Guide

Connect a custom domain

Point a domain you own at your Willo site, from entering it in Settings to HTTPS going live, without breaking the email on that domain.

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This guide connects a domain you already own, such as example.com or shop.example.com, to your site. You need the Builder plan or higher, to be an editor, admin or owner of the business, and a login for wherever your domain's DNS is managed (usually the registrar you bought it from).

1. Check your email first

Ask yourself: does this domain receive email today? If it does, or you are not sure, sign in to your registrar and export the DNS zone, or screenshot every record. You will not need the backup if you follow this guide, but it is the only way back if something is deleted by mistake. See DNS records for your domain for why.

2. Enter the domain

In your business, open Settings → Custom Domain and enter the domain. Decide which you want:

  • The root domain (example.com): visitors can use example.com or www.example.com.
  • A subdomain (shop.example.com): useful when example.com is already a site somewhere else.

You can also ask in chat: "connect example.com to my site". Willo checks your plan and the domain, then asks you to confirm on a card before setting it up. If the domain is already connected to another site, Willo says so and where it is held: another of your Willo businesses releases it in its own Settings → Custom Domain; anywhere else, it has to be released on the platform that hosts that site, not at your registrar.

3. Add the records

The dashboard now lists the records to add. Keep that tab open, and in another tab open your registrar's DNS settings for the domain.

For each record Willo lists:

  1. Choose the record type it shows (CNAME or A).
  2. In the Host or Name field, type only the part before your domain: www for www.example.com, @ or nothing for the root, shop for shop.example.com.
  3. Paste the value (the target or address) exactly as shown.
  4. Save.

If a www or root record already exists and points somewhere else, edit it to Willo's value rather than adding a second one. Don't touch MX, TXT or other records you didn't come here to change.

4. Wait for verification and HTTPS

Willo checks for the records on its own and shows progress on the same page: pending DNS, DNS verified, SSL provisioning, then active. Most domains go live within an hour. DNS can take up to 48 hours to spread, so a domain still pending after an hour is usually just waiting.

To check sooner, ask Willo in chat: "is my domain connected yet?" It rechecks the records and the certificate directly, and tells you which step it is on and why.

5. After it goes live

  • Visit the domain with https://. The browser should show a padlock.
  • The site's official address switches from bywillo.ai to your domain on the next build, so search engines and link previews follow. See Your site's official address.
  • Ask Willo to find any bywillo.ai addresses still visible in your pages, content or emails.

If something goes wrong, see Domain troubleshooting.