Connect a domain

Connecting a domain moves a website from its preview address onto your own domain, with a free SSL certificate. Each website has one domain.

Before you start

1. Make sure the site works on its preview address.
2. At your DNS provider, point the domain to your server. The records are listed in DNS records. The banner at the top of the website shows the server address to use.
3. Wait for DNS to update. This can take from a few minutes to several hours.

To check, click the DNS status next to the website’s address at the top of its page. The Domain connection dialog shows what the domain points to now. Click Check again after a change.

If you entered a domain when you created the website

The banner reads “This website is on its preview address”.

1. Click Take live.
2. Read the dialog and click Take live.

If you started without a domain

The banner reads “Running on” the site’s preview address.

1. Type your domain without www, for example example.com.
2. Leave Also www ticked if www.example.com points to the server too. Untick it if you don’t use www.
3. Click Connect domain.

A domain already used by another of your websites can’t be connected again.

What Netkeel does next

1. Checks that the domain points to your server. If it doesn’t, you see a message like “example.com does not point to this server yet”, with the address to use and the address it points to now. Nothing changes until the check passes.
2. Issues a free Let’s Encrypt certificate.
3. Moves the website to https:// your domain, including links in your content.

This runs in the background and takes a minute or two. You can leave the page; the banner shows “Connecting…” until it finishes. If Connect domain fails partway, the domain is removed from the site again, so you can fix the problem and try again.

After the domain is connected

• The site answers on your domain over HTTPS, and HTTP visits are redirected to HTTPS.
• The preview address keeps working and sends visitors on to your domain.
• The certificate renews automatically.

About www

• Connect domain with Also www ticked adds www to the certificate only if www already points to the server. If it doesn’t, the panel tells you the certificate covers the bare domain only.
• Take live also adds www to the certificate when www already points to the server.

To add www later, point it to the server (or route it through your proxy or CDN), then request a new certificate with Also include www. Visitors to www are then redirected to the bare domain. See SSL certificates.