5-Minute Quick Start Guide
Get from zero to monitoring your first domain in 5 minutes. Complete walkthrough for new users.
5-Minute Quick Start Guide
ElasticDomain monitors domains for expiry, SSL certificate issues, DNS changes, security threats, and uptime problems - all from one dashboard. This guide gets you up and running in five minutes.
What You Get on Sign-Up
Every new account receives 10,000 free credits instantly, plus 3,200 free credits every day automatically. You don't need a credit card to start.
Step 1: Create Your Account
Go to elasticdomain.com/auth/register. You can sign in with Google or register with an email address and password.
After signing in you land on the dashboard. Your 10,000 sign-up credits are already in your account.
Step 2: Add Your First Domain
Click Add Domain in the top-right corner of the dashboard.
You'll see five domain type options:
- Owned - domains you registered and control
- Competitor - domains belonging to competitors you want to watch
- Watchlist - domains you're considering buying or monitoring
- Client - domains you manage for clients (agencies and freelancers)
- Investment - domain portfolio assets
Enter the domain name (e.g. example.com - no https:// needed), select the type, and click Add Domain.
The initial scan starts automatically.
Step 3: Understand What Gets Scanned
A full scan runs six checks in sequence:
WHOIS - queries the authoritative WHOIS server directly over port 43 (RFC 3912). Returns registrar, creation date, expiry date, nameservers, registrant info (if not GDPR-hidden), and domain status codes.
SSL - opens a native TLS connection to port 443. Returns certificate subject, issuer, validity dates, Subject Alternative Names (SANs), key size, cipher suite, TLS version, and whether HSTS is enforced.
DNS - resolves A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME, SOA, CAA, and SRV records using Google (8.8.8.8) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) as resolvers.
Security - fetches HTTP response headers and checks for CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy, and Permissions-Policy. Also queries real DNSBL blacklists (Spamhaus, SURBL, URIBL, Barracuda, SpamCop, and others).
Uptime - sends an HTTP GET to
https://yourdomain.comwith a 10-second timeout. Records status code, response time, server header, and whether the domain redirects.Tech detection - fingerprints the technology stack from HTTP headers, HTML meta tags, JavaScript globals, and DNS patterns.
Scans typically finish in 30-90 seconds.
Step 4: Read Your Results
After the scan completes, click the domain name to open the detail view. You'll see:
- Health score (0-100): Higher is better. It combines SSL validity, WHOIS expiry, blacklist status, security headers, and uptime.
- Risk score: Flags for hijack risk, subdomain takeover potential, and reputation issues.
- Tabs: Overview, WHOIS, SSL, DNS, Security, Uptime, Tech Stack, Subdomains, SEO.
Step 5: Set Up an Expiry Alert
This is the most important thing to do for any domain you own.
- Open the domain detail view.
- Click the Alerts tab.
- Click Create Alert Rule.
- Select trigger: SSL Expiring Soon or Domain Expiring Soon.
- Set threshold: 30 days.
- Choose notification: Email (your account email is pre-filled).
- Click Save.
Now you'll get an email when your SSL certificate or domain registration is 30 days from expiry.
Credit Costs at a Glance
| Action | Credits |
|---|---|
| Full domain scan | 250 |
| SEO scan | 1,500 |
| Port scan | 600 |
| Screenshot capture | 300 |
| CT log scan | 800 |
| Quick scan (WHOIS + SSL only) | 2 |
| Security scan | 2 |
| PDF report export | 2 |
| SSL check | 1 |
| WHOIS lookup | 1 |
| DNS lookup | 1 |
Your 3,200 daily credits support approximately 12 full domain scans per day, or 2 SEO scans, or hundreds of quick/SSL checks — plenty for active domain monitoring.