Every website starts on a free address of ours. You can also put it on a domain you own, such as yourkennel.com. Your own domain is part of the Pro plan. This guide covers the records to add, how www works, and what each status means.
Before you start
- You need a domain you've already bought, from a registrar such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, Squarespace (formerly Google Domains) and Cloudflare.
- Only an owner of your website can connect a domain. See Inviting owners and editors.
- One website can have one domain. To change it, remove the old one first.
Connect your domain
- Choose Address and search in the sidebar.
- Under Your domain, type the domain you bought, without https:// in front. For example, yourkennel.com.
- Press Connect Domain.
- The screen lists the records to add. Sign in where you bought the domain, open its DNS settings, and add each record exactly as shown.
- Come back and press Check Now.
Not sure where to add them? Under Where did you buy it?, choose your registrar for step-by-step directions.
The records you add
For a root domain like yourkennel.com, you add:
| Type | Name | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | your domain (often written @) | 76.76.21.21 | Points your domain at your website |
| TXT | _kennelpress | a code shown only to you | Proves the domain is yours |
| CNAME | www | cname.vercel-dns.com | Optional: makes www work too |
If you're connecting a subdomain, such as dogs.yourfarm.com, the screen shows a CNAME pointing to cname.vercel-dns.com instead of the A record.
These are the usual values. If the screen shows different ones for your domain, use the ones on the screen: they are specific to your domain.
Some registrars want only the part before your domain in the Name box, such as _kennelpress, www or @. The screen has a tip for this.
Your email keeps working. These records only point your website. Leave any MX records you already have as they are.
How www works
Your root domain is your website's main address. If you add the optional www record, anyone who types www.yourkennel.com is sent to yourkennel.com.
Your website goes live without the www record, so you can add it later. Once it's working, the screen says www works too.
When your domain is live, your free address keeps working, and it sends visitors to your domain, so links you shared before still arrive.
What each status means
While you wait, each record shows Found, Not found yet, Not checked or Optional, and the top of the screen shows how many have been found.
- "Not yet: the domain doesn’t point to us." The A record isn't showing yet. DNS changes can take up to a day.
- "Almost: the domain points to us, but the TXT record isn’t showing yet." Check the TXT record's name and value.
- "Almost: our hosting provider is still confirming the domain." Nothing for you to do. It finishes on its own.
- "… is live." Your website now uses your domain, with a secure https address.
What to expect
- While the Address and search screen is open, we check every 30 seconds for 10 minutes.
- After you close it, we keep checking in the background for 3 days, and email you when your domain is live.
- Most registrars apply changes within an hour. Some take up to a day.
- Your website stays on its free address until the domain is live, so nothing breaks in between.
If something goes wrong
- Nothing is found after a day. Compare each record on the screen with your registrar's DNS settings, character by character. A missing dot or an extra space is enough to stop it.
- Your registrar added your domain to the end of the name. Many do this automatically. Type only the part before your domain, such as _kennelpress, in the Name box.
- You use Cloudflare. Set Proxy status to DNS only (the grey cloud) for these records.
- "We stopped checking on our own after 3 days." Fix the records, then press Check Now and we'll start checking again.
- "That domain is connected to another website." A domain can only be on one website. Remove it from the other website first.
- "Paused because your plan changed." Your own domain is part of the Pro plan. Return to it and the domain switches back on with no DNS changes. Your free address keeps working in the meantime.
- You want a different domain. Choose Remove Domain. Your website goes back to its free address straight away, then you can connect the new one.
Still stuck? Contact support and tell us your domain and where you bought it.