CubeSites Help
Publishing and domains

Publishing and domains

Connect your own domain

Point www.your-company.co.uk at the site: the records, the wait, and what can go wrong.

  • 3 minute read
  • 2 interactive walkthroughs
  • For everyone with a domain to point

Before you start#

A custom domain comes with a plan for the website, and the domain itself is usually bought somewhere else: a registrar, or the provider of an existing website. If the domain is already serving another site, changing it will move that site's traffic, which is the point, but worth knowing before a busy week.

You will need the ability to edit the domain's DNS records, which means the registrar's control panel and its sign-in. That access is the only technical requirement.

Good to know: A domain you own is yours; CubeSites only serves the website at it. Selling or moving later changes one record back.

Connecting#

In website Settings, under Addresses, type the domain and choose Connect a domain. CubeSites shows the DNS records the domain needs: the rows to copy into the registrar, with Type, Name and Value spelled out. Copy them exactly; a missing dot or a stray space is the usual cause of a wait.

The status badge then does the work: Waiting for DNS while the records have not been seen yet, and Check now re-checks on demand. DNS changes can take a few hours to spread, occasionally a day, so an evening's wait is normal rather than broken.

Your Company
Your CompanyLive
your-company.cubesites.site
OverviewPagesBlogTeamMessagesSubscribersSEORedirectsSitemapLanguagesStagingSettingsVersion history

Addresses

The cubesites.site address is included and always works. Your own domain is optional.

your-company.cubesites.siteMain address
www.your-company.co.ukWaiting for DNSCheck nowMake mainRemove
www.your-company.co.ukConnect a domain
TypeNameValue
CNAMEwwwsites.cubesites.site
TXT_cubesitesverify=6f2c9a

DNS changes can take a few hours.

Step 1 of 4

Type the domain

www.your-company.co.uk, exactly as visitors would say it.

Reduced motion is on, so the walkthrough waits for you. Use the arrows or pick a step.

  1. 1Type www.your-company.co.uk and connect it.
  2. 2Copy each DNS record into the registrar exactly as shown.
  3. 3Leave it, then Check now after an hour or two.

When it works#

Once the records are seen, the domain joins the site's addresses with its own badge. Make main promotes it to the one address everywhere; the site then answers on both, with a redirect doing the tidying between them.

Certificates are automatic and free: once the domain is live, the padlock appears without a separate step. Removing a domain later is a click, and the site returns to its cubesites.site address as the main one.

Your Company
Your CompanyLive
your-company.cubesites.site
OverviewPagesBlogTeamMessagesSubscribersSEORedirectsSitemapLanguagesStagingSettingsVersion history

Addresses

The cubesites.site address is included and always works. Your own domain is optional.

your-company.cubesites.siteMain address
www.your-company.co.ukWaiting for DNSCheck nowMake mainRemove
www.your-company.co.ukConnect a domain
TypeNameValue
CNAMEwwwsites.cubesites.site
TXT_cubesitesverify=6f2c9a

DNS changes can take a few hours.

Step 1 of 2

Make it the main address

Most businesses promote their own domain as soon as it is connected, keeping the cubesites.site address as backup.

Reduced motion is on, so the walkthrough waits for you. Use the arrows or pick a step.

  • The DNS records match, character for character
  • Both www and the bare domain behave sensibly
  • The padlock shows on the live address
  • Old links from the previous site redirect or are updated

Common questions

Do I need email moved too?

No. The website records are separate from mail records; changing them does not touch email, provided you only add or change the website rows.

What if the domain is with the same company as the old website?

The DNS panel usually still works the same way. If it does not let you edit records, the domain may need moving to a registrar first.

Something here out of date, or a step that did not match what you see? Tell us and we will correct the guide. Never send a password or an API token.