Domains, DNS, and HTTPS.
Keep your main website separate, choose where Reward Loyalty lives, and connect the domains needed for email and staging.
Your marketing website is separate from Reward Loyalty. Build it with WordPress, Wix, Shopify, a custom site, or any other website tool you prefer. Reward Loyalty does not replace that site and does not require it to use the same platform or hosting account.
The most common setup keeps the website at example.com and installs Reward Loyalty at a clear address such as loyalty.example.com. Links and QR codes on the website can send members to the loyalty application when they need to join, sign in, or use a reward.
Choose the setup that matches your model
Single business
Keep the business website wherever it already lives. Install Reward Loyalty on an application subdomain such as rewards.example.com.
Choose the member homepage that fits the journey:
- Showcase when the loyalty application should introduce one brand and its published programs.
- Smart Wallet when members should browse a wallet-style view of several campaigns.
- Portal when the main website, a QR code, or counter material already explains the program and the application should focus on sign-in.
See Homepage layout for the screen and the differences between these layouts.
Client platform with private businesses
Use one shared Reward Loyalty installation for the businesses you manage. When businesses must not discover each other, use Portal as the member homepage. Each client can link to the same application from its own website or QR code without creating a public directory of the other clients.
The clients' marketing websites remain independent. Reward Loyalty owns the loyalty accounts, programs, staff checkout, and member journey inside the application.
Public directory
Use Public Listing when visitors should search and filter the programs published by participating businesses. This fits a district, mall, association, or other program-led directory.
Each business still needs at least one published loyalty program. Public Listing is not a conventional directory that automatically lists every business. Read Public listing homepage before launch so publishing permissions and curation match the model.
Four useful domain roles
You may use one parent domain for all four roles, but each role has a different job.
| Role | Example | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Main or marketing website | example.com |
Your independent public website, store, or campaign pages |
| Reward Loyalty application | loyalty.example.com |
Admin, business, staff, and member access |
| Transactional email sending domain | notify.example.com |
The authenticated identity for OTP and operational email |
| Private staging application | staging-loyalty.example.com |
Safe install, restore, and update rehearsals |
The main website and Reward Loyalty can use different tools, hosts, and DNS records. The sending domain identifies email; it is not another website. The staging address is a second Reward Loyalty installation that stays private.
Reward Loyalty must own the root of its chosen application hostname. Use loyalty.example.com, not example.com/loyalty.
Find where DNS is managed
Start with one question: where are the nameservers for this domain managed?
- If the nameservers point to your web host, add the records in the hosting control panel.
- If they point to your registrar or another DNS service, add the records there.
- If you are unsure, ask the company that manages the domain. Tell them the hostname you want to connect and the destination supplied by the host.
Create the application and staging records your host provides. This is often an A record to a server address or a CNAME to a host-managed destination. Copy the exact record type, name, and value supplied by the host.
Email records are separate. Your transactional provider supplies the SPF, DKIM, and verification records for the sending domain. A DMARC record is a policy you control. Do not replace existing MX records just to send OTP email because MX records control incoming mail.
DNS changes can take time to appear. Wait for the application record to resolve before requesting its HTTPS certificate or opening the installer.
Turn on HTTPS
Issue a valid certificate for the application and staging hostnames in the hosting control panel. Open each HTTPS address successfully before enabling the panel's Force HTTPS or HTTPS Enforce option. Confirm automatic renewal is on.
HTTPS protects OTP sign-in, member sessions, staff checkout, uploads, and administration. It is also required for installable PWA behavior outside local development.
Choose the live application hostname before printing QR codes. The PWA manifest, installed shortcut, cached assets, and start address belong to that hostname. Changing it later can leave old shortcuts pointing to the wrong place.
Keep staging on its own HTTPS address. Protect it with the access control offered by the host, keep it out of search results, give it a separate database, and never use a staging copy as a public demo.
The three-domain license allowance
A Reward Loyalty license allows activation on up to three domains. A typical use is production, staging, and one test hostname.
The independent marketing website and the transactional email sending domain do not consume Reward Loyalty application activations. They are domain roles, not additional Reward Loyalty installations.
Before you continue
- The main website stays independent and links to Reward Loyalty where needed.
- The application and staging hostnames resolve to the intended hosting account.
- HTTPS works on both application hostnames.
- Staging is private and has its own database.
- The transactional email provider has supplied the DNS records for its sending domain.
Next, prepare those records in Email configuration, then run the installer. The real OTP test happens after installation.