Your site's domain is like its street address; it lets other people find it. Setting up your site domain is very important as it allows people to visit your sites.
While our site builder does not host domains, you can purchase a domain either during the publishing process (from our partnering domain provider) or prior to publishing. To connect your domain to your new Website Builder site, there are just a few records that will need to be added in the DNS settings for your domain.
The first step to making your site live is publishing.
To publish your site:
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In your editor, on the top right, click Publish.
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A payment page appears. Select a plan, and continue.
Once a plan has been selected, you are prompted to select from one of the following three domain options:
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Default Domain. This is a domain hosted by Website Builder, and is not good for your site’s SEO. The URL will be a subdomain of Website Builder's with your custom naming. You may use the original default domain.
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Purchase a new domain for your site. Purchase a domain from IONOS. When you type your domain into the field, a menu appears with suggestions. This domain will already be set up to work with Website Builder. For more detailed instructions, see Purchase a Custom Domain.
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Use a domain you already own (make sure you added "www." to the URL). You may use a domain that you already own from the domain host you purchased it from. Ensure you add "www." to the URL. If you choose to use your own domain, continue to Set up your Domain in your Domain Host.
Note
If you are assigning a subdomain (for example, store.domain.com), "www" is not needed. Simply enter in the subdomain (for example, store.domain.com). For more information see Subdomains.
You can generate an SSL certificate for your subdomain.
If you selected to use the Default Domain or Purchase a new domain for your site options, your site should be live and no further steps are needed to connect it.
For the Use a domain you already own (make sure you added "www." to the URL option, continue on to Step 2: Connect Your Domain.
Note
To change your domain at any time after publishing your site, in the side panel, click , Site URL, and then click Change site URL.
This step is only needed when the Use a domain you already own (make sure you added "www." to the URL) option is selected.
Note
If your domain registrar doesn’t allow Advanced DNS editing, you may only be able to change nameservers. In this case, you can use an Advanced DNS Manager like Cloudflare. Cloudflare automatically detects your DNS records and provides nameservers for you to use. This allows you to add the necessary A and CNAME records to point your domain to your site (note: disable the proxy for the CNAME and A records in Cloudflare).
Note
This option may not be available due to certain factors, including:
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Domain provider.
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Name servers the domain is currently using (if a domain isn't using the domain providers default name servers, Website Builder may not be able to correctly add the records.)
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After selecting Save, a box will come up that says Connect your domain to your website. Select Continue
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Website Builder searches for your domain host provider, and prompts you to log in with your provider (for example, GoDaddy).
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Type your login credentials for your domain host provider, and click Continue.
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Alternatively, if you do not own the login credentials, click Forward login to a colleague. Copy the link provided and send to a colleague to complete the setup.
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You will receive a confirmation message that your domain is now configured. Click Done.
Note
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Changes to your domain typically take less than a few hours to go live. However, it may take up to 48 hours.
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If your domain host provider was not found, you must configure your domain manually by adding a few records to your domain. Follow the prompts in the editor or see Option 2: Manual Connection.
The following records will need to be added to connect the domain to your Website Builder site. How they are added will depend on the domain provider.
Note
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Most domain hosts have instructions on creating CNAME records and A records in their help center. If you cannot find this information, please contact your domain host.
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Record Type |
Record Information |
Notes |
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CNAME |
Host: www Points to: s.multiscreensite.com |
This record will forward the naked domain (yourdomain.com) to the 'www' version (www.yourdomain.com). If you are assigning a subdomain (for example, store.domain.com), replace the "www" for the host with the subdomain value (in the example of store.domain.com, the value would be "store"). See Subdomains. |
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A Records |
First A Record: Host/Alias: @ Target/Destination: 35.172.94.1 Second A Record: Host/Alias: @ Target/Destination: 100.24.208.97 |
Two A Records are used for server balance and redundancy. Some domain hosts will not allow you to set up multiple records for the @ domain. If this is the case for your domain host, then simply add one record for the @ domain and include both IP addresses. |
Note
AAAA and CAA records can prevent issuing an SSL certificate. Please ensure you do not have these records configured.
If you previously took your site live with instructions involving a 301 Redirect and CNAME, you will need to re-create your SSL certificate. For more information, see Add SSL or HTTPS. In addition, you will need to remove the previous settings for the 301 Redirect.
Changes to your domain typically take less than a few hours to go live. However, it may take up to 48 hours. If it has been longer than 48hrs, please see I published my site, why isn't it live?.
The table below includes links to instructions for configuring DNS settings in common domain hosts (registrars).
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Domain Host |
Support Links |
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|---|---|---|
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GoDaddy |
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NameCheap |
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HostGator |
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Squarespace Domains |
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Register.com |
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Network Solutions |
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Cloudflare |
NoteMake sure the proxy option is turned off to avoid potential connection and SSL issues. |
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Bluehost |
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IONOS |
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registro.br |
Registro.br DNS Settings Configuration (Article provided by Website Builder to assist with Registro.br due to the unique requirements of this registrar) |
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Azure |
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If you would like to use the custom domain option, but don't have a domain you own yet, you will need to purchase one.
Tip
Is your site already published, but want to assign or purchase a custom domain?
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Open the editor for the desired site.
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Click Site Domain.
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Click Change site URL.
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Select one of the following options:
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Purchase a new domain for your site and follow the prompts.
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Use a domain you already own (make sure you added “www.” to the URL) and follow the steps in the section Step 2: Connect Your Domain.
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Through Website Builder's partnership with IONOS, you can opt to purchase a domain from within the editor during the publishing process. Not only will the domain be free for the first year, there is no need to configure CNAME records or 301 redirect setup as IONOS will automatically configure the needed DNS settings.
Note
When purchasing a domain from IONOS through our integration, IONOS will be your point of contact. For any questions or complications, please reach out directly to IONOS support (www.ionos.com/contact).
While we strongly recommend buying your domain from the editor, you can purchase your new domain name from any domain registrar (for example, GoDaddy.com).
When you purchase your domain from a different registrar, you need to follow additional steps noted in this article to connect the domain to your website. See the section in this article, Step 2: Connect Your Domain.
A subdomain functions as an entirely separate website from the primary one. It is configured as a prefix for the primary domain. For example, if your primary domain is domain.com and you want a separate site for your store, you could configure the subdomain as store.domain.com.
Note
Technically, 'www' is a subdomain (e.g., www.domain.com). When configuring other subdomains, 'www' is not needed because it is typically already set up as a default subdomain for your main website.
Assigning a subdomain
When assigning a subdomain, do not include 'www'. Simply enter the subdomain as is (for example, store.domain.com).
Configuring a subdomain
Configuring subdomains in your DNS settings is similar to setting up a primary domain, with one exception: you only need a CNAME record (the A records aren't needed).
In step 2 above (Connect your Domain), the automated process will only add the CNAME.
When manually adding the record in your DNS settings, the CNAME would be as follows using the example store.domain.com:
Record type: CNAME
Host: store
Points to: s.multiscreensite.com
If your site isn't live, if it's not working without 'www' (the naked domain), or not working with the 'www', the issue might be with the DNS settings at your domain provider.
The common records to check are:
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CNAME and A (to ensure they are Website Builder's).
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AAAA and CAA (these records can interfere and need to be removed).
Changes to your domain typically take less than a few hours to go live. However, it may take up to 48 hours. If your site still is not showing up after 48 hours, something may be happening. The first step to see what might be going on is using an online tool that can check DNS records and propagation, such as www.whatsmydns.net.
Note
If you are using Cloudflare for the domain's DNS settings, you need to disable the proxy for the CNAME and A records.
To check the CNAME and A records:
To check for AAAA and CAA records:
Go to www.whatsmydns.net and select either AAAA or CAA from the drop-down menu and complete the field using the naked domain (for example, domain.com).
If you see records for either of these, they will need to be removed from the DNS settings.
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The DNS records were not setup correctly or with the correct provider (if the nameservers used aren't the default ones provided by the domain provider, the DNS of the nameserver provider will need to be updated. See Nameservers).
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There was a settings change on the domain side.
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DNS settings were reset.
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There was a billing issue with your domain host.
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Caching (if you previously visited the site, your browser may have cached it. Clearing cache or visiting the site on a new browser or device may fix it).
When you've made changes to your site and republished, but the updates aren't showing on your live site, it could be caused by a couple of reasons:
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The site may be cached on your device. To check if this is the issue, clear your browser's cache and try again, or try visiting the site in a different browser or on a device that hasn't visited the site before. If the changes appear in incognito or in a different browser, browser caching is the issue.
To clear your browser cache, open you browser's cache settings and select to clear cache and cookies. Refresh your browser window and view your site again.
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The DNS records haven't fully propagated or haven't been added. To check the CNAME and A records:
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Verify you are viewing the correct URL. Double-check that you're viewing the correct live site URL, especially if you're testing multiple sites or environments.
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Check for custom code conflicts. If you added custom code to your site, temporarily remove the custom code and republish. Custom code conflicts can occasionally prevent changes from displaying.
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Ensure you are using the most recent browser version. Check your browser for updates.
This error means either that:
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Your domain is not set up and/or propagated appropriately.
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To resolve this, please make sure you have followed the steps in this article and wait up to 24 hours.
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We are expecting a different domain name.
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To resolve this, make sure that the site URL in this interface has a www before it.
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This error typically indicates the DNS records are correct however the domain is not assigned to a site.
To assign the domain to a site:
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Select Site Domain.
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Select Change Site URL.
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Enter the correct domain name.
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Click Save.
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If the site is Not published, see step 1 in this article (Publishing).
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If the domain has been assigned, please double-check the spelling. If needed, change the site name and then copy and paste it into the field to ensure it's correct.
If you have published your site and configured your DNS settings correctly, but the site is still not live, you may need to check your nameserver settings.
Nameservers may affect your A and CNAME records when configuring your DNS settings. While typically, the domain provider's default nameservers are used, there may be situations where custom ones are needed. For example, the domain could be registered at GoDaddy, but the nameserver settings at GoDaddy are pointing to Cloudflare. To update your DNS records, you would need to login to Cloudflare to add your DNS settings, not GoDaddy.
If the domain provider's default nameservers are not being used (for example, if the domain is using Cloudflare's nameservers), you need to update your DNS records through the DNS manager where your nameservers are located or revert the nameservers back to your domain provider's default settings.
Warning
Changing nameserver settings should be done with extreme caution, as this changes all your DNS settings at once. For example, if you have an email service set up at domain.com and you change your nameservers, you need to add DNS settings at the new nameserver for your email (MX records) in addition to adding A records and CNAME records to publish your site.
To find your nameservers go to www.whatsmydns.net and select NS from the drop-down menu and complete the field using the naked domain (for example, domain.com).
Examples of possible nameservers and their providers:
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earl.ns.cloudfare.com - Cloudflare.com
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ns07.domaincontrol.com - GoDaddy.com
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ns1045.ui-dns.org - IONOS.com
To identify the provider of your nameserver, copy the nameserver and search for 'who is the provider for the nameserver NAMESERVER' (for example, 'who is the provider for the nameserver ns-cloud-d1.googledomains.com').