Domains

Connecting a custom domain

Point a domain you already own at your Instantsite website, or buy one through Instantsite, and verify it.

You can put your website on a domain you already own, or buy one through Instantsite and skip most of the setup.

Buying a domain through Instantsite

From Domains in your dashboard, choose to buy a new domain and search for the name you want. Available names are shown with their price.

A domain bought here is verified for you automatically; you do not add any DNS records. It usually finishes on its own; the dashboard shows the progress.

Purchased domains have their own renewal date and an auto-renew switch you control from the same screen. A domain is a separate charge from your subscription: your plan does not include the cost of a domain name.

Connecting a domain you already own

Connecting takes three DNS records, added at whichever company you bought the domain from. The dashboard shows the exact values for your domain and a Verify control beside each step.

Prove the domain is yours
Add the verification CNAME shown in the dashboard, then press Verify. DNS changes take time to spread. If the check does not pass immediately, wait and try again.
Let us issue an HTTPS certificate
Add the CNAME record shown for the certificate step and verify it. This is what lets the certificate authority confirm you control the domain.
Send traffic to us
Add the routing record and verify it. On a subdomain such as www that is a CNAME. On the root of a domain it is an ALIAS or ANAME, or a CNAME if your DNS provider supports one at the root.

Root domain or www?

Using the root

yourbusiness.com with no prefix. Some DNS providers cannot put a CNAME on the root of a domain; those provide an ALIAS or ANAME record type instead, which does the same job.

Using a subdomain

www.yourbusiness.com or any other prefix. This is a plain CNAME and every DNS provider supports it. If your provider offers no ALIAS or ANAME at the root, point the root at your subdomain with a redirect and connect the subdomain here.

How long verification takes

DNS changes have to spread across the internet before we can see them. That is usually quick, but it can take several hours depending on your provider and the record's time-to-live setting. There is nothing to do in the meantime except verify again later.

HTTPS

Once the certificate step passes, your website is served over HTTPS with a certificate we request and renew for you. You do not buy, install or renew anything; the TXT record in step two is the whole of your involvement.

Assigning it to a website

A verified domain is not serving anything until it is attached to a website and that website is published. Attach it from the Domains screen, then publish.

Verify the domain: all three steps green.
Assign it to the website you want it to serve.
Publish that website.

Renewals and expiry

A domain you bought through Instantsite shows its expiry date and its auto-renew setting on the Domains screen. With auto-renew off, an expired domain stops resolving and your website becomes unreachable at that address. The website itself is untouched, and an Instantsite address still works.

If verification will not pass

The record type is exactly the one shown; a TXT added as a CNAME never verifies.
The host has no extra domain appended. Some providers add the domain for you; entering the full name then produces a doubled host.
There is no older, conflicting record of the same type on the same host.
You have waited long enough for the change to spread.

Still stuck? Troubleshooting publishing and domains covers the specific failures, and support can look at your domain with you.