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A custom domain is the moment a project starts to feel real. Netiva takes care of hosting, SSL certificates and preview URLs; your part is telling your domain where to point. This guide walks through it from start to finish.
Before you start
- A Netiva site that’s ready to publish.
- Access to your domain’s DNS settings — usually at the registrar where you bought it, or at your DNS provider.
- A plan that includes custom domain connection — compare plans to see which ones do.
Step 1: Add the domain in Netiva
Open the console, go to Domains and add the domain you want to use — for example example.com and www.example.com. Netiva then lists the DNS records the domain needs. Keep that screen open; you’ll copy values from it in the next step.
Step 2: Create the DNS records
Sign in to your DNS provider and create the records exactly as Netiva shows them. Most setups follow the same pattern:
- The www subdomain usually gets a CNAME record that points to the target shown in Netiva.
- The root domain (
example.com) often can’t use a plain CNAME. Use the record type Netiva lists for it — some providers call the equivalent ALIAS, ANAME or CNAME flattening. - Conflicting records need to go. An existing A, AAAA or CNAME record on the same name will stop the new one from taking effect.
Copy and paste values instead of retyping them. A single missing character is the most common reason a domain doesn’t verify.
Step 3: Check that DNS has propagated
DNS changes often appear within minutes, but can take up to 48 hours depending on your provider and the TTL of the records you replaced. You can check progress from a terminal:
# The www record should return the target shown in Netiva
dig +short www.example.com CNAME
# The root domain should now resolve
dig +short example.com
# Ask a public resolver directly to rule out local caching
dig +short www.example.com CNAME @1.1.1.1When the answers match what Netiva expects, check the domain’s status in the console.
Step 4: SSL and going live
Once the domain resolves, Netiva provisions the SSL certificate for you — there’s nothing to upload or renew. Publish your site and it’s live on your own domain, served from Netiva’s global hosting. Preview URLs keep working, so you can review changes before they reach visitors.
Troubleshooting
The domain won’t verify
Check the record name first. Some providers expect www, others want the full www.example.com, and some append your domain automatically — which quietly creates www.example.com.example.com.
The browser shows a certificate warning
Certificates are issued after DNS resolves correctly, so a warning right after a change usually clears up on its own. If it persists, look for leftover A or AAAA records that still point somewhere else.
Email stopped working
Only change the records Netiva asks for. The MX and TXT records that power your email live alongside your web records and should stay exactly as they are.
Setting up a shop as well? Read Launch your first store with Netiva in an afternoon next.
