# Connect your own domain

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

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.

Note: 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.

Walkthrough: Connecting a domain, step by step (The addresses for a website)

1. **Type the domain**: www.your-company.co.uk, exactly as visitors would say it.
2. **Connect a domain**: CubeSites then shows the DNS records the domain needs.
3. **Copy the records exactly**: Type, Name and Value, into the registrar. A missing dot or a stray space is the usual cause of a wait.
4. **Check now, patiently**: The badge waits for DNS, and DNS can take a few hours. Check now confirms rather than speeds.

1. Type www.your-company.co.uk and connect it.
2. Copy each DNS record into the registrar exactly as shown.
3. Leave 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.

Walkthrough: Once the domain works (The addresses for a website)

1. **Make it the main address**: Most businesses promote their own domain as soon as it is connected, keeping the cubesites.site address as backup.
2. **And removable later**: Removing a domain is a click; the site returns to its included address as the main one.

- [ ] 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

## 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.

## Related guides

- [Your cubesites address](/help/publishing-and-domains/your-cubesites-address)
- [My domain is not working](/help/troubleshooting/my-domain-is-not-working)
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CubeSites is a trading name of Cube Systems Limited, part of Crushed Ice Group. Registered in England and Wales, company number 17220899. Registered office: Unit 11, Olney Business Park, Osier Way, Olney, Buckinghamshire, MK46 5FP. ICO registration number ZC216972.

Contact: hello@cubesites.co.uk | 01234 672 617 | https://cubesites.co.uk/contact