Importing Domains into Storefront : OpenSRS Customer Support

The OpenSRS Storefront Domain Import feature allows you to import domains from your OpenSRS account into Storefront Manager. Once imported, your customers can manage their billing and domain registration and make DNS updates through a self-manage portal.

Domain importing process

Domain Import uses the data from the owner contact in the domain WHOIS to determine domain ownership. For each domain that is being imported, the Import process will:

Ensure the domain is available in your OpenSRS Reseller account and not already managed in your Storefront.
Check whether the domain has an active or expired status. Domain Import will not import domains pending transfer away, pending transfer in, or domains in redemption.
Storefront will use Whois information to determine ownership. The Domain Import feature relies on the Whois registrant email for this.
- If the import tool finds an existing matching Whois email address, it will associate the domain with that existing account.
- If an existing customer account matching the domain is not found, the import tool will create a new account using information from the domain WHOIS. This information will include the email address, first and last name, and other details.
Storefront will then send a branded email informing the customer that the domain was added to their account. For newly created customers, the email contains information on how to access their new account.

Once the domain is imported and associated with a customer, Storefront provides areas for domain management, DNS updates, and renewals. The customer can log in to their account and fully manage the domain. Storefront will bill that customer directly for any renewals, with commissions paid to your connected Stripe account like any other transactions in your Storefront.

Reasons for importing

Benefits of importing

This process allows you to transfer your existing RCP-managed customer domains to Storefront Manager. You will be able to manage the domains on behalf of your customers and give them complete control over the domain DNS and related functions such as privacy settings, domain locking, and WHOIS updates.
The billing process becomes much simpler once a domain is seamlessly imported into Storefront. Storefront will take on billing responsibilities so you can focus on your business, allowing customers to manage payments for domain renewals and additional services directly through Storefront.

Reasons to not import

Do not import the domain into Storefront if you do not want to give your customer complete control of the domain. Likewise, you shouldn’t import the domain into Storefront if you want to keep handling billing for renewals and add-on services like Contact Privacy.
Please refrain from importing the domain if you do not want the customer to change the DNS, update WHOIS information, manage domain locking, and obtain the domain’s transfer authorization code.

Important information before importing

The Domain Import feature is a one-way process. It’s not currently possible to undo an import.
It is crucial to ensure the WHOIS email is correct. The WHOIS email address determines the domain’s owner. Review the WHOIS data before importing to ensure accurate account placement.
It would be best if you informed your customer that their domain is being imported and that they will receive an email with login instructions.
After importing a domain, the customer can manage the domain themselves. This includes managing nameservers, DNS, WHOIS, locking, and retrieving transfer authorization codes. The customer will also be responsible for domain renewals through their customer portal.
You can help your customers manage domains using the Log in as Customer feature in the Storefront Manager. This allows you to assist them with DNS updates and WHOIS changes if necessary.
If this is your first time using the Domain Import feature, we suggest starting with a smaller batch.

Importing domains into Storefront

The Domain Import status does not update automatically. To update the import status, you need to refresh the page. You must manually enter the domains to be imported, either one on top of each other or in CSV format.

There is no limit on the number of domains that can be imported, but we recommend starting with a small batch initially.

Log into Storefront Manager
Click Domains.
Choose the Batch Imports tab. Enter your domains line by line or in CSV format, then click Import Domains.
Note: Please refresh your browser to view the status of the domain batch import.
Storefront Manager imports domains in batches, and the status indicates the number of domains imported from each batch.
You can view the customer and domain status by clicking the batch ID.
Note: If one domain fails in your batch, the batch status will be set to failed. We suggest starting with a small batch at first.
A toast notification will appear once a batch has been completed.