Apparently I don't understand how the web works

[MastaChaOS]

So here's the deal: My wife runs a photography business, and I have some webservers. 

 

We recently decided that we waned to replace her old hand-written site with wordpress so she could update it more frequently.

We discovered that the way I have things set up makes this much more difficult than we had first imagined. 

 

Currently I use dynamic DNS to get a hostname, then I have my domain forward to my dynamicDNS name with masking. 

This pretty much breaks everything useful in wordpress (passwords, checkout, etc). 

 

Ideally I'd like my domain name to point directly to my server and not have to redirect via godaddy - I think this is what is causing the issue. 

I thought I would be able to just tell wordpress that it's URL was my domain name, and as long as the domain name forwarded properly it wouldn't be an issue, but this is not the case.  

 

So, to solve my issue, what I need to know is, how do I set up my webserver to not need a middleman to forward domain names?  

Ideally I'd like when people go to domainname.com to forward to my_ip_address/sitename instead of using godaddy to do the forwarding/masking.  If I could accomplish this I think wordpress would let me use my domain as it's location and things would hopefully just work.

 

I'm using DynDNS for the dynamic dns, and godaddy as my domain registrar. All files are hosted locally on my webserver.

 

Thanks!

[Ph1b3r0pt1c]

I am surprised your ISP lets you do that to be honest. The only thing I can think of that would possibly work better would be a cheap VPS somewhere instead of trying to do that in your home.

[MastaChaOS]

You're surprised they let me forward with masking?  Isn't that a pretty standard feature?

I've been doing it (and it's been working well) for years;  Wordpress just doesn't like it.

 

I think I need some kind of dynamic nameservers or something to accomplish the goal here, but I don't really know, and there is a ~48 outtage every time I make a change, so I want to be sure before I try something that knocks her site offline for days.

[AJerman]

Using masking like that on your redirect will always break things as far as I know. You would have to use a service like dyndns as your registrar to use their service seemlessly. Can you transfer your domain to them and use them instead of GoDaddy?

 

A second question would be, are you using dyndns just because you have a dynamic IP on (I'm guessing) a home connection? The reason I ask is because I also have a dynamic IP, however it very rarely changes, so I just keep my DNS updated with my current IP manually and I only have to change it once or twice a year maybe.

[MastaChaOS]

AJerman, thanks for the response. I might be able to port things over to DynDNS, but that would cause a long outtage, and I'm hesitant to burn $30 to test something and knock her site offline for  a few days.

 

Are you using Godaddy, and if so, how are you keeping your DNS updated without using forwarding?  

I wanted to try just manually updating my IP as a test to see if this would all even work in that configuration, so that would be great if it's possible. 

 

[game_over]

Just create some records (A, @) in DNS to point to your IP, if your hosting a website from it i can assume it never goes offline, therefore IP is unlikely to change so you dont really need DYNDNS.

 

If it's too much of a worry then host it on a web server in a proper DC.

[MastaChaOS]

Just create some records (A, @) in DNS to point to your IP, if your hosting a website from it i can assume it never goes offline, therefore IP is unlikely to change so you dont really need DYNDNS.

 

If it's too much of a worry then host it on a web server in a proper DC.

 

I think this is what I'm asking how to do above.  I've not messed with this on godaddy before.

Is this the setting you're describing: http://i.imgur.com/EK3EqDm.jpg

 

I appreciate the assistance!

[MastaChaOS]

So I set the record I took a screenshot of above.  It kind of works, but not really - feeling depressed.

[game_over]

Thats not what TTL does, it will simply query the DNS again, if the IP is the same then it will stay the same. You should actually set it to something like 1 hour, or a day at most.. Lets say your power goes down and your IP changes, every resolver that has queried your domain name will not expire until those 7 days are up.

 

You may notice www. isn't working if not then add a CNAME record

 

www pointing to @, or your IP

[AJerman]

Right, mostly what Uplift just said. That is the right page and you have it added properly. Like Uplift mentioned, just having setting @ sets your domain to point to that ip (like domain.com). If you want www to forward add CNAME www and point to @.

 

The way you posted in that screenshot should mean whatever your "domain.com" is should point to that IP and you're done unless you want any subdomains to point elsewhere.

 

I really only use my domain for my own access to my systems, so I have a couple of A records to point to different machines, then a few CNAMEs like www.

[Dashel]

Why not just host (free) with the registrar instead of on premises?  That would solve all of your issues.  WP wants a real DNS name, which forwarders supersede.

[Obry]

You are asking for problems with what you're doing. You definitely need to transfer your name servers over to DynDNS and let them manage your domain. I use their DynECT service and they host all my domains. Changes are nearly instant (or take up to an hour). The masking technique you are using shouldn't even exist to be honest. I have no clue why companies even provide that functionality nowadays anymore.

 

That being said, why don't you just get a cheap hosting plan with GoDaddy. Sorely their server are a little faster serving images than your server at home as most home ISP's have ridiculously slow upload speeds and to make things worse you're talking about a photography website which is all about bandwidth. Sounds to me that you're asking for trouble from all fronts...

[Original Poster]

So I set the record I took a screenshot of above.  It kind of works, but not really - feeling depressed.

well if you are still stuck in about 2 weeks my latest client will be sorted out and I can help you out for a reasonable price :) we are just upgrading our clients site from wordpress to our own custom built CMS for those who have little to average computing skill ... 

but being the nice person i am .... i will tell you it is best price wise to just move your site somewhere else :P OR get a static IP and attach the domain name to it... no problem no need for masking 

[primexx]

i'm surprised nobody mentioned https://freedns.afraid.org/ yet, you should be able to use your domain with it. But a better option would be to get an actual web host instead of doing it yourself at home. It doesn't cost a lot at all.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

Are you trying to point a domain name directly to a sub folder on a server? (Like having example.com point to 127.0.0.1/blah/?) Because you won't be able to do that without the redirection/frames. Just setup a virtual host on your server and point the domain directly at that server's IP.

[Shiranui]

I had a webserver at home for a year or so when I used to tinker with linux.

I never had any problems with wordpress or joomla etc., despite having a dynamic IP.