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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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).

5. Uptime - sends an HTTP GET to https://yourdomain.com with a 10-second timeout. Records status code, response time, server header, and whether the domain redirects.

6. 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.

1. Open the domain detail view.
2. Click the Alerts tab.
3. Click Create Alert Rule.
4. Select trigger: SSL Expiring Soon or Domain Expiring Soon.
5. Set threshold: 30 days.
6. Choose notification: Email (your account email is pre-filled).
7. 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.

Next Steps

• Adding and organizing domains
• Understanding the credit system
• Setting up alert rules