Using a custom domain with Beamer

You can implement your Beamer Changelog in two ways:

• Embeddable widget: Integrate directly within your existing app or website

• Standalone page: Create an independent changelog hub with its own URL that functions like a dedicated site or blog

The standalone option creates a centralized location where all your Beamer content is displayed, giving users a dedicated destination for product updates and announcements.

To personalize your Changelog, you can use a custom domain to make it easily recognizable to your users.

Custom domains for standalone pages

Available to customers on Pro and above plans.

Personalize your standalone changelog by using a custom domain that aligns with your brand, making it easy for users to find and remember.

Benefits of Using a Custom Domain

• Maintain Brand Consistency
  Keep all communications under your brand umbrella. A unified URL structure reinforces your brand identity and can strengthen brand awareness and customer loyalty.

• Seamless User Experience
  Ensure users stay within your brand ecosystem without realizing they're accessing a third-party service. Since your changelog is an integral part of your product experience, consistent URLs maintain that seamless flow.

• Enhanced Analytics and Traffic Management
  Manage all website traffic, including changelog visits, under your domain structure. This approach provides more accurate analytics, better traffic measurement, and gives third-party services a complete picture of your site engagement.

Set Up a Custom Domain

Prerequisites

You'll need a personalized domain name first. If you don't have one, you can purchase it from your hosting provider or any domain registrar service.

Domain setup

Once your domain is registered and configured, follow these steps:

1. Access Your DNS Provider
   Log in to your DNS management panel. This is typically available through your hosting provider or domain registrar. If you're unsure how to access this, contact your provider's support team for guidance.

2. Create a CNAME Record
   Add a new CNAME record in your DNS settings and point it to custom.getbeamer.com.

3. Cloudflare Users Only
   If you're using Cloudflare as your DNS provider, make sure to disable the proxy (turn the orange cloud to gray) for this CNAME record.

4. Contact Beamer Support
   Once you've created the CNAME record, reach out to our support team. We'll handle the backend configuration to complete your custom domain setup.

Custom domain as a sub-folder

Available to customers on Enterprise plans.

To use a path/subfolder as the URL for your standalone page (e.g., yoursite.com/updates), your development team needs to configure a ProxyPass on your web server. This setup redirects requests from your desired path to your Beamer standalone page while maintaining your domain structure.

Technical Requirements

• Access to your web server configuration

• Ability to modify NGINX (or equivalent) settings

• A Development team that is familiar with proxy configurations

1. Configure your web server.
   Sample NGINX configuration to add to your server settings:

location /updates {
     proxy_pass https://app.getbeamer.com/example$request_uri;
     proxy_ssl_server_name on;
     proxy_set_header HOST $host;
     proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
     proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
     proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;

}

2. Customize your path.
   Change /updates to the path you'd like to use.‍

3. Contact Beamer support.
   Let us know! Contact us and we'll set things up on our side.

Custom domain for push notifications

Available to customers on the Pro plan and above.

Default Configuration

By default, push notifications are sent from push.getbeamer.com. This enables push notifications to function immediately, with no configuration or technical setup required on your part.

However, you can configure push notifications to appear as if they are coming from your domain instead. This quick setup takes approximately five minutes and can be completed by any web developer or site administrator.

Custom Domain Implementation

File Requirements

• Files must be placed in your website's root directory (e.g., yoursite.com/manifest.json)

• File names cannot be modified

• The manifest link must be present in your site's HTML head section

1. Download Required Files
   Download these two files and upload them to your website's root directory using this link:

• manifest.json

• beamer-push-sw.js

Important

Do not rename these files—they must keep their exact names to function properly.

Note

If you already have a manifest.json file, don't replace it. Instead, copy the gcm_sender_id attribute from our manifest.json file and add it to your existing file.

2. Add Manifest Link
   Add this link tag to your site's HTML <head> section if you don't already have one.

<link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json" />

3. Verify Setup
   Once both files are uploaded and the manifest link is in place, your users will be able to subscribe and receive push notifications that appear to come from your domain.