Your website only becomes publicly visible on your own domain. Connecting it means adding two DNS records at your domain provider. The tool shows both records ready to copy; this page explains what they do and where things typically go wrong.
Prerequisites
- You own a domain (registered with IONOS, Strato, united-domains, GoDaddy, Cloudflare or any other provider).
- You can sign in at the provider and edit the domain's DNS records. Depending on the provider this area is called DNS, DNS management, name server records or zone editor.
Step by step
- Open the Domain area in the Website tool and enter your address, e.g.
www.my-agency.com. Click Connect. - The tool shows a table with the required DNS records:
- A TXT record proves the domain really belongs to you. Copy name and value exactly as shown.
- A CNAME record (for www addresses) or A records (for the bare domain without www) route visitors to your website.
- Add both records at your domain provider. Important with Cloudflare: set the record to DNS only (grey cloud), not Proxied.
- Back in the tool, click Check now. DNS changes usually take 5 to 15 minutes, occasionally longer. If the check fails, the tool tells you exactly which record is missing or pointing elsewhere.
- Once the domain is verified, the SSL certificate is issued automatically. Nothing to buy, nothing to renew.
www and bare domain
Best practice: connect both variants (my-agency.com and www.my-agency.com) and mark one as primary. The primary address is what Google and shared links show; the other one permanently redirects to it. No visitor gets lost, whichever variant they type.
Common pitfalls
- The TXT value was altered. Some providers wrap the value in quotes automatically; that is fine. Truncating it or adding spaces is not.
- Cloudflare proxy enabled. The orange cloud mode hides the target; switch the record to DNS only.
- An old A record was left behind. If the domain used to point at another provider, delete the old A or CNAME records for the same name. There must be exactly one target.
- Checked too early. After saving at the provider, wait a few minutes and check again. You can repeat the check as often as you like.
Migrating an existing website
If the domain previously pointed at an old website (e.g. WordPress), it switches to the new one the moment you change the DNS records. Before that, set up your old addresses as redirects under SEO so Google rankings and existing links keep working. Details in the SEO help page.