Connect a domain, step by step
Adding a domain you own, the records to set at your registrar, verification, HTTPS, and what to check when it does not come up.
1. Add the domain
/domains → Add domain. Enter the domain (example.com, no www, no https://) and choose the site it belongs to.
2. Set the records at your registrar
The domain's page shows exactly what to set. Two ways:
- Nameservers — point the domain's nameservers at the ones shown. Everything else is then managed for you.
- Records — keep your nameservers and add the A/AAAA record (and a verification record) shown, plus
wwwas a CNAME if you want it.
Changes at a registrar take from minutes to a few hours to be seen.
3. Wait for verification
The domain's page re-checks on each visit and shows the state: waiting, verified, active. Once verified, a certificate is issued and the site answers on the domain over HTTPS. www redirects to the bare domain, or the other way round, as you choose on the domain's page.
4. Make it the site's main address
On the domain's page, Set as primary so links and emails use it instead of the subdomain. The subdomain keeps working and redirects.
When it does not come up
- Still waiting after a few hours — check the records at the registrar character for character; a trailing dot or a
wwwin the wrong place is the usual cause. - Works on
wwwbut not the bare domain (or the reverse) — one of the two records is missing. - Certificate warning — the domain is verified but the certificate has not issued yet; give it a few minutes.
- Mail stopped — connecting a domain does not touch MX records, but nameserver changes do. Set MX again per Mail services.