Documentation
When you create a website through Our School Pages, your website is initially given a standard domain address that looks something like this:
http://yoursubdomain.ourschoolpages.com
The part before the "ourschoolpages.com" is called the subdomain. You can choose any subdomain that you want, as long as it hasn't already been taken by someone else. However, once you choose your subdomain, you can't change it. If you do wish to have a different subdomain, you would need to create a new website by visiting ourschoolpages.com.
Many schools and PTAs prefer to have a web address that is unique to them, and doesn't have the ".ourschoolpages.com" attached to the end of it. This is called a custom domain, and can look like any of these examples:
http://cascaderidgeptsa.org
http://lakeviewelementary.com
http://www.skylinehighschool.wa.edu
In order to use a custom domain with your Our School Pages website, you need to first register your custom domain with a domain registrar. There are many reputable domain registrars, and you can use just about any one. Some of the more well-known ones include cloudflare, GoDaddy, Network Solutions, and NameCheap. Once you have registered your custom domain, follow the instructions here in order to configure that domain to point to our servers where your website is hosted. Then, when a user visits that domain name in his/her browser, they will be taken to your Our School Pages website.
Note that Our School Pages does not provide domain registration services, so you must use one of the other services in order to register your domain. Typically registering a domain can cost anywhere from $10 - $20 per year, payable to the domain registrar of your choice. This cost is separate from the cost of the website itself, which is payable to Our School Pages.
If your organization already has a domain name registered, you can use that existing domain name with your Our School Pages website. You will need to follow the instructions here in order to point your existing domain to our servers. Then, when a user visits that domain name in his/her browser, they will be taken to your Our School Pages website.
If you have custom domain already registered, there's a good chance you also have an old website at that location. Before pointing your custom domain at your Our School Pages website, make sure you have retrieved all important content from that old website. Once you point your custom domain at your new website, you will not be able to access your old website.
Once you have set up your new Our School Pages website, transferred all content from your old website to your new website, and pointed your custom domain to your new website, you are ready to get rid of your old website. If you are paying for website hosting with another company, you can stop renewing that portion of your account, or call their customer service representative and ask them to cancel your website hosting. However, make sure you do not cancel your domain registration. You need to maintain ownership of your custom domain in order to continue to use that domain with your new website.
Some schools and PTAs have a custom domain with email accounts that use that domain, such as president@lakesidepta.org. If you would like to continue to use such email addresses to send and receive email, then you need to keep (and pay for) your email service with your current provider. Do not cancel this service when you point your domain at your new website. Our School Pages does not provide any email mailboxes with your website, and our service cannot be used to receive email.