (agencies/freelancers)
Watchlist	Domains you're monitoring (expiring, for sale)

💡 Why it matters: Type affects default alerts and reporting categories.

4. Configure Monitoring Options

Check Interval: How often to scan

Every 6 hours: Critical production domains (4x daily = 28 credits/week)
Every 24 hours: Standard (default, 7 credits/week)
Weekly: Low priority domains (1 credit/week)
Manual only: No automatic scans (scan on-demand only)

5. Optional: Add Metadata

Folder: Group domains (e.g., "Production", "Clients", "Dev")
Tags: Add labels (e.g., "WordPress", "Cloudflare", "e-commerce")
Notes: Internal notes (e.g., "Expires Q3 2025, owned by John")

6. Click "Add Domain"

Domain is added! Initial scan starts automatically.

Understanding What Gets Scanned

WHOIS Data

Registrar name
Registration date (domain age)
Expiration date
Nameservers
Privacy protection status
Registrant country (if not private)

Credit cost: 1 credit per lookup

SSL Certificate

Issuer (Let's Encrypt, DigiCert, etc.)
Valid from / expires dates
Subject Alternative Names (SANs)
Certificate chain completeness
Encryption strength (key size, algorithm)
Security grade (A+ to F)

Credit cost: 1 credit per check

DNS Records

A: IPv4 addresses
AAAA: IPv6 addresses
MX: Mail servers
TXT: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, verification records
NS: Nameservers
CNAME: Aliases
SOA: Zone metadata

Credit cost: 1 credit per full DNS scan (all record types)

Security Analysis

HTTP security headers (HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options)
Blacklist status (50+ reputation databases)
Hosting provider detection
CDN detection (Cloudflare, Fastly, etc.)
Technology fingerprinting

Credit cost: 2 credits per security scan

Scan Types Explained

Scan Type	What's Included	Credits	Time
Quick Scan	WHOIS + SSL only	2	10-15s
Standard Scan	WHOIS + SSL + DNS	3	20-30s
Full Scan	Everything (WHOIS + SSL + DNS + Security)	5	45-90s

Recommendation: Use Full Scan for initial check, then Standard for daily monitoring.

Organizing Domains

Using Folders

Example folder structure:

Production (business-critical domains)
Staging/Dev (development environments)
Clients
- Client A
- Client B
Personal Projects
Watchlist (domains to acquire)

Using Tags

Tag ideas:

Tech stack: WordPress, Laravel, Next.js
CDN: Cloudflare, Fastly
Business unit: Marketing, SaaS, E-commerce
Priority: Critical, Standard, Low
Status: Active, Sunset, For Sale

Bulk Adding Domains

CSV Import

Go to Dashboard → Import
Download CSV template
Fill columns:
- domain (required): example.com
- type (required): owned | competitor | client | watchlist
- folder (optional): Production
- tags (optional): WordPress, Cloudflare
- check_interval (optional): 6 | 24 | 168
Upload CSV
Review preview
Click "Import All"

CSV Example

domain,type,folder,tags,check_interval
example.com,owned,Production,"WordPress,Cloudflare",24
client1.com,client,Clients,"Agency,E-commerce",24
competitor.com,competitor,Research,"Competitor",168

After Adding a Domain

View Initial Results

Wait for initial scan (30-90 seconds)
Click domain from list
Review:
- Health score (0-100)
- Risk score (0-100)
- Days until SSL expires
- Days until domain expires

Set Up First Alert

Recommended first alert: SSL expiring in 30 days

Go to Alerts tab
Create Rule → SSL Certificate
Trigger: "Expires in X days" → 30
Notify via: Email
Save

Common Questions

Can I track subdomains?

Yes! Add them as separate domains:

blog.example.com
shop.example.com
api.example.com

Each subdomain has its own SSL certificate and monitoring.

Do I need to own the domain?

No! You can track any public domain. Common use cases:

Monitor competitors
Track domains you're considering purchasing
Client domains (agencies)
Partnership/affiliate domains

What if domain has no SSL?

No problem! WHOIS and DNS checks still work. SSL tab will show "No certificate found".

Can I monitor localhost or internal IPs?

No. ElasticDomain requires publicly accessible domains. For internal monitoring, consider self-hosted alternatives.

Troubleshooting

Domain Already Exists

Error: "Domain is already being tracked"

Solution: Search for it in your domain list (may be in different folder).

Invalid Domain Error

Causes:

Typo in domain name
Domain doesn't exist (not registered)
Invalid TLD (e.g., .local, .test)

Scan Keeps Failing

Possible reasons:

Domain doesn't resolve (check DNS with nslookup)
Server blocking our scanner IPs (whitelist: Settings → Scanner IPs)
Rate limiting on target server

Ready to Add Your Domain?

Add Domain Now →