Connect a custom domain
Updated
A client site starts on a preview address that search engines don't index. When the business owns a domain, you connect it from the site's page, add two DNS records where the domain is managed, and the site moves to the domain.
Before you start
Open the site from Sites and find the Domain section. Until you buy hosting for the site, the section reads "Connect the business's own domain after you buy hosting."
You need access to the place where the domain's DNS is managed. That is usually the company where the business bought the domain.
Enter the domain
- In the Domain section, type the domain in the Domain field. Use the form the business uses, for example
example.comorwww.example.com. - Select Connect domain.
Visitors who type the other form, with or without www, reach the same site. You can paste a full address: the form removes the scheme, the path, and the port, and it changes the domain to lowercase.
The page then shows Connecting and the domain, with the DNS records to add.
Add the DNS records
The table lists one row for each name: the domain you typed and its www or root twin. Each row has a type, a name, a value, and a status. Select Copy to copy a value.
- Sign in where the domain's DNS is managed.
- A name that has a CNAME record can't have any other record. Delete any A, AAAA, or CNAME record that already exists for the names in the table.
- Add each record from the table with the type, the name, and the value shown.
DNS providers differ in the form of the name they ask for. The table shows @, www, or the first label, with the full hostname under it, so you can use whichever form your provider expects.
Root domains and www
A root domain such as example.com has no www in front of it. The record for a root domain is a CNAME (flattened) or ALIAS record, and not every DNS provider offers one. The page tells you when the domain is a root domain.
If the provider supports neither a flattened CNAME nor an ALIAS record, remove the root domain, connect www.example.com instead, and set up a forward from example.com to www.example.com where the domain is registered.
What each status means
Each row of the table carries one status word.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Waiting for DNS | The record isn't in place yet, or the DNS change hasn't reached the internet. |
| Issuing certificate | The record is correct and the secure connection for the name is being prepared. |
| Active | The name works and shows the site. |
| Needs attention | Something about the name's DNS blocks the connection. A sentence under the status says what to change. |
| Stopped checking | The page stopped checking after 7 days. Add the record, then select Check now. |
When a row says Needs attention, the sentence names the cause. Common causes are an existing A, AAAA, or CNAME record that points somewhere else, CAA records that don't allow the certificate authorities we use, and an old certificate validation record. The page checks again by itself after you fix the record.
How long it takes
After you add the records, the page checks every minute for the first hour, then every 15 minutes for 7 days. Select Check now to check at once. Check now works once a minute, and the page says when you can use it again.
When the domain's record and certificate are ready, the page shows Moving the site to the domain. We change the site's address and check every page on the new domain, and the page updates when that is done. The Domain section then reads "The site is live at" the domain. The other form of the name redirects to it, and so does the preview address.
If the move fails, the page says the site couldn't move and stays on its current address. Select Try again. If it fails again, contact support from the closing card at the bottom of this page.
The setup expires after 7 days without the DNS records. You can connect the domain again.
Change or remove the domain
Select Change domain to connect a different domain. The current domain keeps showing the site until the new one is active, and Cancel the change stops the change before then.
Select Remove domain to disconnect the domain. A confirmation asks first, with Keep domain as the safe choice. When you confirm, the site goes back to its preview address and the domain stops showing it. Hosting continues, and you can connect a domain again at any time.