White-Label Subdomains & Multi-Domain Routing Guide

Print Life Software provides a multi-domain white-label routing architecture designed to give commercial print shops, screen printers, and embroidery houses complete brand independence. From dedicated administrative workspaces for staff to customer self-service quote approvals, interactive Design Labs, and high-speed merchandise stores, the platform operates seamlessly without exposing underlying software branding to your clients.

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1. Feature Scope & UI Navigation

The white-label subdomain engine spans workspace settings, customer portal controls, public guest drafting tools, and e-commerce pop-up stores across the following navigation paths:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                PRIMARY NAVIGATION PATHS                                │
├──────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┤
│ White-Label Workspace   │ /settings?tab=portal        │ Settings -> Customer Portal   │
│ Public Design Lab Setup  │ /settings?tab=portal        │ Portal Behavior & Workflows   │
│ Merch Store Slugs        │ /stores                     │ Merch Stores -> Store Settings│
│ Quote & Invoice Links    │ /quotes-invoices/[id]       │ Share Link / Copy Quote URL   │
│ Customer Portal View     │ /portal                     │ Client Order Tracking Hub     │
└──────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────┘

White-Label Workspace Configuration (/settings?tab=portal)

• Expand Finance & Settings in the left sidebar $\rightarrow$ click Settings $\rightarrow$ select the Customer Portal tab.
• White-Label Workspace & Custom Subdomain Card:
  • Choose Your Shop Subdomain Slug: Enter your shop's unique brand slug (e.g., untappedmerch).
  • Branded URL Format: Generates your live workspace address at https://[your-slug].project-invoice.com.
  • Save Subdomain (Button): Persists the subdomain and updates all internal URL generators.
  • Copy URL (Button): Copies the clean branded workspace link to your clipboard.
  • Open Workspace (Button): Launches your live unbranded portal in a new browser tab.

Public Design Lab Routing (/settings?tab=portal)

• Under the Customer Portal settings tab, scroll to Public Design Lab:
  • Public Design Lab (Toggle Switch): When enabled, guest customers can choose blank garments, upload artwork, and request custom quotes without creating an account.
  • Copy Design Lab Link (Button): Copies https://[your-slug].project-invoice.com/design-lab/[tenantId].
  • Open Design Lab (Button): Opens the guest designer in a new browser tab.

Merch Storefront Subdomains (/stores)

• Click Merch Stores in the main sidebar.
• Open any active store $\rightarrow$ click Store Settings.
• Each storefront is automatically provisioned on the dedicated e-commerce domain: $$\text{https://}\mathbf{\text{store-slug}}\text{.merch-stores.com}$$

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2. Capabilities & Operational Boundaries

The platform utilizes a dynamic hostname routing layer that evaluates incoming web requests and delivers the appropriate branded interface:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        INCOMING WEB TRAFFIC                            │
└───────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
                                    ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     DYNAMIC HOSTNAME ROUTING LAYER                     │
└───────┬───────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────┬────────┘
        │                           │                           │
        ▼                           ▼                           ▼
┌─────────────────┐        ┌─────────────────┐        ┌─────────────────┐
│ APEX MARKETING  │        │   WHITE-LABEL   │        │  ONLINE MERCH   │
│ theprintlife.com│        │   WORKSPACES    │        │     STORES      │
│ Public Platform │        │*.project-invoice│        │*.merch-stores   │
│ Marketing Pages │        │      .com       │        │      .com       │
└─────────────────┘        └────────┬────────┘        └─────────────────┘
                                    │
         ┌──────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┐
         ▼                          ▼                          ▼
┌─────────────────┐        ┌─────────────────┐        ┌─────────────────┐
│   STAFF LOGIN   │        │ CUSTOMER QUOTE  │        │  PUBLIC DESIGN  │
│   & DASHBOARD   │        │ & INVOICE VIEWS │        │   LAB / PORTAL  │
│  /dashboard     │        │  /q/[quoteId]   │        │  /portal or /   │
└─────────────────┘        └─────────────────┘        └─────────────────┘

Supported Capabilities

1. 100% Unbranded Staff Operations: Shop owners and employees conduct daily estimating, scheduling, and shop floor management from https://yourshop.project-invoice.com/dashboard with zero third-party software branding.
2. Automated Outbound Link Rewriting: Once a subdomain is configured, all quote links, invoice links, payment receipts, customer portal magic links, and email notifications automatically generate using your branded web address (https://yourshop.project-invoice.com/q/[id]).
3. Dynamic Root URL Behavior:
   • If Public Design Lab is enabled, navigating to the root URL (https://yourshop.project-invoice.com/) immediately renders your public garment catalog and design customizer.
   • If Public Design Lab is disabled, the root URL automatically redirects guests to your secure customer login portal (/portal).
4. Dynamic Brand Injection & Favicons: When customers access your white-label URL, the platform dynamically replaces standard metadata with your shop's formal company name, logo, social share cards, and custom browser favicon.
5. Zero-Fee Merch Storefronts: Dedicated pop-up e-commerce shops run on high-speed, isolated domains (https://store-name.merch-stores.com) with 0% platform transaction fees.

Operational Boundaries & DNS Guardrails

• CRITICAL RULE: No External Apex / Custom DNS Records: Print Life Software does NOT support connecting custom external apex domains via external DNS records (A-records, CNAME records, or custom nameservers, e.g. yourshop.com). All white-label workspaces are provisioned exclusively on the secure platform domain *.project-invoice.com.
• Subdomain Slug Syntax: Subdomain slugs must consist strictly of lowercase letters (a–z), numbers (0–9), and hyphens (-). Spaces, uppercase letters, underscores, and special punctuation characters are prohibited.
• Slug Uniqueness: Workspace slugs are globally unique across the platform. If a desired slug is already registered by another shop, an alternative must be chosen.
• Reserved Subdomain Keywords: System reserved names (www, api, app, mail, admin, billing, support) cannot be used as shop workspace slugs.

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3. Step-by-Step SOP Workflows

SOP 1: Selecting and Activating Your White-Label Workspace Subdomain

[Settings -> Customer Portal] ──> [Enter Shop Slug] ──> [Save Subdomain] ──> [Copy Branded Workspace URL]

1. In the left sidebar, expand Finance & Settings $\rightarrow$ click Settings (/settings).
2. Select the Customer Portal tab.
3. In the top card (White-Label Workspace & Custom Subdomain), locate the Choose Your Shop Subdomain Slug input field.
4. Enter your shop's brand name or identifier in lowercase letters (e.g., inkworkspdx).
   • Preview: Your active web address will be https://inkworkspdx.project-invoice.com.
5. Click Save Subdomain.
6. A success confirmation appears, and your white-label URL is instantly provisioned across the platform.

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SOP 2: Migrating Staff Operations to Your Branded Address

To ensure your team works inside a completely white-labeled environment:

1. Click Copy URL on the Customer Portal settings card.
2. Log out of your current session.
3. Paste your new branded address into your browser: $$\text{https://}\mathbf{\text{your-slug}}\text{.project-invoice.com}$$
4. Log in using your existing staff email address and password.
5. Bookmark this URL in your web browser. Going forward, all staff members should access the Dashboard, Quotes, Invoices, and Inventory directly from this address.

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SOP 3: Verifying Outbound Customer Quote & Invoice Links

1. Open any quote in the Quote Builder (/quotes-invoices/[id]).
2. In the top action bar, click Share Link (or Copy Link).
3. Paste the URL into an empty browser window or text document.
4. Verify the link matches your branded workspace pattern: $$\text{https://}\mathbf{\text{your-slug}}\text{.project-invoice.com/q/}\text{QUOTE_ID}$$
5. When the customer opens this link, they see your shop logo, your business contact details, interactive proof mockups, and Stripe/Square payment buttons without any Print Life branding.

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SOP 4: Configuring Root URL Landing Experience (Design Lab vs. Portal)

You can choose what visitors experience when typing your bare subdomain address into a browser:

Option A: Direct Customers to Public Design Lab (Lead Capture)

1. Go to Settings $\rightarrow$ Customer Portal.
2. Scroll to the Public Design Lab card.
3. Toggle the Public Design Lab switch to ON.
4. Result: When anyone visits https://your-slug.project-invoice.com/, they land immediately on your interactive blank apparel catalog and design tool.

Option B: Direct Customers to Customer Portal (Order Tracking)

1. Go to Settings $\rightarrow$ Customer Portal.
2. Toggle the Public Design Lab switch to OFF.
3. Result: When anyone visits https://your-slug.project-invoice.com/, the system automatically redirects them to /portal where they can request a magic login link to track their order history.

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4. Business Logic, Formulas & Routing Rules

Multi-Domain Routing Dispatch Matrix

The platform evaluates incoming hostnames and routes visitors according to the following dispatch table:

Hostname Pattern	Destination Surface	Functional Purpose
theprintlife.com	Public Marketing Site	Main platform landing page, pricing plans, software feature overviews.
*.project-invoice.com	White-Label Shop Workspace	Unbranded staff dashboard, customer quotes, invoices, portal, and Design Lab.
*.merch-stores.com	Online Merch Storefronts	High-speed e-commerce pop-up stores, fundraising spirit wear, wave fulfillment.
*.gang-sheets.com	DTF Gang Sheet Builder	Dedicated customer gang sheet builder and high-res print file generator.
printlifesoftware.com	Primary Application Host	Administrative portal redirecting authenticated merchants to /dashboard.

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Dynamic Base URL Resolution Formula

All outbound quote links, invoice links, portal logins, and contractor work orders are constructed using the following isomorphic URL resolution formula:

$$U_{\text{base}} = \begin{cases} \text{https://}\mathbf{S_{\text{subdomain}}}\text{.project-invoice.com}, & \text{if } S_{\text{subdomain}} \neq \emptyset \land S_{\text{subdomain}} \neq \text{"www"} \ \text{Origin of Active Browser Session}, & \text{else if executed in client browser} \ \text{https://printlifesoftware.com}, & \text{otherwise (system default fallback)} \end{cases}$$

Outbound Document URL Construction:

• Quote Customer Approval View: $$U_{\text{quote}} = U_{\text{base}} + \text{"/q/"} + \text{QuoteID}$$
• Multi-Payer Split Invoice View: $$U_{\text{quote_split}} = U_{\text{base}} + \text{"/q/"} + \text{QuoteID} + \text{"?payer="} + \text{PayerToken}$$
• Customer Portal Root: $$U_{\text{portal}} = U_{\text{base}} + \text{"/portal"}$$
• Public Design Lab Direct: $$U_{\text{design_lab}} = U_{\text{base}} + \text{"/design-lab/"} + \text{TenantID}$$
• Vendor Work Order Dispatch: $$U_{\text{work_order}} = U_{\text{base}} + \text{"/work-order/"} + \text{WorkOrderID}$$

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Subdomain Slug Validation Syntax

Subdomain slugs are validated using the following regular expression:

$$\texttt{\textasciicircum[a-z0-9]+(-[a-z0-9]+)*$}$$

• Minimum Length: 3 characters.
• Maximum Length: 30 characters.
• Hyphen Rules: Hyphens cannot be leading, trailing, or placed consecutively (--).

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5. Troubleshooting & Diagnostic Matrix

Symptom / Question	Root Cause	Exact Remediation Step
Quote links sent to customers still display printlifesoftware.com	The white-label subdomain has not been configured, or staff created the quote while logged into the default software address.	Go to Settings $\rightarrow$ Customer Portal, enter your slug, click Save Subdomain, and log into your branded *.project-invoice.com URL. Future links will generate with your custom address.
Merchant requests help connecting an external custom apex domain (e.g. shop.com)	Print Life does not support external DNS A/CNAME records.	Explain that the platform provides a dedicated, 100% unbranded white-label subdomain (yourshop.project-invoice.com). Customers can set up a URL redirect at their domain registrar (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap) pointing orders.yourshop.com to yourshop.project-invoice.com.
"Subdomain slug is already in use" error during save	The requested slug is already registered by another print shop on the platform.	Choose a unique variation of your shop name (e.g., add your city abbreviation or state: inkworks-la or apexprint-austin).
Subdomain root URL opens the Design Lab when the shop wants the Customer Portal	Public Design Lab is enabled in settings.	Navigate to Settings $\rightarrow$ Customer Portal, scroll to Public Design Lab, toggle the switch to OFF, and save. The root URL will now redirect visitors to /portal.
Browser tab shows generic title instead of shop name	Shop profile branding details have not been saved.	Navigate to Settings $\rightarrow$ Shop Profile and verify that your legal or trade Company Name and shop logo are uploaded and saved.

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6. Frequently Asked Questions & Action Prompts

Q: Can I connect my own custom domain like orders.myprintshop.com using DNS records?

Answer: Print Life Software does not support external DNS A-records or CNAME mapping. Instead, we provide a secure, semi-custom White-Label Subdomain (yourshop.project-invoice.com). This provides a dedicated, 100% unbranded web address for staff logins, customer quotes, invoices, and customer portals. If you own your own domain, you can easily configure a standard 301 URL redirect at your domain registrar pointing orders.myprintshop.com directly to yourshop.project-invoice.com.

[How do I set up my white-label subdomain?](chat:How do I configure my white-label subdomain in Settings?)

Q: Where do I go to create my shop's white-label address?

Answer: Expand Finance & Settings in the left sidebar $\rightarrow$ click Settings (/settings) $\rightarrow$ select the Customer Portal tab. In the White-Label Workspace & Custom Subdomain card, enter your shop's name, click Save Subdomain, and copy your new address.

[Take me to Customer Portal settings](chat:Show me the Customer Portal settings page)

Q: Will customer quote emails and invoice links show Print Life branding?

Answer: No! Once your white-label subdomain is configured, all quote links, invoice links, payment confirmation emails, and customer portal magic links automatically use your custom web address (https://yourshop.project-invoice.com/q/...).

[What do customers see on quote links?](chat:What does the customer quote approval page look like?)

Q: How do online merch store URLs work?

Answer: Online merchandise stores and fundraising pop-up shops created under Merch Stores (/stores) are automatically hosted on our high-speed storefront domain: https://store-name.merch-stores.com. Each store has its own unique slug with zero software platform fees on sales.

[How do I set up an online merch store?](chat:How do I create a new merch store?)