How to Set Up a Custom Domain for Your Supportbench Portal

by Marcel Gravelle

Last updated: 12-Sep-2025

White-labeling your Supportbench portal with a custom domain (e.g., support.yourcompany.com) is an excellent way to provide a seamless, branded experience for your customers. This guide will walk you through the entire process, from configuring your domain to securing it with an SSL certificate.

Before you begin, you will need:

• Ownership of a custom domain.

• Administrative access to your domain's DNS settings.

Step 1: Choose Your Custom Domain

First, decide on the domain you will use. Most companies choose a subdomain of their main website, which is professional and easy for customers to remember.

Common examples:

• support.yourcompany.com

• help.yourbrand.com

• portal.businessname.com

Step 2: Create a CNAME Record in Your DNS Settings

You now need to point your custom domain to your Supportbench portal. This is done by creating a CNAME (Canonical Name) record with your domain registrar (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare).

1. Log in to your domain registrar's control panel.

2. Navigate to the DNS management section for your domain.

3. Create a new CNAME record with the following values:

   • Type: CNAME

   • Host (or Name): Enter your chosen subdomain. For support.yourcompany.com, you would just enter support.

   • Value (or Points to): Enter your default Supportbench portal address (e.g., yourcompany.supportbench.net).

This record tells the internet that when someone visits support.yourcompany.com, they should be shown the content from your Supportbench portal.

Note: DNS changes can sometimes take a few hours to propagate across the internet.

Step 3: Obtain and Prepare Your SSL Certificate

To protect your users' data and ensure a secure connection, Supportbench requires an SSL certificate for all custom domains.

SSL Certificate Requirements:

• Certificate Type: You must use a Single-Site certificate that covers your exact subdomain (e.g., support.yourcompany.com).

• Unsupported Types: We do not support Wildcard (*.yourcompany.com) or Multi-Domain (SAN) certificates.

• Final Format: The certificate must be exported as a password-protected .PFX file, which includes the certificate, any intermediate certificates, and the private key.

The process generally looks like this:

1. Generate a CSR (Certificate Signing Request): Use an online tool or a server utility (like IIS) to generate a CSR for your exact domain (support.yourcompany.com).

2. Purchase Your Certificate: Submit the generated CSR to your preferred SSL provider (e.g., DigiCert, GoDaddy, Sectigo).

3. Complete the Request: Follow your provider's instructions to validate and issue the certificate.

4. Export to PFX: Once issued, combine the certificate with its private key into a single .PFX file. You will be prompted to create a secure password during the export process—be sure to save this password.

Step 4: Upload the PFX File to Supportbench

With your .PFX file and its password ready, you can now install it in your Supportbench account.

1. Log in to Supportbench.

2. Navigate to Configuration > Account > SSL Certificates.

3. Upload your .PFX file.

4. Enter the password you created during the export process.

5. Save your changes.

Your custom, branded support portal should now be live and secured with SSL! You can test this by navigating to your custom domain in a web browser and looking for the padlock icon.

If you have any questions or need assistance during this process, please don't hesitate to contact our team at support@supportbench.com.