Setting up brand & domain

The Brand & Domain area of the reseller portal is the control centre of your white-label brand. Its subtitle reads: Configure your white-label branding, domain, and client permissions. Everything you set here applies to all events that belong to your brand.

Note

This page describes the partner view of a brand. What a host configures for their own event — loading screen, tab icon, their own gallery URL — is covered in Custom domain & white-label.

The five tabs

Five tabs sit at the top of the page:

• Brand Identity — name, logo, icon, colors, support contact.
• Domain & Email — which address serves your galleries and which address your mail goes out from.
• Client Permissions — what your clients may change on their events.
• Default Design — the look every new event starts with.
• Legal — legal notice, privacy policy and terms per brand.

Caution

Every tab except Brand Identity needs an existing brand. Without one you get the banner Create your brand first, telling you to switch to the Brand Identity tab, plus the button Go to Brand Identity.

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All five tabs of the brand settings live on a single page.

The active tab lives in the address bar (?tab=…), so it survives a page reload — handy for bookmarks.

Tab 1 — Brand Identity

This is where you define what your brand looks like:

• Brand Name — required, at least 2 characters.
• Logo — landscape or wide format, displayed in headers.
• Icon — square (1:1), used as the browser-tab favicon and in-app icon. PNG, JPEG or WebP, optimized automatically.
• Show brand name next to logo — off means only your wide logo. On means icon plus brand name as text.
• Primary — your brand colour. Hover, tints and contrast-safe text are derived from it automatically, for light and dark mode.
• Accent (optional) — a second colour your events inherit. Events can still override it; without an accent the platform default applies.
• Support Email and Support URL — the contact your clients see.
• Hide “Powered by Photogala” — removes Photogala branding from your galleries.
• Act as Photogala — shows the Photogala identity instead of your brand. Your domains, linked events and legal pages stay fully active, and your brand stays saved.

A Preview on the right shows how your brand reads to guests. Images may be up to 5 MB; above that the app reports File too large. You save with Save Changes (the first time it says Create Brand).

Tab 2 — Domain & Email

The tab opens with the Domain & Email setup card and an Set up or Edit button that launches the Set up URLs & Email wizard.

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This is where you set the gallery address and sender domain of your brand.

Which address is live right now

At the very top, Your current address shows the host that serves right now, with the note: This is where your clients’ galleries live right now. Links, QR codes and emails automatically use this address.

1 The tile shows the address your client galleries are actually served from right now — links, QR codes and emails all use it. 2 The button next to it opens the domain and email wizard.

Below it, Which address is used? explains the ranking. Photogala automatically picks the highest-ranked address you have set up:

1. Custom domain — once its DNS is verified.
2. Free Subdomain
3. photogala.net — default address, always available, no setup.

The three rules are spelled out underneath:

• As soon as you have both a custom domain AND a subdomain, the custom domain is always used as the main address (once its DNS is verified).
• With a subdomain but no custom domain, the subdomain is your main address.
• Without a custom domain and without a subdomain, everything runs over photogala.net.

Note

A domain that is stored but not yet verified does not count. It shows as Not active yet, and the note explains that galleries stay reachable via the address shown above until then.

The free subdomain

The fastest way to an address of your own. In the wizard the card is called Quick: free subdomain, carries the Recommended badge and promises: Pick a name and you’re done. No DNS setup, SSL is automatic, takes 30 seconds.

1 Enter a short name under *Subdomain name*; availability is checked as you type. 2 Confirm with *Claim subdomain* — it goes live immediately, SSL included.

The wizard offers two routes: Quick: free subdomain — marked *Recommended*, no DNS work — or Pro: your own domain. The subdomain is enough to start with; you can switch later at any time.

The address is made of your chosen name plus a shared pool domain, so yourbrand.pool-domain — the interface uses yourbrand.event-album.de as its example.

1. Open Brand & Domain → Domain & Email and click Set up (or Edit).

2. In the Choose step, pick the Quick: free subdomain card.

3. Enter your name under Subdomain name. The rule: Use 3+ characters: lowercase letters, digits and dashes only. Availability is checked live (Checking availability…, then Available! or Not available — try another name.).

4. If several pool domains exist, pick the one you want from the list next to the field; otherwise it is fixed. Your galleries will be at: shows the finished address.

5. Click Claim subdomain. The confirmation reads Subdomain assigned! It’s live now. — no DNS record, the certificate is issued automatically.

6. In the final Landing step you decide what visitors see without a specific event link.

Caution

Removing has consequences. On Remove the app warns you: galleries on the subdomain redirect to your main address for 30 days, after which the address stops working. The name is released and can be claimed by someone else. You can claim a new subdomain anytime.

Your own domain

In the wizard that is the Pro: your own domain card: Use a domain you already own (e.g. galerie.yourbrand.com). Requires 1 DNS record (~10 min). Optional branded email.

1 Enter the domain you already own, for example gallery.your-brand.com. 2 The *Also set up email sender* checkbox brings branded mail along — without it event emails keep coming from photogala.net.

1 The table lists both options: the CNAME for a subdomain or the A record for a root domain — never both. 2 Once the record is live at your DNS provider, click *Test DNS Now*; the certificate follows automatically. The values shown are sample data.

1. Enter the domain. It has to look like gallery.example.com — lowercase, no http://, no trailing slash.

2. At your DNS provider (Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap, IONOS …) create the record shown. The table has the columns Type, Name and Value. The rule: Use the CNAME for a subdomain (e.g. gallery.yourdomain.com) or the A record for a root domain — not both.

3. Click I’ve added the records — verify, or later Test DNS Now on the main page. Success reports DNS records verified. Your custom domain is ready.

The SSL certificate is issued automatically as soon as DNS resolves. If verification fails the wizard retries by itself (Auto-retry in …) and afterwards only on click. The tip inside the wizard: DNS usually propagates within 5 minutes.

Caution

On Remove domain the app warns: galleries on that domain become unreachable. You can re-add it anytime, but DNS propagation may take a while.

Your own email domain

Without an email domain of your own, Photogala sends your brand’s mail from the official Photogala address. The setup-links page puts it like this: You haven’t set up your own email domain yet. You can send this invitation from the official Photogala address — your branding still shows inside the email — or set up your own domain first. So brand name and logo still appear in the mail body; only the sender is not yours.

Branded mail needs four records: MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC. The highlighted MX record routes incoming mail to us — if you already receive mail on that domain, set everything up on a dedicated sending subdomain instead. The values shown are sample data.

If you do set up your own email domain:

• Enter a bare domain, so yourbrand.com — no http://, no @. Mail then goes out from [email protected].
• Optionally set a Sender Name (optional) — it is shown as the From name; it defaults to your brand name.
• Three DNS records are needed: MX for routing, TXT for SPF and CNAME for DKIM. The wizard lists them under Email DNS records.
• Test DNS Now checks them. Success reports Email DNS records verified. Branded emails are ready.
• On timing: DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate.

Danger

Already using this domain for email? The MX record routes the domain’s incoming mail to us. If you already receive mail on that exact domain (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 …), do not add the MX record on the main domain. Set everything up on a dedicated sending subdomain such as mail.yourbrand.com instead, so your existing inbox keeps working.

The recommended value is the apex of your gallery domain: if the gallery is gallery.studio.com, the email domain is studio.com. When you remove it, mail falls back to the default sender; DKIM and SPF records may stay in your DNS, they cause no harm.

Your brand’s home page

The Home page section decides what visitors see when they open your address without a specific event link. The setting applies to ALL of your addresses — subdomain and custom domain alike. Three options:

1 *No redirect* shows visitors your brand's standard galleries page. 2 *Redirect to an event* sends everyone straight into one specific gallery; below that you can also redirect to any URL.

• No redirect — visitors land on the standard galleries page, can sign in or join a gallery; signed-in visitors see their own events.
• Redirect to an event — visitors go straight to the chosen event’s gallery.
• Redirect to a URL — visitors go to your own website or any external address.

Save redirect applies your choice.

Tab 3 — Client Permissions

Three presets decide what your client may change about the look: Full control, Content only (cover image and gallery layout only) or Fully locked. Guests can still upload and complete challenges in all three cases.

Control what your clients can customize on their events. You pick one of three presets:

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Per area you decide what your clients may change themselves.

• Full control — client can change the whole look: logo, colors, cover image, header style and gallery layout. Your brand badge stays.
• Content only — client can change cover image and gallery layout. Your branding stays.
• Fully locked — client can’t change any branding or style. Guests can still upload, browse the gallery and complete tasks; only the look stays locked to your brand.

Show individual toggles expands the single rights:

• Change Event Logo — allow clients to upload their own event logo, replacing your brand logo.
• Change Event Colors — allow clients to customize the event color scheme.
• Change Cover Image — allow clients to upload a custom cover image.
• Change Header Style — allow clients to select different header layouts.
• Change Gallery Layout — allow clients to choose gallery display styles.

If you deviate from a preset, Custom configuration is shown below. You save with Save Permissions.

Note

The plan is the ceiling. The note on the page: “The event’s plan (tier) is the ceiling. Allowing something here only lets clients use features their plan already includes — it never unlocks anything beyond their tier. You can always restrict further, but never grant beyond what their plan allows.”

Exceptions for individual events

Under Events & Keys you can override the permissions per event. The section there is called Customization permissions; an event shows either Brand default or Customized for this event. Save for this event sets the exception, Reset to brand default takes it back.

What clients notice

Locked settings do not appear in the client’s interface at all — there is no greyed-out switch and no error message. The whole block simply disappears:

The What your client sees in their settings box translates the chosen preset into concrete areas. Blocked areas disappear for the client instead of being greyed out — they never learn the setting exists.

• Without Change Event Logo and Change Cover Image, the branding block is missing from the client’s style tab.
• Without Change Event Colors, the colour-scheme area is missing.
• Without Change Header Style the header picker is gone, without Change Gallery Layout the layout picker is.
• Without the domain permission, the client does not see the domain section in their event settings.

What that looks like from the client’s side is described in Customizing the look and Custom domain & white-label.

Example

Every client on your brand — except one.

You are a photo studio reselling galleries under your own domain, and the look should stay yours everywhere:

1. Client Permissions tab → preset Fully locked, then Save Permissions. Your clients never even see the branding block in their event settings — there is no greyed-out toggle and no error message, the block is simply absent.
2. Now a corporate client needs their own logo on the Christmas-party gallery. Instead of loosening the rule for everyone, go to Events & Keys, open that one event and grant only Change Event Logo under Customization permissions. After Save for this event it reads Customized for this event; every other event stays on Brand default.
3. Once the party is over, take the exception back with Reset to brand default.

What granting cannot do: if that event’s plan contains no color picker at all, ticking Change Event Colors changes nothing — the plan is the ceiling, and permissions never unlock beyond it.

Tab 4 — Default Design

One design that every new client event starts from. The subtitle: Set the look and feature set every NEW event starts with — colors, fonts, layout, photo-wall design, features and privacy. Once a default is saved, New events start from this design. is shown above it.

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The default design is the starting template for every new client event.

Four sub-tabs: Style, Photo wall, Features and Privacy.

Note

Not included are logos, cover images and gallery passwords — those deliberately stay per event. And the default design only affects new events. Already claimed events keep their design.

Preview opens a Live preview: the design is shown on a demo event carrying your brand identity, as Wedding, Celebration, Corporate or Vacation. The note explains: Gallery design updates live with your brand colors and logo. Photo-wall design is saved but previewed on the wall view.

Unsaved edits are flagged as Unsaved changes; you apply them with Save default design, drop them with Discard, or reset everything with Clear.

Tab 5 — Legal

Configure the legal notice, privacy policy and terms shown in your galleries. For each document — Legal Notice / Impressum, Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions — you pick one of four modes:

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The legal texts of the brand are inherited by every client event.

• Use Photogala template — generated from your legal details. The note: Generated automatically from your legal details below. Keep them up to date.
• Write my own (hosted by Photogala) — your own text in the editor. Fill from template starts you off from the template so you can adjust it.
• Link to an external page — the URL has to start with http:// or https://.
• Off (do not show)

Under Legal details you maintain the data the templates are built from: Company name, Legal form, Address, Postal code, City, Country, Contact email, Phone, VAT ID / UID, Responsible for content, Register number, Register court and Supervisory authority. Optionally the block Data protection officer (optional) with Name and Email is added. Company, address, VAT and contact are shared with your business settings under Settings.

Show preview checks the result, Save Changes applies it.

Troubleshooting

• A tab only shows the “Create your brand first” banner. Domain, Client Permissions, Default Design and Legal all need a saved brand identity.
• My custom domain is entered but galleries still run on the subdomain. The domain is not verified yet (Not active yet). Only after a successful DNS check does it become the main address.
• The subdomain I want is unavailable. The name is taken; it needs at least 3 characters, lowercase letters, digits and dashes only.
• Old links still work after removing the subdomain. They redirect to your main address for 30 days, then stop.
• Mail still goes out from Photogala. As long as no email domain is verified, that is the fallback. Your branding still stays in the content.
• Since adding the MX record I no longer receive mail on my domain. The MX record must not be set on a domain where you already receive mail. Use a dedicated sending subdomain.
• My client cannot find a setting. Most likely you locked it in the client permissions — locked areas are hidden from them, not greyed out.
• The default design did not change an existing event. It only affects new events.

Related pages

• Reseller basics — setup links, credits and the rest of the portal
• Managing your device fleet — branded upload addresses for photo booths
• Custom domain & white-label — the host’s view of address and branding
• Customizing the look — what your clients see of the event design
• Legal pages & imprint — the same documents at event level